Creative stagnation ( creative crisis) - a situation familiar to many. Mental stupor, loss of inspiration, lack of fresh thoughts and ideas, loss of the ability to adequately evaluate the results of one’s own activities, emptiness - all these are signs of creative block.
If inspiration has left you and thoughts don’t come to mind, don’t be upset, you can fight it!
How to deal with writer's block
The problem of overcoming a creative crisis lies in its individuality, therefore, as in the case of getting rid of laziness, first you need to understand the causes of this disease. Ask yourself: “Why did the crisis arise in creativity?” By analyzing the causes of stagnation, it will be easier for you to overcome it.
If the cause is overwork (perhaps the main cause of creative stagnation), get out of creative crisis Rest or slowing down will help. Work without rest almost always leads to loss of performance, fatigue, apathy and depression. When you don’t forget about leisure, when you alternate between work and proper rest, you return to your work again and again - with a charge new energy, with enthusiasm and cheerfulness. You can go to a movie sometime motivational film, go to a photo exhibition or art gallery (the variety of visual images stimulates imagination and creativity), lie on the beach or go fishing. For some people, to get out of a creative crisis associated with fatigue, it’s enough to just get a couple of days of sleep and spend time with family, while others need a full vacation. It's all about the degree of fatigue.
« If I feel a loss of strength and loss of inspiration, I take a time out and go on vacation for a week or two, where I just look at people and listen to music. For me, this is the best option to distract myself, go beyond my work and overcome a crisis in creativity.». Kelly Gustafson (Photographer, Sweden)
Often a creative crisis occurs due to personal problems - a conflict in a team, a quarrel with a loved one, misunderstanding with a loved one, illness of a relative, financial difficulties, etc. Since a creative person is a vulnerable person, all these troubles can unsettle him for a long time. Overcome creative crisis It will help to realize that life, like the zebra, is a striped thing. Sooner or later, troubles end, and all the bad things are forgotten, but it’s better sooner rather than later to do everything in your power to neutralize the impact of personal factors on creative process. Take measures so that sadness and melancholy do not become the cause of creative stagnation - if you quarrel with someone, do not hold a grudge - rather, make peace. If you have made a firm and final decision to break up with your loved one or have been abandoned, as quickly as possible so that there is no hope in the depths of your soul, burn all bridges - start dating someone, move on with your life.
Sometimes a creative crisis occurs as a result of a lack of information. The only way out here is to find her. Everyone has their own secrets of searching, processing and recording information.
« Usually, when looking for inspiration, I go to a bookstore. A pile of magazines, books and coffee. Sometimes I take my computer with me, but mostly I flip through pages, read, look at other people's ideas, and learn a lot of things. Publications about art, culture, music, design, tattoos, sports - that's what I love most. I get overloaded with information and it almost always brings me out of a creative block..» Chuck Anderson (Designer, artist, Michigan)
« I go to the university library and pore through old graphic design publications and photography magazines, picking out things that strike my fancy. Then I go home, print them out and paste them into a special album for magazine and newspaper clippings. After that, I usually have a lot of ideas in my head..» Jasper Goodall (Illustrator, freelancer, England)
Another reason for a creative crisis may be the monotony of life and the monotony of work performed. To ensure that labor productivity does not suffer, in this case it is necessary new impressions. Diversify your leisure time, change the rhythm of life, and at the same time introduce novelty into your creativity (you can take on some unusual and unusual project or change your work process). Diversity and innovation can be introduced at a variety of levels - make new acquaintances, renovate your apartment or rearrange your office, etc. Creative crisis is afraid of novelty!
When the cause of creative block is dissatisfaction with your own work, you should objectively evaluate your work. Sometimes it happens that we are unreasonably critical of what we do (it’s especially hard for those who are prone to self-examination; Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Kafka often experienced similar crises). If the product of your creativity really leaves much to be desired, don’t be upset, work on the mistakes, try to understand how to make it better. Look at the work of your peers and competitors in your field. Think about what you can learn from them and what skills you are missing.
