Everyone could use a little creativity boosting every now and then. The following tips are simple ways to bring out your creative side.
1. Doodle more. When you're on hold on the phone, sitting at your desk, anywhere, just doodle.
2. Relax. Clear your mind of all your worries.
3. Experiment. Don't be afraid to try out your ideas.
4. Take a walk. You'd be surprised how creative you can be on a stroll.
5. Don't be afraid. Be reckless in your thoughts. Many great ideas have come from seemingly small ones.
6. Change something. Change the time you get up, your route to work, your brand of coffee.
7. Exercise. Exercising your body will help your body and your brain.
8. Daydream. Sometimes it's not a bad thing to let your mind wander.
9. Have intelligent conversation. Chat with other like-minded folks.
10. Carry a pencil. You never know when you might come up with an idea.
11. Laugh more. Stress less.
12. Look at adverts. For ideas, ways to improve them, and inspiration.
13. Express yourself. Don't worry about what other people think.
14. Play with toys. Go to the store and peruse the toy section.
15. Listen to music. All different kinds, let the music inspire you.
16. Get more sleep. Your brain needs a rest to be at its best.
17. Keep a journal. Write down your thoughts, feelings and ideas.
18. Have a cuppa. To give you a boost and spark your creativity.
19. Write. Writing will get your creative juices flowing
20. Take risks. And be comfortable doing it.
21. Get out of the house. Fresh air and a change of scenery will do wonders.
22. Do a jig. Blood flow is important, especially for brain function.
23. Eat breakfast. Try to include a bit of protein in there, too.
24. Have a bath. Clear your mind.
25. Think positive. Believe in yourself.
26. Read a book. Expand your knowledge.
27. Tell a story. Start from scratch and see where your imagination goes.
28. Collaborate. Don't be a loner - share your thoughts.
29. Throw a theme party. Planning the details will get your imagination moving.
30. Listen to a new band. Something you wouldn't normally listen to is best.
31. Meditate. Find somewhere quite and spend some time just breathing.
32. Start a dream journal. Your dreams can be crazy, but definitely creative.
33. Play with clay. Make a bird, an elephant, a shoe; it all stimulates creativity.
34. Take a class. Any class. Learning something new will boost your brain.
35. Make a collage. Get a magazine, cut up interesting pictures, and make some art.
36. Smell stuff. Take a whiff of some essential oils, flowers, or food.
37. Write a poem. Use juicy words, be adventerous.
38. Plant a garden. Play in the dirt.
39. Redecorate. Choose a room in your house and make a change.
40. Play with your kids (or someone else's kids). If that doesn't stretch your imagination, nothing will!
41. Visit art galleries. Make a day of it, and take your time.
42. Go to networking events. You'll be inspired by the variety of people and businesses.
43. Eat more chocolate. Chocolate is said to improve brain function, so go on, indulge!
44. Ask stupid questions. Then ask some more stupid questions.
45. People watch. Grab a cup of coffee at a cafe, sit outside, and take in your surroundings.
46. Choose to be more creative. The biggest piece of the creative thinking puzzle is deciding (and believing) you ARE creative.
47. Sleep on it. Make sure your "great" idea is still as good in the morning.
48. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts.
49. Wander through books. Go to a book store without any time limits.
50. Make a lunch date. With friends, co-workers, anyone, and dedicate your time to creative thinking.
51. Turn off the TV. Do something stimulating, not mind-numbing.
52. Walk in the rain. Get soaking wet and jump in puddles.
53. See a show. Theatre, dance, music, anything. The experience will excite your brain.
54. Listen. Concentrate on the small, usually unnoticeable sounds around you.
55. Write to someone. Not an email, not a text, but a real, tangible letter or card.
56. Brainstorm. Shoot out as many ideas as you can; the only rule: there are no stupid ideas.
57. Travel. Go somewhere new that makes you say "Wow".
58. Improve something. A recipe, your desk drawer organisation, anything.
59. Be curious. Look at things closely, ask questions, touch, feel, hear, smell, taste.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
59 Creative Thinking Tips - Be More Creative
Monday, 26 May 2008
Nav Bars: Don't Make 'em a Mystery
Ahh, navigation bars. Something so simple can so easily turn your website into a navigation nightmare.
