Designers are called upon to come up with creative solutions every day. While this is a large motivator for people to become designers, it is hard to stay out of a creative rut when balancing meetings, an overflowing inbox, and chat notifications constantly dinging. How can designers remain creative and engaged in their work while also balancing the more routine aspects of project development?

In this session, you’ll learn what common areas of a design process can drain your creativity and how you can use these areas as creative opportunities. You will be able to recognize when you are experiencing signs of being in a creative rut and how to pull yourself out of it. You’ll engage with creative play tactics to help you reshape your creative process as part of a regular routine. As a group, you will use these tactics to employ creative problem solving on several scenarios and learn from fellow designers. Finally, you will walk away from this session with a new set of creative tools and tactics that you can use on a regular basis, inside and out of work, to help you maintain a strong creative flow.

In this session you will learn:

• What points in the design process can hinder your creativity and how you can overcome those pain points
• How to recognize when you may be in a creative rut and how you can begin to pull yourself out it using creative play tactics
• Tools that you can incorporate on a regular basis to help reshape your creative process
• How working with other designers can help your ideas grow and flourish when using creative play techniques
• Short, daily exercises that you can do to help you maintain a strong creative flow

Technology discussed:

Mentimeter

Participant technology requirements:

Preferably a smartphone, but a laptop is also acceptable