One of the most frustrating moments in a designer’s life is experiencing creative blocks. There are times when I struggle to gain inspiration for a project. Sometimes I grow dejected because my ideas are not resulting in an end product that meets my expectations. Rather than giving up, I’ve found inspiration in a somewhat unexpected place: social media.
A common trend for designers is to look for ideas on design platforms. Some of the most popular are Pinterest, Behance, and Dribble. These online resources give users the ability to share work, as well as save projects. Throughout my academic pursuits, Pinterest was a commonplace in my design process. It serves as inspiration while also offering the beginning stages of a competition analysis. Behance and Dribble are resources that I’ve just started making use of. Behance is especially beneficial because it allows users to share processes in addition to final results.
Although the design platforms have helped me gain inspiration for an assigned project, I’ve recently been using Youtube and Instagram accounts to get excited about personal endeavors. Instagram allows people to share their projects and branding. They tend to showcase mood boards, smart typography, positioning and marketing through mockups. Plus, some accounts even provide design briefs to get your creative mindset going.
Some Instagram accounts I recommend checking out:
Abi is a designer that I follow on both Instagram and Youtube. She is a freelancer who mostly works with brands to create innovative logos and packaging. A range of content including mock-ups, design advice, and tutorials is posted. She also gives away planning templates to help designers create mood boards and set up process schedules. I also recommend checking her out because she shares creative briefs every month. These have great engagement which is fun because you can compare how you interpreted the prompt to others
2. @briefclub
The brief club is a community design page, where designers can share their projects and mock-ups. What is great about their content is the diversity of information. They post creative briefs, mood board inspiration, and final projects. If you create a design based on their briefs you can get featured on their page. They also share work on their Instagram stories which can further expose you to new design ideas.
Sarah Hutter is an illustrator who shares her designs and artwork on Instagram. She tends to make patterned artwork that could become wrapping paper or stationary. If you are more interested in illustration then her work is a great resource for gaining ideas.
Labstudiodesigns is run by Sammy who is a brand designer. Their work predominantly focuses on typography. She not only showcases her projects but she also makes informative posts; some of them include fonts of the month and free resources.
I found this account through their reels rather than their normal feed posts. The original video that drew me in was a tutorial on creating mascots for brands. They also have other helpful videos such as mock-up sites, favorite fonts, and finding a color palette. Their designs are fun and well done which makes them a great resource for anyone wanting to gain inspiration while learning new skills.
Something I love about Instagram is that your content will adapt to your interest. The “explore” page is a collection of content generated by your engagement and interests. Therefore by following and interacting with graphic designers’ content, more posts will appear on your page. This is great because it can inspire personal projects and help a designer see new ideas and methods.
Youtube is a bit different from the other platforms. On Youtube, designers can record their processes and thoughts along the way. This serves as a more interactive process. I’ve found it interesting to learn more about the way others design. This has helped me take inventory of my skills and the areas for possible improvement.
My two favorite youtube designers are Kel Lauren and Abi Connick. They are very eloquent when explaining their design process. Plus, they take the time to educate their viewers. Abi’s content is especially unique since she is a self-taught designer. As a result, she has gained a lot of her skills through practice and online resources. Both YouTubers are a great resource when I need to get inspired by strong design.
Creative block isn’t easy to overcome. I’ve found that inspiration can be hiding in many places. Social media offers infinite resources if you know where to begin your search. Applications such as Pinterest, Behance, Dribble, Instagram, and Youtube are amazing resources for designers to take advantage of. Plus, they can allow you to grow your network as you can share your projects to get feedback from others. Next time you feel stuck when working, try opening Instagram and seeing what ideas you can find!