« When I feel creatively stuck, I go to places where I would like to become even better. I look at other people's creativity and thereby ignite my own creativity. For me, there's nothing better for getting out of writer's block than looking at the amazing things other people have made. Walking through galleries, museums and exhibitions makes me want to get back to work and do something special». Chad Hagen (Designer, artist, Minneapolis)
Crisis in creativity may occur in connection with work on a new large-scale project, at the beginning of which, or at any of its stages, a person may be overwhelmed by emotions. This happens due to many plans, a huge number possible options embodiment, interweaving of ideas that have no end or edge. A person is frightened by the scale, he doesn’t know where to start, his thoughts are confused, set deadlines prevent him from relaxing, and as a result, a creative stupor sets in. How to deal with creative crisis in this case? Solution - time planning And goal setting. Break the project into parts (this can help mind mapping), determine the time and timing of their implementation, make a list of tasks that need to be solved within the framework of this project. So step by step you will move forward in the implementation of the project, and already achievements achieved will inspire and motivate you to continue working.
Here are some more tips on how to get out of a creative crisis:
It is known that to achieve good results in any business, it is important to alternate mental work with physical work. As soon as you feel a creative crisis approaching, remember that the best medicine for the head is hard physical work. Go to the gym, volunteer to help relatives in the garden, in general, do something that will make you sweat. Physical activity will be especially useful for creative people because most of them have sedentary work.
« To get out of my creative block, I go for a long run. Fresh ideas are stored in fat, so if I burn some of my fat, I can release them and use them. When I go for a run, I take my mobile phone with me and write down the thoughts and ideas that arise in my head.». Justin Christmaier (Creative, California)
« Every time I have a question - “ Where to get a fresh idea?, I use music. Music is an endless source of inspiration; it helps me regain my previous mood. My works were created while listening to such musicians as Sigur Rós (my favourite), Air, Max Richter, Jonsi and Alex, Dead Can Dance, Hammock, Helios, Trentemøller, Johann Johannsson, M83, Olafur Arnalds...". Kim Holtermand (Photographer, Denmark)
« There is only one reason why I lose inspiration - I slept less than 8 hours. I don’t understand how people who are on a schedule and don’t get enough sleep can write anything at all.». Marina Akhmedova (correspondent of the weekly “Russian Reporter”, writer)
« When I get into a creative block, I do the following:
- I stand in the shower for a long time. Under running water I think something different. The water washes away all my previous thoughts and I feel renewed.
- I am tidying up. It's hard to think clearly when everything is cluttered.
- If the previous two methods did not work, then I go for a motorcycle ride and try not to think about the project at all.
In the end, somehow it helps me». Ji Lee (Google Creative Director)
« Being in a creative crisis is quite an unpleasant feeling, so I try to avoid it. In various ways I try to activate brain performance(mental activity) - read books, watch movies, listen to podcasts. It is also beneficial to meet friends who have other interests.». Dat San (Artist, illustrator, California)
What will help you get your work done without getting out of a creative stupor:
If you feel strong internal resistance and don’t want to work, you can persuade yourself to do at least something (work for half an hour or write at least one page) and see what happens. As you know, appetite comes with eating.
In moments of creative crisis, it is useful to have blanks (for example, when working as a journalist, the blank will be a started or completed, but unedited article, or some material left over from already published interviews and articles). Perhaps they will not help you get out of a creative crisis, but during a downturn in work they will help you not to lose the trust of customers or management.
At a time when you are overcome by creative impotence, so as not to sit idle, tormented by thoughts about when the pangs of creativity will stop, do work for which you usually never have enough time - sort the papers in the nightstand, buy stationery, take care of organizational issues, enrich your knowledge by reading special literature, etc. In a word, get ready for the return of the Muse, because when she visits you again, there will be no time for routine matters.
