Do Designers Ever Get Out?

Design might be a bit more difficult than others may conceive. It is not a structured workplace as any normal work environment, as ideas do not tend to continuously flow 24-7. Designing projects often requires outside stimuli, much like that of an artist, something must inspire the creativity, and for that reason designers tend not to work in a 9 - 5 structure, but rather in bursts or chunks of time. 2 - 3 hours at a stretch (at all hours) is a very common method among web and graphic designers.

While there are times when great ideas seem to endlessly flow from brain to mouse, there can also be times when the well runs dry and concepts are much more difficult (akin to a what’s commonly known to baseball players as a “slump”) to come by and we struggle through - making due with the skills we possess.

I recently ran into one of these slumps coming off a vacation where the run up to it was quite creative. I was in a great creative groove, with a lot of new ideas, however, I was feeling quite tapped out and overwhelmed in terms of physical energy. My vacation was only a mere week long, however, upon getting back to work, I simply felt uninspired and void of new ideas (I hate it when that happens).

In dry times, some folks like to pack up their MacBook Pros and head off to the local Starbucks as the interaction spikes their creativity, however, I am more inclined to just get away. Do something completely averse to design, it might be going to the grocery store, playing with my kids or my dogs or going for a drive in the lovely hill country.

So the question is “Do Designers Ever Get Out?” and the answer is absolutely “yes!” The surprising part is that we might be working on your project when we do. We aren’t slacking or avoiding your project, the fact is we’re probably just looking for inspiration to make your project better.