In Virtual First, the kitchen table has become my studio. It’s where I design and illustrate, my creative haven while my wife is at her office and my kids are at school. Like many of you, this setup feels very different to that of my pre-pandemic days, when in-person brainstorming meetings and off-the-cuff conversations in the office were the norm. My creative process has had to adapt in the last couple of years, to ensure I’m connecting with my team in new ways and continuing to find the inspiration needed to fuel my work. In this post, I want to share what’s worked well for me, in the hope that it’s helpful for you too. 

Do a solo deep dive

Brainstorming used to be gathering everyone together in a room to come up with ideas. Now it’s believed that this tends to build consensus rather than generate unique ideas. Instead, it’s advised to carry out a solo deep dive before coming together as a group. And it’s probably just as well, since we’re all working remotely for the most part. I also find it really helpful to conduct research on what other people have done to solve similar problems, for instance looking up images on Pinterest or Google Images before launching into my own designs. 

Remember — the solution is in the problem

Designers and writers tend to fear a blank page. One thing I’ve found helpful throughout my design career is to embrace narrow creative briefs. When the parameters are more clearly defined, it’s easier to come up with a better fitting solution to the problem. Think of finding that round peg to fit the round hole. 

You can apply this thinking to any kind of project — before you start, take a moment to think about the problem you want to solve. Write up the specific intent of the project in one sentence, without worrying too much about the details. Coming back to this throughout the project will help to ensure you remain focused on what matters. If it seems simple that’s because it is.

Ask yourself questions

Next is the “who” part — get yourself into the mindset of the person you are trying to impact, whether that’s a customer or fellow Dropboxer. You may have been given a body of research, user journeys, and customer profiles that discuss the intended audience, but nothing beats actually using the product or process yourself in order to get a visceral sense of who it is intended for. This will help you better understand any frustrations and how you can add value. If you have the chance, ask somebody else to do the same thing and take into account their feedback too. 

Let your ideas flow 

By this stage, you’ve defined the problem clearly in your head and built up a lot of mental material. Next comes the hard part of actually creating solutions. I sketch out many solutions with a pencil and a single sheet of paper. This process helps me make bigger creative jumps quickly without getting bogged down in details. Use whatever method works for you — the key is to let the ideas flow. Miro has a lot of brainstorming templates that are also great at this stage.

Remember that the key is to solve the user’s problem, not prove how uniquely creative you are. You shouldn’t feel bad about not coming up with an entirely new solution every time you’re concepting. 

Talk it through with somebody

Just as with therapy, a problem shared is a problem halved. Find time to talk through creative projects or problems with a colleague or friend, even if it’s just a casual mention during a relaxed conversation. It can be very beneficial to get input from someone outside of the project team — since they aren’t tied to the outcome as you are, it might free up their thinking and provide more insight into the problem.

Make time for the shower effect

How often do you find you have your best ideas when you’re in the shower or out for a walk? The “shower effect” is a real phenomenon whereby your subconscious bubbles up creative ideas when you are doing an activity totally unrelated to work. 30 Rock fans may remember this forming the basis of “The Shower Principle” episode! You can just as easily do something else besides shower, such as cooking, playing guitar, working on a craft, or exercising — anything to take your mind off the task at hand and spark some inspiration. 

These five simple steps always work for me — hopefully they will help to unblock you too. 

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