How to Overcome Creative Blocks as a Web Designer

Writers aren’t the only professionals whose creative signals get blocked from time to time. Web designers also experience this frustrating phenomenon. Not only does this creative block make it seem impossible to be innovative, but it can contribute to feelings of inadequacy, missed deadlines, and a sense of panic.

If you have ever met a creative block as a web designer, you know how important it is to break through your perceived barriers. Below are some methods that other web designers use to clear their heads and get back to doing what they love:

1. Just Start — Seriously

One tried and true method to give any kind of imagination block the boot is to do something. Yes, it can be hard, but it’s worth the effort. Even if you just get out a sketchbook and begin to make a few notations, it may be all you need to rev up your engine. Doodling and scribbling are allowed and encouraged. Treat the process as a fun adventure, and don’t worry about the clock.

Why This Can Help: In physics class, you probably learned that a body in motion tends to stay in motion, and a body at rest tends to stay at rest. When you put your body — and mind — into motion by doing something creative, it encourages your innovative side to emerge.

2. Get Away From Your Tech

Stand up and remove yourself from your tablet, laptop, desktop, and even smart phone. Technology is your world as a web designer, but when you’re blocked, it can feel like a gateway to prison. If you can take an hour and unplug while doing something else, like taking a walk, listening — or making — music, reading a book, or working out, you will set yourself up for a better mental attitude when you return to your desk.

Why This Can Help: We all need a getaway, even if it’s only for a short while. This gives you the ability to shut down your professional side and detach from your web design projects. Try not to think about those projects directly when you’re away, too. You might be surprised at how recharged you feel later.

2. Encourage Group Think

As a web designer, it can seem like you against a time crunch. Next time you hit a roadblock and can’t drum up inspiration to save your life, consider collaborating with some likeminded colleagues. Brainstorming is perfectly acceptable, and it can trigger new ideas. Plus, your colleagues and/or buddies might have insights you never considered.

Why This Can Help: We all have the tendency to fall into comfortable rhythms, including the way we design sites. Talking to people with different mindsets opens us up to a vast world of theories, experiences, and possibilities. We can then take what we learn and enhance our own abilities.

3. Use Great Web Designs as Stimulation

Have some web designs you absolutely love? Are there websites you feel are practically perfect — or just about as perfect as possible on the Internet? Visit them and write down what you like. Is it the navigation? The color scheme? The basic architecture and framework? Afterwards, read through your notes to see whether you can use some of these concepts for the website you’re designing.

Why This Can Help: While you shouldn’t copy any website verbatim, you are perfectly entitled to get ideas from great sites. This happens in every field, from engineering to mathematics to culinary arts. By writing down pointers, you have something to refer back to as you’re designing. Plus, you can use those notes for other projects later.

4. Teach Someone Else About Web Design

Do you have an opportunity to teach someone else or be a mentor to an aspiring web designer? Teaching can be an effective tool to getting past creativity blocks. This doesn’t have to be a formal situation. Even instructing your teen on some basic web design tips and techniques will suffice.

Why This Can Help: When you teach, you automatically pull from your skill sets and knowledge. Additionally, your students may ask questions that will trigger new ways of thinking, as well as remind you of solutions you may have forgotten. This broadens your horizons and revitalizes you to return to your website designing with renewed vigor.

Ready to take on that web designing job that’s been driving you crazy? Take a deep breath and make a move. As Lao Tzu reportedly said: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”