All too often I come across a website and either
a) I can't find the nav bar
b) there are too many nav bars
c) the layout of the page is generally sloppy so I have to search for the nav bar
d) the nav bar labels are over-the-top "creative", so I have no clue where I'll be going when I click. If I want more information about a company, I look for "About Us" or "Who We Are" on their website. I'm not 100% confident that "Peeps" will take me to that information.
Check out the website below. What's the main issue here? There's no visible nav bar! I had to scroll down quite a bit to find it, and by then, I was bored and booked it off the site.
How about this one? Can you spot any problems?
The nav bar is (I guess) to the left, but is poorly configured and not clear, and there is an additional nav bar type thing at the top. It's jumbled, and there's just too many places to click it makes my eyeballs hurt.
What about this one?
Now that's what I'm talkin' about. The nav bar is smack right in front of you, you can't miss it. It's designed with a touch of class and obvious usability. I'm also particularly fond of the next example.
Though this company has a lot of pages to their website, they've configured it so each nav bar heading has subcategories, which makes it easy for me to find what I'm looking for, and it keeps things clean and simple (the key to any great website).
It's not important what type of navigation bar layout you use (horizontal, vertical, curved, etc); that all depends on your overall website layout. What is important are the following:
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Cedar Creek Tradesmen Know What's Up
I was just browsing through Ads of the World - it's endless fun looking at the creative genius out there on planet earth.
So I love these ads. A lot. These adverts were created for Cedar Creek Tradesmen - a company specialising in home renovations. Not only is the idea great, but the execution is great too; great tagline, great backgrounds, great photography, and great copy.
I don't know about you, but if I needed some help with a home improvement project, I'd call these guys. I have plenty of sketches on scraps of paper, napkins, and other various flat objects around the house with my "plans", that look very much like the sketches in these ads. They definitely got my attention. Brilliant.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
You gonna like it fool.
Our Creative Thinking Workshop is being held 31st July from 9:30am-4pm. The only thing better for getting your creative juices flowing is, well, nothing (that we can think of). This won't be your typical, stuffy business workshop. This workshops is just plain fun. No classroom setting here. You even get a yummy lunch. Check out Creative Thinking for more info and to book your seat, and you'll get £20 off if you book early. Oh, and sorry to disappoint, but Mr. T won't be making a guest appearance. We just think he's super cool, so included him in a mock-up advert. For now, I'll leave you with a quick & inexpensive marketing tip.
As the D2C website illustrates, we do lots more than just design stuff. We're always thinking of fun new workshops to help empower you to grow your business creatively.
Our featured summer workshop, Creative Thinking, is gonna come up quick!
Who doesn't like sweeties? I don't know a single person in this world who doesn't. A cheap way to make yourself memorable is to include a sweet (wrapped of course) in all of your posted mail. Wouldn't it be a nice surprise to get a mini Milky Bar with your past-due invoice? Or a licorice stick with your recent payment cheque? Including something like this in your mail will make you and your business memorable, which is the ultimate goal.
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Happy World Graphics Day!
Today is the 43rd anniversary of Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations); so let's party in celebration of World Graphics Day! In the words of Icograda,
"World Graphics Day is an opportunity to recognise communication design, its role in the world and to celebrate Icograda's anniversary. It has been celebrated internationally since 1995.
On this occasion, designers reflect and hope that our international network can contribute to a greater understanding between people and can help to build bridges where divides and inequities exist."
For more info, go to www.icograda.org
Graphic Design is more important and influential than most people realise. You experience the fruits of graphic design everywhere you turn; just have a look around. Got a pen on your table? Someone designed it. Have a magazine lying around? Yep, a designer did that too. Newspapers, greetings cards, clothing catalogues, billboards, price tags, your water bill letterhead, your kid's colouring books, all were thought out and designed by a graphic designer. Here's to all the designers who make the world just a little prettier.
