How to Get Out of a Design Rut 

By OCI

Last week I let you in on my little secret – my love of green. That confession sparked the idea for this blog. Sometimes a designer needs to take a step back and look at their work. It can be difficult to notice you’re in a rut sometimes!

Do you notice any repeating design elements? Maybe you’ve been using the same font on all of your recent projects. Or maybe all of them basically have the same composition.

I’ve been through several design ruts in my career. First it was squares – they had to be in every design. Then it was thin lines – there wasn’t a headline that could be without them. And most recently, it’s the color green. I still can’t get enough of it!

We all get into our own little ruts from time to time…maybe you’ve eaten the same lunch for the past three months, or have had the exact same hairstyle since 1993. While most of the time these things are harmless, as a designer it’s important to maintain a fresh, unique look for each project. So here are a few suggestions that I use when trying to break free of a design rut:

1. Check out what others are doing. Pull out recent design annuals or find some online design forums to check out. One of my favorites for logos is logopond.com. Even looking at new color palettes on colourlovers.com can inspire you (okay, me) to move out of your color comfort zone.

2. Call a collaboration and get your coworkers or friends opinions. Getting fresh eyes on a project can often add new life to it. Just make sure to remind everyone that honest answers are better than polite, “that looks nice…” answers.

3. Scrap it. Sometimes starting over with a blank slate is easier than reworking what you currently have.

Those are my solutions for pulling myself out of a rut. Do you have any other suggestions?