« Sometimes I have a problem in my creativity, and I seem to know how to solve it, but it seems so difficult that I give up. Overcome uncertainty in own strength I succeed with the help of one trick - I switch to another job, simpler and unrelated: cleaning up the garage and throwing out unnecessary things, finishing a blog post, painting office switches. Successfully completing many small tasks gives me confidence that I can do anything. And when I return to the unsolvable problem again, it already seems like another item on my list. And no creative crisis!» Christopher Simons (Graphic Designer, San Francisco)
For any person, a creative crisis is a test, for some it is severe, but for others not so much. In any case, if it occurs, you can always use the above methods to normalize your workflow. Also, tips for getting out of a creative block will help not only cope with a crisis in creativity, but also help prevent it.
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Brandon Turner
Entrepreneur, investor, author of several books and Chief Editor social network specializing in real estate. Brandon developed his own algorithm, following which you can forever forget about what a creative crisis is. Using it, he was able to write 250,000 words in a year.
You firmly decided to write something, sat down to workplace, opened a laptop and a text editor, but inspiration suddenly disappeared somewhere insidiously. A good half hour has passed, and you continue to sit in front of a completely blank page.
It doesn't matter what you're trying to write: a book, a blog article, or anything else. Writer's block, or writer's block, is a very real thing that will slow down your work and be incredibly annoying.
It is unlikely that any of us can absolutely guarantee that every day, under any conditions and weather, we can easily issue one, or even several.
Inspiration is a capricious and fickle thing, so you need to be able to write without waiting for it. Below we will look at four simple tips that should help in this situation.
1. Use "kindergarten" tricks
Remember when you were a child, teachers probably asked you more than once to complete an assignment in which you had to fill in the blanks with missing words. Something like that:
My favorite color - ________.
My mother's name - ________.
When I grow up, I want to become ________ because ________.
It’s unlikely that you experienced any particular difficulties in completing this task then, right? There was no talk of any creative blocks. The reason for this simplicity is that the topic has already been determined in advance and all you have to do is simply enter the right words to suitable places.
This is why filling in the gaps in your work is considered the easiest way to overcome writer's block. A detailed action plan will help you. The more details and subtleties you can pre-think and mentally place in your still imaginary text, the easier it will ultimately be to write it.
Today, before answering letters to the right people, I spent five minutes outlining in general outline every thought that I would like to convey. Therefore, when it came time to write the letters themselves, all I had to do was just “fill in the gaps” for each specific letter, expanding each idea point by point. Writing letters did not take much time: it only took half an hour to sort out the mail. I only got through it so quickly because I didn't have to make any decisions. It wasn’t like I just sat there and thought, “Hmm, what should I write about today?”
Brandon Turner
The most difficult part of the job is the decision-making process. Therefore, if you cope with this task in advance, then much more. Don't complicate things: when you realize that you can't move from a dead point, just remember this naive kindergarten method.
2. Take cues from professional athletes
Have you ever seen a professional golfer getting ready to put a ball in the hole? Have you noticed how a basketball player shoots a free throw? Or how does a baseball pitcher throw a ball?
playbuzz.com When athletes are about to perform a trick that they've done a million times before, they almost always stick to some kind of pre-established routine. For example, they take three steps to the right, spin the ball in their hand, or bounce it off the floor. They all have a little ritual that precedes the routine action.
Why do they need this? A pre-established order helps to tune in to the correct execution of the action and strengthens a kind of “success mindset”. The same rules apply to writers. It's time to come up with a couple of rituals for yourself.
When Brandon Turner wrote his first book, his daily routine was very simple:
Get up at 5:30.
Drink a glass of water.
Do a five-minute exercise.
Sit on the sofa for a while (always in the same place).
Open laptop.
Review your pre-planned action plan.
Start “filling in the blanks.”
Brandon says he followed this every day for a hundred days and never experienced writer's block. Thanks to a clear daily routine, he immediately began to work, limiting the impact of all distractions that could lead to loss of performance.
- Write in the same designated place.
- Write at the same time.
- Listen to the same song before work.
- Use the same text editor for writing.
- Write every day. Nothing kills routine faster than the weekend.
