Flexing your design muscle

image via The next web

 While researching a blog topic I managed to come across an interesting article from 99u.com about designing badly on purpose. 

As a talented creative, you probably shudder at the thought of purposely designing something badly. Why would you possibly do such a thing, other than out of passive aggressiveness towards an infuriating client? (Bad idea.) UX content strategist Jerry Chao suggests that purposely designing badly can be a great tactic for conquering creative block:

There’s a big difference between having no good ideas, and no ideas at all. Chances are, the more bad ideas you have, the more pressure you apply to come up with good ideas. In these cases, the best way to beat designer’s block is to get all the bad ideas out of your system.

Try designing a mockup in which you make all the wrong decisions on purpose. You may find it strangely productive.

For starters, you’re exercising your design muscles a lot more than just staring at a blank screen: designing badly is better than not designing at all. On a deeper level, designing a purposefully bad mockup forces you to think critically on the same topics, but from a different perspective. If you can figure out the worst place to stick a call-to-action, for example, that will shed some light on the best place. This kind of productive distraction allows you to think about solutions without actually thinking about them. -Allison Stadd, 99u.com

image via The next web

I never thought of my initial design concepts as a tool to clear out all the noise, let alone designing badly on purpose. This topic took me in the direction of techniques used to flex your design muscles. I started to think back on taking Creative Concepts a few semesters ago, and exploring different brainstorming activity every class. We tried everything from word banks to drawing outside, eyes closed, with the pencil not leaving the paper until we were done.

Smashing Magazine suggest challenging yourself by designing with a theme everyday.

Actors rehearse their lines until they learn them perfectly. Musicians practice their songs until every note is just right. Athletes practice their particular sport so they can excel. As designers, why can’t we do the same? 

The articles list some examples with interviews of the creators.

Daily Drop Cap is Jessica Hische’s personal project: she designs a drop cap every day and makes her designs available for free download.

 Make Something Cool Every Day 2009 by Brock Davis.

Here is Brock's advice on designing.

What are some challenges associated with designing daily? 

Coming up with ideas I feel are original. I always strive for originality — it is almost impossible to attain but the effort often conjures interesting results. Another challenge is simply finding the time to do it. I have a full-time job in a creative field, so I have to separate my professional ideas from my personalideas. I have a family as well, so I tend to work late and think when my children are in bed. 

Do you guys have any activities that you use to flex your creative muscles, or have you seen any interesting techniques?