No matter how good a designer we are, they are times when we facemental blocks that disrupt our design thinking. So in times like these,how can we then boost our creative juices? Here’s another exciting postby our resident contributor py, helping me fill in while I’m offbeating my head on some other issues!

Here are some tips inspired by the best, on how we can unleash the creativity from inside us:

1. Setting up your dedicated workspace
Is your environment working for or against your creative work? If youhave to clear off the kitchen table before you’re able to work, it maybe time to set up a space that will be ready when you are.

Designing is generally a messy process, but there is a point atwhich the clutter becomes an obstacle to be overcome rather than aninspiration. Exactly where that line is drawn varies tremendously fromperson to person, but it is essential that you are comfortable workingin the space around you. So other than clearing up my desk spacewhenever I finish my work, I will arrange my desk space such that myfavorite design books are put next to my computer, within my reach foreasy reference.

Decorating one’s desk space helps to cultivate creativity too. Forexample I decorate my walls with designer postcards as a form ofinspiration.

2. Knowing your “peak” period of creativity flow
Our brain can never function creatively at a 100% concentration levelevery single minute. Psychologists have cited that we are only able toconcentrate best at a particular period of the day or night, when weare comfortable with our environment and personal habits. So do takenote of the time you are able to concentrate the most, realize how faryou can stretch yourself at this period, and notice if it is common foryou to always work at this particular period whenever you generateideas.

Some people have common timings of “peak” design creativity, whileothers don’t. So the best way is to understand how your own brain, mindand body work when you get creative. By realizing your own creativethinking pattern, you can then learn how to better stimulate optimum“design creativity flow”.

3. Having a creative community by your side
Isolation is one of the major obstacles that can block creativity,especially when friends and family don’t get what you are trying to do.

Thus, having a group of fellow creatives whom you can brainstormideas with helps a lot. Because your creative community understandswhat it takes, they can motivate, inspire and challenge you to expandyour vision of yourself and your work. Setting up regular discussionswith one another to share each other’s progress will help motivateone’s creative input further.

4. Mastering the art of story telling
A good way of analyzing design thoroughly is by looking at the design from three different aspects:

Syntactic: By logically breaking down aproduct into its design parts, this will give a good physical breakdownof the components inside, which gives designers a realistic idea of howthe product can be re-designed.

Semantic: By conjuring key words or doinga mood collage to define the artistic values of your design concept, itis a good start to creating strong aesthetic meanings to your design.Flipping through books and websites for visual images is often a goodmethod of getting your creative juices flowing.

Pragmatic: Weaving a mind map or userscenario is always a clear and visual way to rethink design creativelythrough the eyes of the users. Not only does it enable a simplebreakdown of the factors needed for the design aim, it also cultivatesa logical way of design thinking.

5. Constant reading inc
www.designsojourn.com/7-ways-to-unleashing-your-creativity/