How To Generate Ideas Like A Surface Print Designer?
A surface print designer’s head is usually swimming around with surface pattern ideas they’ve gathered through an accumulation of sources. Yet, at times even they find it hard to know where to start a design.
But that’s just one of the problems; sometimes, there’s a design in the head, but there’s no idea. But don’t fret; today, let’s discuss how surface designers can generate inspirational ideas for their patterns. Knowing these sources, even you can become a designer yourself and make your patterns with a bit of ingenuity.
Ways To Generate Thoughts Like A Surface Print Designer
Mind Mapping
Mind maps are a streamlined, visual method for gathering ideas. You can create a central idea which is your starting point, and then branch keywords from that idea. These keywords can be further developed by adding extra branches, color codes, or images.
Mind mapping works exceptionally well for a surface print designer as it’s a central theme they’d usually work on. It narrows down the focus and makes the idea clearer in mind.
Sketching
Doodling or sketching something is a quick and easy way to get an idea down on paper. It’s a visual type of mind mapping that you can employ using the same techniques. Grab your favorite pencil or art line pen and give yourself 10 minutes or so to generate ideas as clearly as you can. Again, don’t judge or be too self-conscious when letting the ideas flow.
Observe The Surroundings
Looking at what’s around you can be a reliable and productive way for finding some inspiration. These can be literally in the sense of just getting out of the house and experiencing the world. This could also be simply taking a walk around your neighborhood and looking at all the details around you, such as trees, streets, people, colors, etc.
A surface print designer will also visit art exhibitions, galleries, or the local library to find inspiration. What’s more, you can find inspiration simply by looking outside the design area you focus on. For instance, you can try to find an idea for a surface pattern by researching unrelated topics to spur ideas.
Taking Breaks
If you find yourself stuck or blank, you don’t need to exert yourself. You need to take breaks now and then. This gives you a bit of time to think about ideas and things more clearly. Getting an idea could take up a couple of days, and often you’ll find many ideas flooding your mind. Every surface print designer takes their time to untangle the flood of thoughts and streamline their primary design idea.
Brainstorming
The ultimate method to gather your thoughts and get an idea for a design is brainstorming. When a surface print designer is stuck somewhere, they give themselves some time to develop as many different ideas as possible.
You’ll astonish yourself with how many ideas you’ll be able to think of using this method. The trick is to note down every idea that comes to mind as quickly as possible without overthinking. Of course, there are many ideas that you will discard, but you are guaranteed to find some that you can work with.
You must remember that no idea is too crazy, and the more, the better! In a team, if you’re lucky to have friends that’ll brainstorm your thoughts, you’ll be able to generate even more of them. It’s true when they say two heads are better than one.
Bear in mind a team should have a rule not to criticize any ideas so that everybody feels free to share crazy ideas. There’s no hard and fast rule to brainstorming, too; you can do it however you like, either by mind mapping or writing down words, etc.
Let Those Ideas Accessible,
To generate ideas like a surface print designer, you’ll need to choose either or all of these ways. Then again, maybe you don’t need to; the possibilities and sources for inspiration are endless and variable. Restrictions? Only a few and far between.