Designer’s Block

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Occassionally, I like to read blogs on websites geared towards creatives and typically read one or two a day that I find interesting. However, one I found, in particular, struck a chord with me. Over at Creative Overflow, I found an article published last year titled “3 Way to Motivate Yourself When You Hit the Wall” by Michael Johnson.

The article goes on to advise on staying motivated as a creative. Still, the one piece of solid advice that I found most useful was the bit about mentally turning tasks into competitions. Despite the potential fruitless rewards from taking on “spec” work, there is a lot to be said of the spirit of the game that exists with it, maybe that it is why it works, at least for the person putting the spec work out there. Everyone wants to win, and that hope of winning can get you through the day. So as a designer, when you become unmotivated, you lose the creative fuel to make your work the best it can be. Sparking a sense of competition, whether with yourself or another designer, can be the ticket to get you motivated to make something that will make your client happy.
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Morehead Planetarium Rack Card

4″ x 9″ Rack Card design for the Science Rising education program event. Printed on thick card stock with a soft-touch finish texture.

Recently, I have been trying to make a move from a freelance graphic designer to a full-time in-house designer for organizations and businesses in my area. The competition is intense out there among designers trying to obtain this type of employment and can be daunting at times. Recently, I had the privilege to asked to complete an assessment test with one of the institutions that I applied. Surprisingly, I don’t get this request very much.; usually, it’s straight to an interview. I found this request to be a nice change, as I felt judged by my actual skill rather than just my resume alone. The test was simple, make a 4″x9″ rack card with various stipulations attached to the design brief. But the most significant advantage of this test was that it kicked my creativity into overdrive, and I was able to produce a rack card that I was very proud of presenting. While I am generally proud of most of the work I put out, this situation was supported by my belief that is mentally making something a competition will net the best design within your skillset.

It so happens that as of this week, I discovered that my rack card made the cut. Due to this, I get to move on to the final interview as one of the last candidates. So, wish me luck.

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