Hey everyone, does anyone have any advice on how to come up with concepts/ideas for personal graphic design projects?

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  • This is a great way to showcase your interests and problem-solving process.

    Have fun; as with any kind of play it helps to have rules and parameters:

    Who are you talking to?
    What are you trying to say?
    What is the desired outcome?

    Then throw in an approach:

    Disrupt a misconception.
    What is the single thought that needs expressing?
    What is the vital point of differentiation?

    My best advice would be, get started, the inspiration will follow.
  • It depends what you want to do it for – if it's just for fun, just focus on whatever intrigues you and explore it without agenda. If it's to expand your portfolio or be more relevant for clients, you could observe a specific problem or issue show you can demonstrate your ability to tackle it.
  • @Magda Paszewska It was mostly about the topic because I find it difficult to have a really cool idea for a personal project. Or sometimes I do have a good idea and then when I actually start developing it doesn't seem so good anymore...so I guess it's also a problem of staying excited for it
  • Hi Ana,
    Great question. I think this is a struggle for any professional while starting up. So what I do is that I write down the brief on a piece of paper for a better understanding of what I expect from the project and then I try to highlight the various keywords that capture the essence of what I want to do.
    Then comes visualization after which I try to look for inspirational visuals (probably using the similar keywords) on pinterest, giving a clearer picture of how the ideas would look presentable.
  • Hi Ana,
    There is a super cool account on instagram called The Brief Club (@briefclub). They give prompts etc and you can also see what other designers do with the briefs. This is a great way to just kickstart yourself and then you can then creatively expand on the project.
  • Find a subject that you like, this can be anything from a flower you saw on the street to a new shirt that you just bought, anything really. Use that as your primary design subject and expand on that.

    For example I used an egyptian carving of a pharoah and designed a mockup wine design based on the carving.
  • I like to find events for music and creative workshops and just create posters for them
  • Hi Ana, are you looking for a project's topic or concerned about creative process itself? When it comes to topics, I usually look for something actually is close to my heart, usually social or ecology matters

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