3. Add a little weirdness
This might sound a little outlandish, but Brandon says it's one of the best ways to overcome writing challenges.
First, decide who you are writing for. No, you don’t need to come up with an abstract character of some gender, age or profession. Find the real one, for real existing person, for which you will write.
Once you've found your lucky winner, print out their photo (yes, this is where things start to get weird). You shouldn’t print a huge portrait, limit yourself to a small photo card. Place it near your workplace (no need to stick needles into it).
Now all you have to do is write for that person. How would you explain the topic to him or her? How would you tell your story? It turns out that, instead of writing to some unknown reader, you are now writing for a specific person. Surprisingly, this little trick really works.
4. Write as much as possible
Often the cause of creative impasse is not a lack of inspiration, but a banal one. You start writing, then you re-read, and after a moment you are already overwhelmed with total dissatisfaction with yourself. The only question you are asking yourself at this moment is: “Who even wrote this damn thing?”
Instead, just slow down. Stop, take a break. You are now too unsettled to move on, doubts have crept into you about your writing skills. This is why you are stalling.
When I write, I just write. I don't edit, I don't look back, I don't try to double-check every sentence. If I feel stuck, I just write more. Even more. And then a little more. After I finish writing my daily quota, I may come back to tweak the text a little, but I never let self-criticism take over. Continuing to write is the best option for me.
Brandon Turner
If you feel like you can't write, don't panic. To overcome writer's block, try putting some of these tips into practice.
Sooner or later, any freelancer faces creative block. And, as a rule, he remembers for a long time that unpleasant feeling when you realize that you cannot come up with a single worthwhile idea. When your head is full of cliches and it is extremely clear that the customer will not accept any of the proposed options. And you won't be able to make money. Creative block is a truly serious problem, comparable in significance to creative burnout, which can deprive a freelancer of his ability to work for a very long time. But unlike burnout, which is most often a consequence of extreme fatigue, the causes of creative block are somewhat different. What are these reasons?
Hard work
Many freelancers, in pursuit of good earnings, completely forget about work discipline and begin to overwork. Some are even proud of this, believing that being tired from work gives some meaning to their work. This big mistake. In a field like freelancing, fatigue cannot be a measuring stick. successful work. Quite the contrary, if a freelancer feels completely exhausted and overwhelmed at the end of the working day, he is clearly doing something wrong. And the chances of “catching” a mental block in such a would-be specialist increase significantly.
Yes, to be successful as a freelancer, you need to work hard. Nobody argues with this. But work is different. It is extremely important for a freelancer to maintain his creativity at a certain level, otherwise he simply will not be able to regularly produce original content. And this is exactly what is required of him. Customers do not need an executive worker, they need a person who will solve their problems. A person who will look at the problem with a fresh look and offer the most optimal solution.
In order to never encounter creative block, it is best to eliminate all the reasons that could lead to its occurrence. And the most common cause of mental blocks is fatigue. For a freelancer, if he wants to constantly stay in good creative shape, it is very important to find his balance between work and rest. All successful freelancers have long understood that in order to get everything done and make good money, you don’t need to work a standard eight-hour day. Everything a freelancer gets paid for can be done for much more a short time, if you plan everything well and stay focused on your work. After which you need to give your brain a rest. If you don't do this, generating new ideas will become much more difficult.
Wrong priorities
Any serious freelancer strives to plan his work, otherwise you can get bogged down in routine and completely neglect everything. But you need to plan wisely, setting your priorities correctly. Working according to a plan has a huge number of advantages, but there is also one big disadvantage - for some freelancers, the to-do list can be the cause of creative block. The fact is that the work plan itself is a document that forces work. And for many this is a problem. Nobody likes to work under pressure, especially creative personalities. But you still need to work, which means you need to do something.
