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There are times in life where everything goes well, people like your work and you get more and more clients. But sometimes the “business” stops, work flow decreases, you get bored and uninspired, and you stagnate. The reasons behind this can vary, but mostly it’s just because you’re feeling uninspired and have lost your drive. It’s very easy to lose inspiration, when we are not surrounded by a learning and inspirational community.
You know you love what you do, so don’t quit. In order to counteract the situation, you need to go further, learn new things, and adopt new work methods. You will find out that maybe you just need a push or build your own motivation and energy to go forward, or that maybe you are just afraid to step up.
So grab a pen and get ready for new resolutions.
Tutorials are the best way to improve your skills. Setting this goal for yourself ensures you don’t stagnate and keeps you motivated. Repeating this process every day or at least every week is half-way to success, and it’s also entertaining. If you like several areas, try to invest in a different area each day. 1stwebdesigner, PSDtuts or Photoshop Lady are great examples of free and high-quality tutorial resources. Ten years ago, web designers and developers didn’t have the possibilities you have now, and they still managed to evolve. Those people are now teaching you for free, while you remain in the comfort of your home.
If you have favourite design layouts, icons, effects, etc, you should try to recreate them. Sometimes the best way to learn is finding out how others did it. If you can’t get there, ask for help. There are also plenty of great Photoshop to HTML tutorials out there, which can help you discover how some effects and functionalities are built. As soon as you recreate your favourite work pieces, you reach the same quality level as the author on that moment, and you are ready to the next level.
I don’t know about you, but for me redecorating my workspace is a plus for motivation, and helps my creativity. I’m not saying you need to buy new furniture, but move your desk or monitor to a different position, or stick a poster on your wall. The same old workspace layout and routine discourage your will, creativity, and motivation to work. Sometimes, you may realize that having two monitors side-by-side instead of having them apart, or having your desk near your books, will tremendously increase your work efficiency.
There are great books and magazines out there. I personally love magazines like Web Designer and Computer Arts, but you have so many more to choose from. They are inspiring and have plenty of good tutorials and articles. Books are another invaluable source of information, and although I don’t read books very often, they are truly another great addition to your shelf . Reading 15 pages a day is quick, gives you valuable insights, and at the end of the month you realize you have read an entire book. Do the same the next month. I also like to read interviews, I believe it’s a great way to learnnew things from the best in the field.
Having an active online, and if possible offline presence is an important learning and motivational process. Try to be involved in conferences, events, workshops, etc. They are extremely useful to increase your list of contacts and ideas. Also try to talk with everyone and not only designers, since they are not your potential clients.
The first thing you need to do before you start any web design or development project, is to put your ideas on paper. You don’t actually need to use a Moleskine - I’m just a fan. But if you need some motivation to start organizing your ideas, grab a sketchbook and take it everywhere. It can really improve your brainstorming, organization and work process.
Books and Magazines are not the only material you should read. Personally I believe blogs should be number one on your list. Reading daily articles gives you good insights, ideas, tutorials, inspiration, and much more, which helps your work tremendously. Do not forget to share your ideas by commenting on other people’s work, and write your questions every time you have them.
I’ve started to do this recently and I realized it increased my work performance tremendously. I personally love to use http://teuxdeux.com, but it doesn’t really matter which software you use or how you do it. The important thing is to keep your work and life organized. Start your weekend by planning your week, or at least try to plan on a daily basis.
One thing I always like to do is to read about new apps, web apps, and software, that can help me improve my work. Woopra is a hosted analytics service which I didn’t know anything about until I searched google for “Web Analytics Tools That Rivals Google”. A great tool doesn’t necessarily need to be immediately known.
Working as a freelancer can be very isolating, and the will and motivation to keep going is what makes the differences between the good and the great. Never forget about the one rule – Don’t stop.
Everyone has strengths, you just need to find yours.
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I am a Portuguese UI/UX designer, visual designer and writer. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology and Multimedia and I'm addicted to web technologies and design. Feel free to check my work on Behance or Dribbble. You can also follow me on Twitter.
Friday, July 8th, 2011 03:39
Read, write, talk, build. It’s surprising how few developers and designers actually follow that advice.