Some shameless self-promotion: The kick-off Coffee & Creativity session will be held next month, how exciting! Check out our Workshops for more info.
Monday, 21 April 2008
Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Colour Psychology
Wooo nelly it's about time we had our own blog. What an exciting day in the life of D2C! I'll be jibber-jabberin' about all sorts of design & marketing related subjects, as well as D2C events and news. Hmm...what shall I start with?
Perhaps you'd like to know a little bit about your Supa-Fly Design Narrator. Who is the mysterious person behind the curtain? That would be me, Donna, and I think most of these blogs will contain the various wandering thoughts of lil' ol' me, with a few guest speakers now and again. The regular introduction bits: I'm a graphic designer, have been designing for about 10 years, I'm American, I like chocolate & peanut butter things, I'm a crazy business-minded lady with a knack for coming up with creative (though sometimes crazy) ideas, and I love what I do. There ya have it.
My goal for this blog is to give you something entertaining and genuinely informative to read when you're looking for creative info, tips on design & marketing, or when you're spacing out at work. I'll be giving out tips and tricks to improve your business creatively, and keeping you updated on the happenings of D2C.
Speaking of the happenings of D2C - I want to say a quick congratulations to a few D2C Stationery clients who got hitched this past weekend! Congrats to Janeal & Matt, Sasha & Tim, and Elizabeth & Andrew! I wish you all the best in your marriages - it's great fun! ;-)
For now, I'll leave you with a bit of design info that's useful for everyone:
Colour Psychology
Your choice of colour is more important than you think, especially in business. Certain colours convey certain messages, so here's some basics so you know the best use for what colour where.
Black: Black is many times used as a symbol of mystery, but it is also used as as symbol of power and authority. It is considered to be a prestigious colour, one that is used to signify high-class and formality. Some descriptive words connected to the colour black are strength, sophistication, mystery, elegance, death, and rebellion.
White: White represents innocence, purity, and goodness, but can also represent emptiness or blandness. White is associated with light, safety, purity, space, clean, empty, innocent, mild, bland, sterile.
Red: Red generally evokes strong emotions and is associated with urgency, energy, courage, love, and passion. It can also be considered an angry colour, or a colour that creates excitement, intensity or danger. Red is one of the most intense colours to the human eye, as it raises blood pressure and enhances metabolism.
Orange: Orange is a combination of red and yellow, so on an emotional level, it combines the excitement of red, and the happiness of yellow. Some general representations of orange are enthusiasm, joy, creativity, determination, stimulation, fascination, and heat. Many people think of the tropics or a warm holiday when seeing the colour orange.
Yellow: Yellow is associated with sunshine, cheerfulness, energy, freshness, and intellect. It grabs your attention over other colours (which is why the most common highlighter colour is yellow), but can have a disturbing effect if used too often. Yellow is considered a spontaneous colour, so it should be avoided when you want to convey a feeling of stability.
Green: The first and most prominent association with the colour green is nature. Green is a fresh colour, used to describe harmony, peace, growth, preservation, and fertility. It also conveys a feeling of safety and healing, and is the most restful colour to the human eye. It is also commonly used to represent money.
Blue: Blue is associated with tranquility and stability, and is commonly referred to as a deep and sincere colour. Blue is used to promote cleanliness (because of its association with water), and can also be associated with confidence, wisdom, faith, trust, healing, and knowledge. Blue is a stereotypically masculine colour, and should be avoided when promoting food and cooking, as it suppresses appetite.
Purple: Purple is a combination of red and blue, and combines the qualities of both. It represents a fusion of energy and stability, and is associated with independence, creativity, wisdom, luxury, power, magic, and ambition. Generally thought of as a feminine colour, purple is also preferred by pre-adolescent children (when surveyed, almost 75% of children preferred purple over any other colour).
Pink: Pink is a combination of red and white, and again, combines the qualities of both. Some shades can promote feelings of excitement and passion, while other lighter shades can promote feelings of purity, safety, and calmness. It is also associated with relaxation, femininity, acceptance, contentment, self-worth, and tenderness.
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