If creative block occurs because the most important things turn out to be unpleasant, then the To-Do sheet needs to be redone. Freelance work should never feel like torture, no matter how difficult it may be. If you try to generate ideas “because I can’t,” sooner or later your creative powers will dry up. Man is not a machine; in terms of creativity, his resources are extremely limited and one cannot thoughtlessly waste one’s creativity on low-priority work. Cases that require fresh thoughts and an innovative approach should always have the highest priority. Therefore, such tasks should be scheduled in the schedule at a time when the freelancer is full of strength and overflowing with creative energy. This approach almost completely eliminates the possibility of mental blocks.
Difficult clients
In most cases, the freelancer himself is to blame for the occurrence of creative block. But sometimes trouble comes from outside if you come across a difficult client. A freelancer can gush out new ideas as much as he wants, but if the customer does not accept them, sooner or later creativity will drop to zero. What to do in this case?
The answer is obvious - you need to be more careful when choosing clients. If the customer himself does not know what he needs, working with him will turn into real torture. In such conditions, mental blocks will appear literally at every step, because it is very difficult to generate ideas if you do not know what exactly needs to be done. There are many ways to get a picky or insecure customer to become more accommodating. And the most effective of them is the brief. Because the lack of a brief is very often the cause of creative block. And what more project, the more detailed the brief should be.
A brief is like a guide for a freelancer. It describes everything you need to do, this ready-made program actions, which in itself is an incentive to work and generate ideas. If there is no brief or it is not specific, this can lead to the fact that at some point the freelancer loses his bearings and simply cannot move on. And each of his next steps will be accompanied by a creative stupor.
Procrastination
Sometimes it can be very difficult to understand whether writer's block is the cause of procrastination or not. If a freelancer tends to leave important tasks until later, it will be very difficult for him to generate new ideas. Many freelance procrastinators know how much they influence creative activity constant delays. It is very important to understand that procrastination is not laziness, but a psychological phenomenon and the approach to solving this problem should be completely different. If a freelancer knows that he is being lazy, then he simply does not have enough motivation. But if he procrastinates, then this indicates that something is wrong with his work.
There are many reasons why a person begins to procrastinate. But most often, procrastination occurs due to improper planning. For example, if a freelancer sets himself a large and important task. The sheer scale of the problem that needs to be solved can cause an attack of procrastination, which in turn will lead to the appearance of mental blocks.
If creative block is caused by procrastination, then you first need to figure out what exactly is preventing effective work. Something is clearly stopping you from starting to do what you need to do. More often than not, the mental block is caused by some not very interesting work. To combat procrastination and free up creative energy, you can use the so-called “Swiss cheese” method. That is, do not “eat” a large piece of conventional cheese (work) at one time, but bite off small pieces from it. Any work can be divided into several stages, each of which will be quite simple to complete and interesting in its own way. If a freelancer realizes that he has a creative block due to the fact that he cannot proceed to the first stage, then his best bet is to find a task that will inspire him. The most important thing is to start working and it doesn’t matter if the freelancer changes his priorities a little. But this advice is useful only to those who often experience bouts of procrastination. For a disciplined freelancer, poor prioritization will significantly reduce work efficiency.
High expectations
Overly high expectations can also lead to creative block. Sometimes a task seems so interesting that a freelancer loses objectivity. It begins to seem to him that in order to cope with the problem posed, some non-standard moves are needed. Needless to say, attempts to create something brilliant usually remain just attempts. And then comes fatigue and the understanding that there are no original ideas and it’s unclear where to get them.
Inflated expectations are a real problem that can affect creativity. In order not to fall into a creative block due to unfulfilled hopes, you need to look at things realistically. A job is just a job and it needs to be done as well as possible. And no more. And if, while working, a freelancer continually encounters mental blocks, then this means only one thing - the task at hand is beyond his capabilities. Yes, this happens very often. If creative block is caused by a difficult task, then the freelancer has little choice. He needs to either give up the job or hire help. No other way.
