If you find yourself in one of those moments when publicity doesn’t flow properly, stress is killing you and your deadline approaches.

If you’ve been here before, KEEP on reading:

1. Read a lot. The best way of increasing our idea flow is to constantly read. And I’m not talking about only design-related material, but any magazine, book or article in general. Science fiction is the bomb. The illiterate graphic designer will always be more troubled by “creativity winters”. Some times the least expect book can give you great ideas for the future.
2. Unplugg yourself. How many times have you found yourself trying for hours and hours to solve a problem, up to the point of exhaustion, and you get nowhere? This happens because when we’re troubled we cannot think straight and we find ourselves in front of an empty desktop. Go take a walk or simply breath some fresh air. Close the copybook for a while. Turn off the computer and leave the room for a while.
3. Think upside-down. Most of the time you want to know what’s going to be the best solution for a problem or you do anything to figure it out. Stop for a second and think, what if do it upside-down? Great findings and discoveries happened by accident. Let’s say for example, you need to create a package for the next Barbie doll, you think immediately pink, cute, fashion… but what if you think black? transparent? metallic?
4. Keep ALL your ideas. You never know when that silly song you were singing way home is going to come handy. Never throw away any thought that crosses your head. Any idea, as silly as it can be, treasure it. If you can, always keep a little copybook and a pencil so you’re ready when ideas strike.
5. Don’t fear mistakes. Many times the fear to failure or perfectionism limit us and make us think we must be perfect. Let me tell you something, you’ll be making mistakes, sooner or later, so relax. It’s ok to make mistakes from time to time. Great mistakes have lead to great discoveries, so leave room for mistakes.

Source: Planetoide Blanco