Todd Sumamno
When a writer struggles to come up with the words they need to complete a project, we call it “writer’s block.” We wish there were a similar term to sum up the same situation when it happens to web designers. We all know the pain and frustration of sitting there in front of a screen, desperately willing inspiration to come from nowhere and tell us what to do next. No matter how good your skills are and how much work you can get through in a normal day, there will be times when the well of inspiration runs dry, and you have to ride it out.
When we’re struggling for inspiration of our own, we often look to external sources to provide it for us. We don’t mean that we directly steal things from elsewhere, but something as simple as a pleasing color palette or a way of framing images or text sometimes stands out to us, and by adapting it into our own work, we suddenly find that our “writer’s block” has disappeared. Ideas start coming to us again, and we can press on with our work.
We want to make that whole process easier for you. If you’re struggling for design ideas or you feel like your usual styles are beginning to look a little tired, here are a few places you might want to look to for inspiration.
We know that this is the most predictable answer we could possibly have given, but Pinterest is as popular as it is for a reason. We realize that some people don’t like it – and others seem to hate it with a furious passion – but it’s still a website where thousands of artists and designers share their ideas for free. You’ll get hundreds of results for every variation you can imagine on web-design related searches. Most of them are likely to be terrible, but there will still be plenty of good ideas there that you can take and build on. If you can’t see anything that takes your fancy at all during a long scroll through Pinterest, we don’t think it’s writer’s block that’s the problem. It might be that you’ve lost your passion for design altogether.
Online Slots Websites
Bear with us on this. We know that this is an unconventional choice, but think about it. When you’re a web designer, most of the jobs you’ll be asked to do are for clients who want you to build a site that they can make money out of. Who makes money-making websites better than the people who make online slots websites? You might not want to borrow significant elements of the design or aesthetic of an online slots website, but consider the aesthetics of them. The people who build these websites have created a kind of web design shorthand that puts people in a position where they can play casino games within seconds of their arrival on the homepage. Studying slots and casino websites will teach you a lot about simplicity and streamlining. Don’t overlook them.
Awwwards
You’re looking for the very best in web design ideas. Where better to find them than the place which hands out awards for exactly that? Remembering how many instances of the letter ‘w’ to type into your web browser is annoying, but aside from that, this is a hotbed of cutting edge design and genre-challenging ideas. The site claims that it’s regularly visited by some of the best web designers in the world, and the content suggests that they’re telling no lies. New content is added every day, including a daily ‘site of the day,’ so you’re never more than a click away from a new idea. Helpfully, the site is divided up into multiple categories, including things as basic as color, so you should be able to find what you’re looking for even if it’s only the most trivial element of design that you’re struggling with.
99Designs
There’s a lie in the name of British web design portal 99Designs, and that’s the fact that there are way more than 99 designs available on this website. What makes this site a little different is that it doesn’t only feature the designs, but it also offers you the chance to connect directly with the people responsible for the designs and collaborate with them if you so desire. There are thousands of web design portfolios online for you to browse through as well. Most of them have been posted by people hoping that you’ll contact them and offer them a job, but there’s nothing to stop you from flicking through and seeing if anything attracts your attention. You’re perhaps more likely to find a unique idea here than you are on Pinterest or Awwwards because it’s not as well known as a website. That should mean that there are fewer people picking through it and taking design choices.
Go To An Art Gallery
Sometimes, sitting in front of a computer doesn’t work for you, even if you have got every single website on the internet to look at for inspiration. A change is as good as a rest, so have a chance of scenery and go outside. While you’re out there, head to the nearest art gallery and spend an hour or two looking at what’s on the walls in there – especially in the modern art section. You might not necessarily get any amazing design ideas by staring at Renaissance paintings, but you might find exactly what you’re looking for in something abstract. Perhaps it will be a shape. Perhaps it will be a color. Perhaps it’s something else that neither you nor we can imagine right now – but it could be there! Never forget that web design is an art form, and the best place for an artist to take inspiration from is other artists.
Writer’s (or designer’s) block is awful, but it doesn’t mean that you have to struggle with it alone. The entire internet is at your fingertips, and inspiration can come from anywhere. When it doesn’t, go outside and find it in the real world. Sitting there and becoming ever more frustrated with yourself won’t achieve anything, so do something proactive instead and open yourself up to the work of others. It will make your days much easier!
Brittany