Instead of a conclusion
Freelancing involves intensive mental work on an ongoing basis. And you need to understand that during work there may be various problems, including mental blocks. Yes, creative block is an extremely unpleasant thing, but you need to be prepared for its occurrence, since it is part of the job. To stay in good creative shape at all times, you need to follow a few simple rules. For example, don't recycle. Or don't deal with problem clients. Over time, any freelancer begins to understand what exactly can lead to creative block and builds his work in such a way that it does not interfere with the emergence of new ideas. And even if he faces writer's block, he always has a few reliable ways to cope with an unexpected problem. After all, the absence of ideas in one particular head does not mean that there are none at all. There are always ideas, you just need to find them and implement them. And the more a freelancer knows about the reasons for the appearance of mental blocks and ways to bypass them, the more successful his career will develop.
How often has this happened to you? You open the file with the work you started or the notebook with it (if you write by hand), stare blankly at the white sheet for a minute and close it. I think this state is familiar to many creative people. And if some are unfamiliar, then they can only envy. Or doubt that they are telling the truth.
What is this strange condition? It is called stupor, creative crisis, lack of inspiration, etc. How to overcome this nasty state and return to the normal rhythm of work?
To begin with, I will give a few phrases. And you put mental checkmarks where you recognize yourself at the moment when you think that you are in a stupor.
1. I’m not in the mood to write at all today. Maybe it will appear tomorrow?
2. Now I’ll look at my page in contact (Facebook, SI, etc.), look at the latest updates, see what’s new with my friends, answer the message and immediately start writing.
3. First I will drink coffee, eat cake, turn on some music to get me in the mood and immediately start writing.
4. I’m completely fed up with work, I can’t devote enough time to creativity. Plus a lot of housework. You also need to meet friends, help so-and-so, go there. (The stream of thoughts can concern anything, but the main thing is that they all attack you at the very moment when you opened the ill-fated novel and are trying to force yourself to write it.)
5. Without inspiration, nothing meaningful will come of it. Therefore, today there is no point in even trying to write something. It will still turn out to be garbage.
6. I am mediocrity, no one likes my works anyway. The critic Pupkin said that my work sucks, and the critic Loshadkina said that I would never learn to write. So who am I kidding? Why write anything at all if it doesn’t matter? normal result will not be?
The list can be continued indefinitely, but if you have checked even one box, you are driving yourself into a creative stupor. You can't blame anyone but yourself for this. Vitya, Masha, Petya, Vasya will not come and the magical Muse will not fly in on the wings of inspiration and write anything for you. If Muz flies in on one of your rare lucky days, then you will shoot him down on approach, so that next time he flies as rarely as possible.
Why can someone put out 3-4 novels a year without really straining themselves, but you couldn’t even write one this year? Do you think that he has it, but you don’t? Nonsense and more excuses. It’s all about perseverance and inner attitude. Don't expect to get something without putting in the slightest effort. Everything is in your hands.
If you are determined to complete the task, start immediately, and do not wait until tomorrow or the New Year.
Guide to action:
1. Remove things that might distract you. When you open the file, the Internet should be tightly closed. No tab should be open. If you find it difficult to stop answering calls, or if you get confused by the beeping sounds of your smartphones or tablets, turn them off too.
2. Banish extraneous thoughts from your head. All other thoughts and problems should be banished from your head for this half hour, hour, or any other amount of time that you decide to devote to creativity.
3. Create a creative atmosphere. If music or dim lighting helps you concentrate, create that atmosphere. But if they distract you from your work, work as usual.
4. Create a special mood in your head. Don’t think now that tomorrow at work you will need to do this and that, take the child to grandma, and so on. You will have plenty of time for these thoughts. Now try to immerse yourself in the world that you describe in the novel. Dive in headfirst. If it helps you, imagine yourself in the place of the hero who is now the focus of your attention. Get into his shoes and live these minutes as his life.
5. Just start. It's enough to write a few sentences and that's it - your brain will start working. And you can no longer be stopped. You've caught inspiration by the tail. That’s right: it doesn’t come when it wants, it’s always with you, you just stubbornly don’t notice it. It is enough to understand this simple truth - and you are always on top.
