Someone once told me when I’m stuck in my design thinking to just keep designing. I didn’t understand at first how I could simply keep designing when I felt like I just had no ideas left in me. But that wasn’t what it was about. It was about learning how to stay inspired, using my environment and finding new ways to think about solving the design problem. It included me doing more research, digging deeper into my concept, thinking about it in a more complex manner, and then simplifying it down again. I started out making wordlist and moved to mind maps, I think too quickly for list when brainstorming ideas. A good part of my design process is knowing methods that work best for me. But, being visually stuck is my equivalent of experiencing writer’s block. Sometimes it requires a break, some sleep, and a fresh set of inspiration the next day before I get back to it. I find inspiration everywhere, but I enjoy getting off of technology and using the world around me to re-inspire myself. Sometimes it is as simple as going to a restaurant and observing people and what they place looks like that gets my mind going again. Other times it takes a bit more, I need to actually look at design or art that’s being done around and I take little road trips to Austin and I look at galleries, and I just walk around Zilker Park. I also enjoy looking at murals around Austin. If I am going back home, I like to walk around the antique shops and find things. I found a bunch of old magazines and newspapers in my last trip all from late 1800s and different eras of 1900s. I enjoy the history and seeing how they approached layouts, advertisements, and typography in comparison to now. Inspiration lies all around us and that is why I have learned to keep designing even when I am stuck. What inspires you?
The American Woman Newspaper is no longer around today, but there is an American News Women’s Club here. They are an organization of women in journalism and media careers.
Old newspaper advertisements and and events from The American Woman. photo by Andrea Raines
Design is so simple, that is why it is so complicated.
— Paul Rand
Enjoy!
-Andrea
andrea by design 