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Nowadays, there are numerous working methods that a designer develops and, as time goes by, and with the experience earned, this method is constantly changing.
In this blog post, we will talk about my experience as a junior designer (and my brain).
As time goes by, I have discovered that it is easy to fall into anxiety, nervousness, stress that a job, at first sight, can give because it’s something new. But I also found the answer to “run away from that” or better deal with it.
I can be a multifaceted designer, which means I have more than 8 hours (full-time work) of creativity. That also means I go through a lot of dilemmas and difficulties until I reach the final result.
Where to work as a designer?
As soon as I receive a work proposal, my first task is to do detailed research on the subject in question. Then I spend a few brave hours doing a visual collection, and I only stop when I have other thoughts in my head – otherwise known as distraction.
I’ve always found it inspiring to work on design outside the home, like in a coffee shop where there are lots of people, and I can be at a table eating whatever I want. This was one of the first methods I tried, but unfortunately, the conclusion I drew was the following: clustering of people and noise are two things that hold my creativity back and make me restless.
Thus, I chose to always work at home, a quiet place where I can also listen to the music I want.
Speaking of which, here comes another auxiliary that stimulates my creativity and concentration: music! Depending on the music’s spirit, I can work at a much higher pace than I usually do without it.
And to complement these inspirations, street walks are the best source of help for “hunting” a “good” design. It can be in a poster or a store window.
Just walking outside helps me analyze several essential components in this area, such as the image, the text, and the message I want to convey. It also helps the urbanistic and minimalist design, which I really appreciate. The simpler the result, the more you can think about it (it stimulates the public).
I become inspired by either these walks on the street and or by surfing on the Internet.
The darkness appears on a poor designer’s brain
It’s all flowers and sunshine until the time comes to do the job. Whenever that happens, and my mental idea of the job isn’t corresponding to what I initially wanted, I suffer a total mental-breakdown, and a thousand and one questions come rolling into my subconscious as I look for the answer to the error.
To help this mental-breakdown, I keep working on the idea that a step back on the project is not a fail. With several adjustments, I can handle the “lost” hours and continue “surfing” on creativity.
However, the demons of stress and mental calculation of the hours it might take me to finish the project and its delivery time are always here. Sometimes, when I notice it, the measuring has already exceeded the delivery deadline. When that moment arrives, the best thing to do is stop working and take a good break. My pause boils down to a method that always works, and I recently discovered: drawing.
Coping mechanisms
Drawing for 10 minutes is enough for me to get back to work with other eyes, with another kind of approach, and start from scratch every so often.
To start from scratch is to try new techniques, do something out of the ordinary, and discover new techniques. What comes out of this? New mental ideas of the project that often correspond to reality and its main goals.
As soon as it’s in the final phase of the project, where only one feedback and one approval by the client is left, I like to visualize the progress that had all the design; to visualize it in a big way. I also like to do a presentation to show the work’s whole evolution, the project, and my reasoning.
After finishing these presentations, I find myself considering a useful method that makes me evaluate and be self-critical in my work.
Final note about this particular designer’s brain
I share this process and method of my work with you, not knowing if it is the most correct or not, but what is certain is that each job I do is always approached differently.
Obviously, this is a learning process, and I still have a long way to go in this area. I’m exposing this method of working to help recent designers who feel anxious and a little lost in their new work routine.
Needless to say, the methods may not work for everyone. As I mentioned before about working in a coffee shop, there are countless people like me who identify with this, while others prefer and feel inspired by the coffee shops in the crowd and by the noises.
To conclude, in design or any other area, the key to succeeding in a good work development is to be organized and distribute well the tasks you have to do in a short period. Once we master this objective, the pros and cons listed in our head in order to stabilize our reasoning and work should be controlled by actions without overthinking about them. A simple break or rest is not such a difficult act to take.