6. Write regularly. The more you take a break from creativity, the more difficult it is for you to get into the right rhythm again. Even if you miss two days, it’s hard to get ready. I’m already silent about weeks and months. Try not to take long breaks. Even if you write just a page or a paragraph, that already counts. You keep yourself in great writing shape.
Think of writing as exercise. If the second is necessary for your body, then the first is for the divine spark with which you are endowed, unlike many others. Don't bury your talent and act like a petulant child by rejecting it. Who will be better off if you give up and succumb to your laziness and reluctance to work? It will be better than a bunch of your competitors who are rubbing their hands gloatingly. Will better for the critics Pupkin and Loshadkina (Wow, we killed another boss. We're cool!) One more loser. Do you really want to be such a loser? Your will. It's only worse for you.
But if you want to prove, first of all, to yourself that you are capable of something in this life, go ahead. All in your hands!
P.S. For those who will now start coming up with new excuses (I don’t have time, I’m so busy, etc.): How much time have you spent reading this article? How many times before have you clicked your mouse aimlessly, opening and closing various Internet pages? Even if 10 - 15 minutes, then think about the fact that during this time you could write a whole page. And don't talk about what you couldn't. They could, they just didn't want to. This is the whole point - just want and do it.
Anyone who has ever completed any creative task is familiar with the situation when work has stopped, inspiration has disappeared, there are no ideas, and everything around is distracting and does not allow you to gather your thoughts. In English there is a special term for this - creative block. The author of the ISO500 blog decided to ask popular designers, artists and representatives of other creative professions about how they overcome writer's block and where they get their ideas, and ended up with 15 tips on how to regain lost inspiration.
Kim Holtermand
The Danish photographer, who specializes in architecture and landscape photography, started his career just a couple of years ago and continues to work as a fingerprint expert in the forensic department of the Danish police.
“Only music can return my creative spirit - it is an inexhaustible source of creativity. Many of my works were created with tracks from Sigur Rós (this is music for all times), Hammock, Max Richter, Air, Dead Can Dance, Helios, Johann Johannsson, Jonsi and Alex, M83, Olafur Arnalds, Trentemøller... In general, I I can go on forever."
Jasper Goodall
Freelance illustrator based in Birmingham. She promotes her own swimwear label, JG4B, and calls them wearable art.
“Several things help me: first, get away from the computer. Go to some city I haven't been to before and just wander around: I sat down in a café in Berlin one day and so many ideas came to mind that I honestly didn't know what to do with them.
I also go to the library at the local University of Art and Design, where you can look through old editions of design and photography magazines. Then I come home, print out the articles and pictures I like and paste them into a thick notebook. After that, there are more than enough ideas.”
Eric Spiekermann
Legendary German typographer, professor at the University of Bremen, compatriot and successor of the pioneer printer Gutenberg. He considers his interest in printing to be an incurable disease and calls it typographic mania.
I have 5 tips:
Take a break. Do something else that will distract you - wash your car or sort through old files on your computer.
Think. Sit back in your chair and just stop controlling your flow of thoughts.
Explore. Search for information, pick up your old projects, but avoid Google -
you can spend too much time before coming across anything useful.
Make sketches. Drawing is great, even if you are completely incapable of it. Visualizing thoughts immediately revives them.
Divide. Take your mind off the problem, break your project into small parts and put them back together into one whole.
Ji Lee
Currently holds the position of Creative Director at Facebook. Before that, he worked in a similar position at Google. He not only conducts creative developments, but also gives lectures all over the world - including giving a master class at St. Petersburg State University.
“When “ideological block” sets in, I do several things. I take a long shower - old thoughts are washed away there, and I feel renewed. After that, I clean the apartment: I can’t think when there’s a mess all around. If there is still no result, I go for a bike ride around the neighborhood and try not to think about my project at all. One way or another, this scheme always works.”
C Scott
Graphic designer and illustrator from the UK, famous for his 3D paper models. Lectures at Leeds College of Art and Design, and periodically at different cities peace. His clients included Vogue, Nike and Tiffany&Co.
