Optimizing designers’ inspiration, ideation & creation process

Ever wondered why some days we’re brimming with creativity while other days feel like a struggle? For us designers — and, in fact, all creative minds — learning to navigate the ever-changing states of inspiration, ideation, and creation is essential for keeping our work fresh, fun, and flowing.

We already know where to look for inspiration, what environments we best perform in, why we prefer collaborating with certain people, and which processes are the most effective. It’s how we get the work done. But it’s also how we often get stuck.

These familiar routines can, on the one hand, help us become confident and competent in our craft, but on the other, lead to creative comfort, rigidity, and stagnation. And so, to not only restore but raise our creativity to an all-time high, we must reintroduce a sense of novelty, intrigue, and playfulness into our everyday routines.

 

 

1. UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE INSPIRATION-IDEATION-CREATION CYCLE

 

While our hands do a lot of the work, our brain does all of it — and the more we understand how it operates, the better we can harness its power. If we push it too hard, like working on overly challenging projects, it will hit creative burnout. If we push too little, like working on uninspiring, repetitive projects, it will hit a creative block. But if we push just enough, it will enter flow.

And flow state is the ultimate goal — it’s when we’re completely focused and absorbed in a task and lose track of time. It’s when we fly through the work, get everything done, and perform at our best. And it’s when we feel so energized that we can’t wait to dive back into the project. We’ve all certainly been there before — because the project was challenging enough to engage our brain, but not so difficult that it overwhelmed it.

This is exactly why exposing our brain to the right level of novelty, intrigue, and playfulness is so important for maintaining peak states of creativity and keeping the inspiration-ideation-creation cycle running smoothly. With a steady supply of new stimuli, it will stay in an active state of questioning, exploring, and generating fresh ideas and insights at every stage of the creative process.

 

“Inspiration sparks ideas, ideation refines them, and creation makes them real.”

 

 

2. BOOSTING OUR INSPIRATION PROCESS

 

Whenever we need to come up with something new, inspiration is what kick-starts the process. It’s that one sudden, new insight, thought, or idea that ignites our creativity and propels us into action — because inspiration helps us connect the dots, blend familiarity with novelty, and view things from a new angle. In order to boost this part of the creative process, we shouldn’t just be seeking out different types of inspiration; we should also be actively engaging in them:

●  Integrating novelty into our routine — We can experiment with new tools, study emerging technologies, rearrange our schedule or workspace, work from new locations, or attend and network at cross-disciplinary events, meetups, and conferences like SXSW, Config, Startup Grind, UXDX, and Adobe Max.

●  Embracing playfulness & exploration — We can participate in hackathons and creative jams, organize workshops and seminars, tour creative spaces and labs, work on personal or side projects, pursue different interests, or explore alternative frameworks and ways of thinking, such as Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, or First Principles Thinking.

●  Curating a diverse inspiration feed — We can follow thought leaders and innovators, read and subscribe to industry newsletters and journals, visit local exhibitions or foreign countries, keep a visual inspiration diary, or watch thought-provoking documentaries like Design Disruptors, Abstract, Design & Thinking, Objectified, Squads, and PressPausePlay.

 

 

3. BOOSTING OUR IDEATION PROCESS

 

Ideation is the process of generating a wide range of ideas and solutions. It involves brainstorming, combining different concepts, and exploring various possibilities — so that we can develop viable solutions, identify the one that best solves the given problem, and translate it into actionable steps. In order to boost this part of the creative process, we shouldn’t just be using different ideation methods, tools, and approaches; we should also be switching between them often:

●  Using brainstorming techniques — We can use a more structured, systematic approach to ideation, like Crazy Eights, Affinity Mapping, SCAMPER, Rolestorming, Brain Dumping, and Mind Mapping, or try a more restrictive approach to ideation, like setting certain limitations and constraints, or working within specific parameters.

