I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I enjoy playing online solitaire. The games with many decks to play with. I love the feeling that I’m solving some sort of puzzle. I know, I know, get a life, right? But when I’m tired and have some down time and don’t feel like doing anything brilliant, like, say scrub my bathroom floor or clean my oven, it’s just mindless fun.
Except when I don’t feel that I have any more moves to make. Then I can either hit the refresh button and get a brand new game… or step away from the game for a few minutes. When I return, I’m always surprised at what a fresh view of the game I have. Moves that were invisible to me five minutes prior are suddenly crystal clear – sometimes I can even finish and win the game!
I find this process helpful while designing – whether for print or web. Sometimes, I have everything that I need: excellent copy and great input from the account executive on what the client’s needs are, my computer is ready, and with my notepad next to me, the ideas come together beautifully. Other times…not so much. I struggle or, even worse in my opinion, second guess my viewpoint. I can’t seem to get anything on paper that I like or feel is right for what the client is looking for. At these times, I wish I had that little handy refresh button that we have on our computers. However, good design doesn’t happen by hitting a button and coming up with an idea instantaneously. We need time to think about what we’re doing, and how it works for the client and their branding – all the while thinking about the work that will be representing our agency. It’s a fine line to be able to satisfy all of these criteria while also staying within the budget and timeline. And we do it. And we do it well. But sometimes, well, it can be more difficult to do than at other times. Do we not understand the project/product? Is the input received not good? Is the timeline too tight? How about that budget? Do we want our name on a project that doesn’t quite work? Sometimes we just need to walk away and look at the project differently. Hit that refresh button in our heads and view the project in a different way. There are all sorts of ways to do that and I think each person handles it differently. Finding out what works for you is so important. Stepping away and getting a breath of fresh air works for me. Coming back gives me the opportunity to look at it with fresh eyes – and sometimes I even win the game!
