How to get your subconscious to target a specific creative design problem for you

Inspiration can come from the strangest of places.

Sometimes you think you know how you want your new app to look. But in reality you have more of a feeling that you want to get when you see the look of your new app. I know this because I thought I knew exactly how my app will look and when actually putting pen to paper (figuratively) I know it looks nowhere near anything work showing to anyone.

Okay, typically when you are getting to the point of showing your work, it is easy to be critical on yourself, but in this case, it was more the fact that it is early stage and all I really have is the feeling I want, and not the look itself.

So where do you go to find the look?

Well, firstly I go inwards, think of actually using your app, think of what would be the pieces of information you would want to see, think of what draws you in. Next its looking at others apps out there, maybe googling an app similar to yours and adding best UI. After some time it is best to go outside, maybe to an event, and just observe the world around you.

So that's exactly what I did. Tonight in Sydney the Vivid light show was on and I thought what better place to "inspirate" than an artistic light show where the city itself is the canvas!

Perfect

It turns out I did actually come away with the initial vision of how to achieve the "feel" of the app I'm going for. But you'll never guess which piece of art got me there.

Was it this nicely lit tree?

Or how about this melancholic sea of floating light bulbs?

Well it ended up being none of the above? My vision for the design came in transit sitting on a train listening to a podcast. It's interesting because much like when you are in the shower and you have those "shower thoughts" a monotonous task can get you into a different mindset, different pathways in your brain link.

But wait. Sometimes these thoughts are unique and different, but quite frankly useless thoughts such as

"When you drink alcohol you are just borrowing happiness from tomorrow"
or "clapping is just hitting yourself because you like something"
and "when you say 'Forward' or 'Back', your lips move in those directions"

Great. But it would be nice if that could apply to something I actually want to achieve. So why on this occasion on the train did the problem I was trying to solve get solved subconsciously?

Maybe it was coincidence, but maybe because my mind had locked in a future task i.e. get inspiration to solve my design problem after this train ride, that in my subconscious that was the "next" task. Then as mundane as a train ride was the subconscious has what is next and in that mind state began to solve.

I know the feel of the individual rounds in the game I want to achieve, the font style of the main message and the behavior as time runs out all appeared to me and I expanded it to the colors and the overall game flow.

By the time I got to the light show and had dinner it was out of mind and I just enjoyed the evening. Before I'd even gone out I had already locked in my idea!

The Solve

So try give this a go. The next time you try go out to get new ideas, don't focus on the problem, just focus on the fact that the next thing you are going to do is get new ideas. Lock it in. Schedule it.

But allow enough time for some monotonous tasks in between whether it be on a train (not actively driving) or perhaps the shower before you leave. The trip cannot be anything you are "organizing" and have stress factors to worry about others getting there on time etc. These things will take all of your attention.

Give it a go and let me know if you managed to trigger one of these mind states but got your subconscious targeted at a creative problem you were actually trying to solve.

As always good luck on your side hustle!

How to get past your creativity block and why you should try new tools for your design

Let's explore why the tool has nothing to do with the art, but why the different tools can help you open up your creativity. We can explore other ways to get you out of your rut, no matter what you are designing or trying to be creative about. What tools have you determined will help you solve your problems? Why are you stuck? Lets try beating designer's block.

"A Poor workman blames his tools"

We've all heard the saying to some effect - and it applies to engineers and designers as well, but it's not the whole story. Here's an important part not to get wrong - this doesn't mean that tools have no effect on the overall outcome. This can't be true as there would be no point of their existence at all.

So let me unpack a little bit, tools enable, they are an extension of a user, a great designer can design on a napkin if necessary. So, no, you can't always blame your bad work on bad tools, but there is merit and skill in knowing which tools actually work (not just based on reading the reviews and picking on a 5 star rating!), the most experienced professionals will know which tools would be appropriate for a job personally.

BUT. Let me interject here with a reason why there is value in using other tools, even if you have found "the one" in terms of your perfect tool for the job.

Depending on the tools you decide to work with, you are inherently locked into a certain framework, certain pros and cons that come with said device. You have likely picked the tools based on comfort first, and then perhaps some experience you have around the tool or knowledge about it for the job.
You have then determined that other tools cons are not best for the job.

That.

That is precisely where the value can come from. Here's my situation currently. In a previous post, I talked about using Gravit Designer and how I have determined that was going to be the tool I used for 10Up development.

Sometimes you get stuck

The problem is, I got a little bit stuck when designing the new graphics. Now, I'm not sitting here blatantly blaming my tools and saying the designer tool I've chosen is why I can't create the right graphics for my app. But because of the fact that I was stuck, for me it generally  means time for a change.

From another well known quote "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different result", well in this instance it was time to look for a new angle. And that new angle was going to come in the form of new tools.

Change it up

Think about it. You try to solve the same problem using some different tools and different places and in some cases you can expect different results. This is precisely what I was going to do. Change tools. Not because the first tool was broken, but to create a change of pace, change of angle, different perspective, whatever you want to use to explain it, but the inherent cons in the frameworks forced upon you by specific tools may just be what the doctor ordered.

Typically you hear about getting in a different mindset, going outside, looking at other solutions, mediating, etc. But I thought, no, let's try this.

Design the same problem with different tools

So, I got myself a Wacom Intuous and started playing with Piskell App for creating pixel art and Sketchbook for drawing ideas (Yes a pencil and a napkin can also suffice) and started trying to design for the same problem, starting with completely different tools.

At first I just started creating whatever I could create, but eventually that got some juices flowing onto my original problem. The great thing here is the fact that even if you don't completely solve your issue, if you have gotten past a certain design hurdle - boom - all of a sudden you are back. Reverse engineer that idea and come to the original place of work and execute.

You're simply searching for a trigger and other tools may not be where you really want to develop your idea the forced perspective may be all you need.

And 1 more reason

Changing tools may help you with your creative block but there is one more reason for the technical experts out there and it is tying back to what I said at the beginning of this writing
"the most experienced professionals will know which tools would be appropriate for a job personally"

As a professional you owe it to your self learning to use tools you never have in order gain personal, physical experience with other tools and further yourself as an expert in your craft!

As always, good luck to all on your side hustles. If this helped you or made you think at all, share it with your friends and family! You never know who could need it.