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How Can A Graphic Designer Work Faster?
Designers also desire time. It is time to be motivated, to dream, to explore, to invent, to meditate, to search dribbble, to browse through a couple of medium papers but look at the pictures and read the names. It is just part of the artistic process, you realise.
However, in the real world, you will often find yourself in a position where you need to deliver something tomorrow, and in those circumstances, you absolutely have to deliver.
Next to that is the “fact” that if you have a relaxed deadline, you will most likely spend the majority of your time searching for “inspiration,” leaving you in a situation where you would run to produce something. Basically, if you have a close deadline or want to procrastinate, being swift would only favour you.
As you might be aware, architecture is an iterative process in which you experiment again and again before you find the right solution. If you are fast, you can try more things, figure out what does not fit, change it, and hopefully find an even better solution.
It would be best if you also went beyond and above the call of duty, exceeding the client’s or boss’s standards. Furthermore, by doing more, you not only increase your odds of coming up with something brilliant, but you also improve yourself, and practise makes perfect. There is no such thing as talent; you become good at something by repeatedly doing it, and the more you do it, the better you become at it.
1. Define your aims
When you are in a hurry, it is tempting to turn into “design mode,” but this strategy can potentially slow you down. Some designers would rather take some time before the outset to pause and think about what they want to do so that when they do start, they have a specific goal in mind.
Without a target, it is the same as going to practise shooting with your eyes closed. You could strike something, but it would be much easier if you can see the mark.
This does not take you long, but do not use that as an excuse to put it off.
2. Do not wait for creativity to strike
There is no such thing as a “creative block”; you may not always be able to design amazing things, but you can design something; just get started.
If you are looking for consistency, you might be waiting for the stroke of brilliance to strike, and you might think it is not a waste of time because it will all be worth it in the end, right?
When you were waiting for the muse to appear, someone else might have put down idea after idea, maybe not so great ideas at first, but with the power of iteration, this person will keep on improving, maybe a crappy idea becomes something nice if you take only a slightly different angle and in the end, they would have a better result than someone who was waiting on the one brilliant muse to appear.
3. Keep sketching
Many designers always start with sketching, regardless of the problem they are trying to solve. It is one of the quickest ways to transform abstract thoughts into something concrete and see how they can succeed.
It takes you very little time when you are not yet committed or attached to these proposals, making it easy to discard them if necessary.
It may seem counterproductive, and if you want to be swift, “doodling” may seem to be a step between you and the final thing, but it isn’t because you actually do not know what the final thing is yet. Since you are experimenting, you can do it easily and cheaply. You can get different points of view, and you may get the input you need to move the concept to the next stage.
You might also realise that the plan does not succeed or get a recommendation that requires you to discard all you have done so far; if this is the case, you would rather do so early in the process, when your investment is small, and you are less attached to the work.
Another benefit of sharing the job is splitting the feeling of ownership with others. For example, if you are working in a team and share your work with peers, it is more likely that they will back you up and help you sell the concept when you go to a design critique.
4. Listen
Sharing is meaningless if you do not listen to the suggestions you get from others. And be sure to listen to what some have to say before deciding whether or not to take it into consideration.
When you are planning, it is possible to get lost in your own thoughts. It is also easy to dismiss ideas that come from people who may have less knowledge of the topic than you. However, it is important to note that you are not building for yourself but for others, so you can never focus entirely on your own opinion.
That being said, you are the expert; listening does not indicate that you would automatically implement whatever others suggest; it merely implies that you should not disregard it. You take that to heart, you separate your ego from your design, and you really try to figure out why it makes sense to do something about it.
5. Design in stages
If you want to move quickly, you should not waste time on specifics because you do not even know if the basic plan would work; instead, concentrate on what matters. That is why you should try to split it down into steps so that you can have checkpoints where you can share something and see if it makes sense to move on to the next level.
6. Take frequent breaks
Another one that may seem strange, but the moment you take a break and step back from the dilemma, the answer may only come to you.
This is for the same reason that the best thoughts come to you when you are showering or exercising. The fact that you avoid constantly attempting to solve a problem gives your brain a rest and allows it to “run” in the background. Subconsciously, you are making a series of insightful correlations, and an idea falls into your mind without you even realising it.
This ensures that taking a break not only helps you to have an uncomfortable conversation next to the coffee maker but also provides you with energy and allows the brain to process ideas and come up with new options. Get a chance to study graphic design online with Blue Sky Graphics and launch your career.