●  Ideating with others — We can, besides solo ideation, try collaborative ideation, be it brainstorming with a colleague, organizing team Sprints, participating in group ideation sessions, hosting design thinking workshops, or interviewing potential customers.

●  Utilizing ideation tools — We can use offline tools like idea cards, ideation prompts, whiteboards, sticky notes, and sketchpads, or use online platforms like Figjam, Miro, and Mural for collaborative whiteboarding, and Notion and Trello for organizing and tracking ideas.

 

 

4. BOOSTING OUR CREATION PROCESS

 

Creation is the process of bringing ideas to life. It’s where concepts are transformed into tangible outcomes, final designs, and finished products. Creation helps us refine our creative vision, master technical skills, and showcase our talents. In order to boost this part of the creative process, we shouldn’t just be focusing on designing beautiful, user-friendly solutions; we should also be focusing on solving complex, real-world problems:

●  Testing early & often — We can test solutions early in the process, collect user feedback, bring in different roles to gather opinions, iterate often, create prototypes and beta versions, work closely with others to ensure feasibility from the start, validate solutions through A/B testing, or uncover areas for improvement with UserTesting, Maze, or Hotjar.

●  Automating workflows — We can automate our processes with tools like Zeplin, Abstract, or Storybook, take advantage of ready-made templates, presets, and scripts, set up automatic backups, speed up workflows with plugins and extensions, or reduce manual steps by reusing assets and already-built design systems.

●  Using frameworks & software — We can enhance our creative process with software like Figma to co-create in real-time, Grammarly to copywrite, Adobe to create and edit digital media, Google Drive to share it, and Buffer to publish it, or take advantage of frameworks like Laws of UX, Universal Design Principles, and Fundamental Design Principles.

 

 

5. NURTURING OUR LONG-TERM CREATIVE & PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

 

It’s only up to us how far we’ll push our creativity, creations, and careers. While some happily settle for that creative comfort, rigidity, and stagnation, others choose the opposite path — to keep trying, growing, and moving forward. And so, if we want to master our craft, unleash our creative potential, and excel professionally, we must continuously nurture our long-term growth:

●  Cultivating curiosity — We can always go back to school, apply to bootcamps like General Assembly and 42, book free and paid courses from Ideo U, Coursera, and Grow with Google, sign up for Skillshare, Masterclass, and Brilliant, attend or stream talks and events like Adobe Max, Creative Mornings, and Medium Day, or schedule time for unguided explorations of topics we find interesting or intriguing.

●  Setting goals & challenges — We can regularly reflect on our creative journey, review our creative process, evaluate our soft skills, identify areas for improvement, set goals like building an app or transitioning into a different field, take on challenges like producing design each day for a month while using the Pomodoro Technique, outline a plan to improve our problem-solving or leadership abilities, and track our progress using Notion, Todoist, or Trello.

●  Building a support network — We can connect with other creatives to exchange ideas, find mentors for professional guidance, ask colleagues and peers for advice and constructive criticism, network on Linkedin, participate in online forums and communities like Reddit, Discord, and Slack, share our work on Dribble, Behance, and Awwwards to get feedback, or join programs like Google’s Creative Fellowship and Adobe’s Creative Residency.

 

 

6. NOTHING IS STOPPING US FROM REACHING ALL OUR CREATIVE DREAMS & GOALS

 

If we want to boost one or all parts of our creative process, elevate our creativity to an all-time high, keep the inspiration-ideation-creation cycle running smoothly, skip creative blocks and burnouts, or nurture our long-term creative and professional growth, we only need to give ourselves permission to do so, and all else will follow.

Because with it, there’ll be absolutely nothing stopping us from learning, growing, evolving, and becoming the best we can be — if we stay curious, embrace new challenges, push the boundaries of our creativity, and keep introducing novelty, intrigue, and playfulness into our daily routines, we’ll soon not only reach our every creative dream and goal, but also unleash our full creative potential.