Mind Block

well here it goes... i dont know exactly if there is help for what i have...but for some reason i have this mind block that i cant think of anything....i can use the software reallly well i just cant think of things to do ... i can see someone else's design and make something of my own .... can anyone help me out ?.....

We have talked about this many times before. Get off the computer. Go do something. Go for a walk and take in the sites. Ideas will come to you. I love to walk downtown and just give everything an extra look. Sort of study the lines and the shapes of everything. Or look at the type on signs and ask yourself why things were done like they were. Don't take the scenery for granted. If you look beyond the surface at just about anything, you can find some inspirtation.

But the important thing is getting off the computer for awhile. It's a killer. Also, sketch things. Don't rely on your brain to remember all your ideas.

well yeah..

Spectra is right.. get off the computer. That will get you quite a big deal further. And as said, study everything twice. Look at commercials, posters, whatever, and ask yourself why its "layouted" the way it is..

maybe even takes pictures (if you have a digi cam), just if you stumple across something cool ...

Or if you have a mental condition, ideas should come flying to you likeeeeeee

wh[size=4][i]o[/size]oOOosh![/i]

... or that might just be me.

Yeah, i haven't been on the computer for about two weeks, and i came back with so many ideas.

Nos.

I'll tell you my design process when I am embarking on personal projects (for what it's worth;)).

Find something in society or culture that fascinates you. It may only be a passing fad and it really does'nt matter what it is, be it straw donkeys or egyptiana, as long as you engross yourself in your current absorbtion totally you can't fail to pull inspiration from it.

Think of the wide world of diversity out there, Kabuki Theatre from Japan, Breakdancing and the genre from the US, Binary Art, Scanography, M.C Escher, No Logo by Naomi Klein, why packaging is the way it is - is there an alternative?

I think you get the idea, or at least I hope you will;)

happy thinking

One of my fav techniques: Think about you current "style", and do the EXACT OPPOSITE!!

Quick ex w/ me. Last 6 months i didnt touch PS other than to make my website. So i wanted to get back into PS. I tried making a graphic/collage type thing..... as i usually would....but didnt work out too well. So what did i do? I went and photographed food. Seriously. Then i brought it into PS...cleaned up the photo (like it would be a magazine photo)...and ideas have been rolling out ever since. Not just food-ideas. Any ideas. It just opened up the door to my brain.

Just try something crazy that you would never do.

try to copy someone else and f*** up big time. works for me.

I always have way too many ideas, but not enough skill to create them.

*tries to learn more of Illustrator*

We all emulate the latest design trends to some extent, but the trick is not to become subservient to them. I recently found myslef making vector shapes of Deer (with antlers), why? because it's of the moment and in fad. Thankfully I pulled myself up just in time. Not to say that the idea is pure design wank just that it is a little overdone and over-used. I think the same can go for grungy rainbows with muted colours.

I like these kind of designs as opposed to the circular rings of varying thickness transposed onto crosses that conform to a 45 degree rule.

I am not saying there is nothing original in design or that old ideas re-hashed are weak, just that we should not always seek to emulate or parallel our contempries or forefathers, rather innovate and explore new avenues, no matter how banal these may seem.