Some days your creativity is flowing and everything seems to work, while other days you start to question whether you'd do better as an accountant. If you are working, or in school for a creative field, chances are that you've felt this creative block. Don't you worry. Below are seven ways to open up your rivers of right-brained genius.

Sometimes we all have a tendency to overthink things a bit. We see the whole project and are overwhelmed. If you break everything down in your instructions to the bare bones, one sentence or phrase at a time, it may help you gain a better grasp of the elements of the assignment and inspire a solution.


Sometimes you just need to stop staring at your computer screen and free your mind. A five- to ten-minute break won't hurt, and can actually improve your productivity in the end. Find whatever works for you; whether it's a quick walk outside in the fresh air, a mindless doodle, organizing the chaos on your desk or a (quick) Instagram check. When you come back to your work, you may be surprised to see the solution staring back at you, and you're left thinking "How did I miss that?"

Ask a creative friend or coworker how they'd approach your challenge. Chances are this new set of eyes will find the creative key you'd been missing. Even if you don't follow their suggestion, it may very well inspire a new direction for you. Or, you could combine what they say and integrate it into your own creative resolution.

Revisit the project assignment and ask yourself these questions: Who is your audience? What is the objective? Sometimes you get so lost in your work that you forget that the essence of design is to effectively communicate. You could be spending hours on a design, and fail to realize a simple fact that the hierarchy of type you're using is ineffective for the intended purpose of the project.

Completely change the canvas you are working on to a new, blank one. If you're stuck in Illustrator; moving a logo one pixel up and one pixel over, take out some paper and start sketching. Sometimes starting from scratch can awaken your creativity in a way a computer screen cannot. Don't worry about being precise; just let your ideas flow. Another route is to print out your work, then draw your edits on top.

Decide that you're going to discard anything you create in the next half hour, and then go at it. When you release the pressure of finding the perfect solution in the first try, you can get all the bad ideas out of the way. Have a cheesy or cliche idea that won't leave your head? Do it. Now that you see how utterly ridiculous it is, you can move past it. Also remember Coco Chanel's famous saying, "Before leaving the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory," and simplify your design to what is working.

There are countless sources of inspiration throughout the internet. From designing specific sites like Dribbble and Creattica, to StumbleUpon and Pinterest, you're bound to come across something inspiring. Your creative spark can also come from research that will elevate your work. For example, if you're working on a horse racing piece, you could research the history of horse racing or Google vintage race tickets. By incorporating this style and knowledge into your design, it also gives it purpose. You can even try searching for random keywords which may help trigger creativity. You never know what cool creativity will be inspired.