The Demo Site

Web designers, like any creative person, can suffer from writers block. But because of our work, there are many ways you can learn to deal with the blocks and get unstuck. These six suggestions have worked for me to get new design ideas in the past and will work again.

1. Be prepared for procrastination to try to block you. When I'm working on a new design or article idea, I find that that's when ideas for other projects will come up. For example, I might start thinking of ways to paint my office, about the wool I need to wash, or a possible location for a new kitchen garden. I realize that these are just ways of procrastinating, but they are also things I'd like to do. So, if I'm writing or working on a Web design, I write them down and continue brainstorming my current project. I've found that if I write down the things I want to procrastinate, they don't press as much as they would if I try to simply ignore them.
2. Start in the middle. For some reason, many Web designers feel an intense need to start at the top of their Web page and design down. Yes, ultimately, you'll have to think that way about the HTML or CSS, but when you're working on a design, you should focus on the most important part first - and that's not usually the navigation, branding, or advertising found at the top. When writing content, the same is true, I've found that if I start writing with a title, my articles are usually completely different than what the title says. So I have to write a new title when I'm done anyway.
3. Step away from the computer. I've found that it can get very easy to get hung up on technical issues like HTML or JavaScript when I try to do an initial design on the computer. While I do most of my rough writing drafts on the computer, I do most of my designs on paper first. For one thing, they're easier to erase and scratch out. Plus, since I use scratch paper for most rough drafts, so if I decide I hate an idea, I don't feel bad about throwing it out.
4. Take the time you need. Planning is one step in most projects that is both the most important and the least used. Most people, including Web designers, prefer to jump right in and start building things. If you prefer designing a page, you probably get out Dreamweaver or Photoshop immediately after starting a project. If you prefer developing pages, you probably jump right into the PHP or JavaScript to generate behaviors. But most Web design and development projects end up over budget, over time, or not meeting the requirements - and this is usually because the planning phase of the project was glossed over in favor of action. Take time with your planning and when you think you're done, take a little more time. Planning won't hurt your designs, but lack of planning will.
5. Ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask for help, but be sure to find people who can provide you with constructive criticism. It doesn't help if they are too effusive about how wonderful it is, but someone who can't find anything good is also not a lot of help.
6. If you're really stuck, do something else. The idea is to get your mind off of the problem you're working on. This can allow your subconscious to think about it unobstructed. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to sleep and woken up in the morning with the ideal solution completely formed in my head.