“It happens to me quite often that I can’t come up with anything, but this happens to all creative people. I realized that there is only one way to overcome this: do not sit and wait for inspiration to return, but continue to work, use all the ideas that you have, no matter how inappropriate they may seem.”
“There are only two creatives in our studio. For each individual project we involve different people, freelancers who, in our opinion, are most suitable for the job. We are always looking for sources of inspiration and make sure to write them down so that we can return to them again later if necessary. These can be objects on the street that your eye catches (they must be photographed), books, fashion shows, films, blogs, etc. So every time we start new project, we discuss things that can put us in the right mood, and we make mood boards - collections of pictures that inspire us.”
MINE
A San Francisco-based graphic design studio with nothing on its website other than this one statement: “We make books, packaging, graphics and interactive campaigns for scientific visionaries, educational revolutionaries, best-selling authors, museums, giant telecommunications corporations and Hollywood producers."
You are stuck if you seriously believe that there are no ideas, you don’t know how to get out of stagnation, and if you know how to get out, but doubt your abilities. In these cases, you need to do this:
I ask myself, am I really stuck? Sometimes we still generate a lot of ideas, but for some reason we convince ourselves that this is a creative crisis. And then, a creative crisis is also something new: you need to perceive it as a new experience.
I do nothing. If you're stuck, it means you can't clearly identify the problem that's stopping you from moving on. The best medicine in this situation is a new perspective. By abstracting myself from the problem, I can look at it better. I can go to the cinema or to a museum - one way or another, new experiences themselves will lead me to the right decision.
I switch to what I do well to remind myself that I'm awesome.. Sometimes I know how to solve a problem, but the solution seems very difficult. Then I take on others, simple tasks: This could be a blog post, cleaning out the garage, whatever. By completing tasks quickly and well, I become convinced that I can do anything: and even that most difficult task seems like just another item that needs to be crossed off from the to-do list. And no unnecessary panic.
Airside
A creative agency from the UK that knows exactly what ideological stupor can lead to a dead end and what to do about it. The creators of the studio, which won many awards from D&AD and Design Week, decided to close it this year and take up their own projects: record a music album, go to Tokyo, go to work for another agency.
“Set your alarm for 5 am. When it rings, either get up and enjoy this unique time of day, or go back to sleep and have vivid, crazy dreams: since you will be in the stage of REM sleep, they will remain in your head even after you wake up, and will charge you with creativity for a long time. all day.
Don't sit and wait for something to pop into your head. Don't read magazines, don't search on Google - go outside, to the theater, to a museum, for a walk. Be sure to turn off your phone and do not take your computer with you.
Expand your area of interest. The more you consume a cultural product, the better you can understand what your client ultimately wants to see. Exchange opinions with colleagues, look at your project from different angles.
On the other hand, you can, on the contrary, not listen to anyone, abstract from all the rules and work the way you feel and how you like. If you are tired of the fact that in the creative industry everything comes down to a compromise between the client and the performer, just rely on your creative instinct and try to infect others with it.”
“I have a lot of tricks for such situations: for example, look at photos on the Internet, change your desktop to a table in a coffee shop and much more. But the best thing to do is just talk to your friends. They look at things completely differently than I do, and they tell you a lot of new things: they can throw in a cool inspiring photo or just cheer you up good words- it always makes you move on!”
Invisible Creature
The Seattle-based design studio's two founders are former punk rockers who embraced the DIY aesthetic and incorporated it into their design work. We received orders from Esquire, New York Times, Nike and Sony.
"Leave. This one has simple word there is a million possible scenarios. We're just leaving the office. We never know in advance where we will end up: it could be a bookstore, a cinema, a park, a forest, a river bank, or just a house. The goal is always the same - to find something that inspires. It doesn't have to be something new: it has to be something that makes us want to come back to our desk, pick up a pencil and start drawing. We also hold our weekly meetings not in the office, but in a local cafe - we always get to sketch out more good ideas there.”