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 10:55
Wonderful Article, Thanks a Lot.
It come when I actually needed it most. This means lot to me. Going through depression personally, This gives me new energy to do things (new & old).
Thanks again Ruben :)
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 06:43
This is very motivational. Like you mentioned, just don’t stop. Consistency is the key to being successful. I’ve practice these steps for awhile although some not as frequent as others. Reading this served as a reminder of what I love to do. Time to get back in the game.
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 03:56
Wow.. nice idea.
I would like to web designer but i don’t know how.
Thanx for sharing this post.. :)
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 13:11
Thank You for such a wonderful article….
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 10:22
Couldn’t agree more with ALL of these. I do every single one already. The best one is grab a moleskin. I surprised myself how many ideas a day I actually had until I started jotting them down and reading them of a night. And some of my best work has come from my daily spurts of creativity.
Another excellent post – a fantastic resource!
Monday, June 20th, 2011 15:19
Brilliant article! You really know how we suffer in isolation! you’ve posed a number of excellent points – especially that of carrying around a sketchbook. You never know when inspiration for your latest graphic design will hit!
Keep more fabulous articles coming :)
Sunday, June 19th, 2011 13:35
This is a great article with useful links and a nice amount of “push” for the next few months for me!
Thy Ruben!
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 23:21
Thanks so much, I’ll try and use these tips and improve my designing.
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 11:46
Thanks for these good tips, they really help me a lot.
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 15:55
Hi again everyone!
I can’t thank you enough for those great comments and opinions.
You’re the best :)
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 15:17
the second one is useful .
recreate a design works is a good idea!
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 05:46
Thanks for your advice, I make most of them, the least I do is to redecorate my workspace.
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 05:07
Hi Ruben, I love you!!! hehehe
i like your post, and I feel totally identified with your opinions.
I feel like I’m the writer and not you.
so very good job.
Regards, Adán.
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 02:47
I like Do What They Do. You can read up all the tutorials on the web but if you don’t practice any, you will not improve on your design skills.
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 06:22
One difficulty with being a web designer, is isolation. But while I’m alone in my office, I am always interacting with clients, and I do try to get involved with like minded people.
I recently started a group on Facebook, so people who are interested in web and graphic design can get together, chat about design work, and share links to useful sites and resources. If you want to join, do a search of the groups for “trick out your website”, I’m sure you will find us.
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 10:51
Wonderful Article!!
I’m delving more and more into freelancing these days and articles like these are really helpful!!
One thing that struck me here though on the point “Do what they do?”
“As soon as you recreate your favourite work pieces, you reach the same quality level as the author on that moment, and you are ready to the next level.”
I think I disagree with this. I do believe this is a thing to do and it will increase our skills and quality of work a lot but becoming the same level as of the author doesn’t seem to be easily possible. The author whom we like possess a lot more innovation and ideas than we, his followers do. I’d say we stepped one step higher towards reaching the level of our star author!
Thanks!
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 03:33
Brilliant post Ruben. I’m a newbie on the scene and posts like these are inspiring for guys like me. Keep ‘em coming! ;-)
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 09:20
Ruben, thanks for your excellent insights. I also find that books, tutorials, articles and blogs are among the best sources for inspiration and motivation. As we stimulate our mind with intentional education and imagination, our world is enlarged. The impossible becomes possible.
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 00:37
Good post, I do about everything you listed on a daily basis, it’s a habitual routine. Another key element I would factor in during the downtime process is working on side projects. For example, I have a fan site I am working on for an MMO game that I’m currently active in. It’s not a commitment, but it benefits me in several ways, such as helping to build a solid community for the newly released game which directly correlates to helping the overall games success. With this site, I’m sure I’ll make a lot of new acquaintances, that could comment as well as advice me on my work. As for most things in life, the result will vary on your work, effort, and skill.
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 20:05
great post and great website. I just have arrived to this site, and I’ll keep for a long time! Very interesting and useful information and very motivative. Just what I needed, because I’m starting with webdesign, and I find nothing but troubles everywhere! Sometime ago I bought Artisteer thinking it was going to be the miraculous thing that would let me design sites without programming, but later I discovered that there is nothing like learning to program to be 100% free. And there’s where I’m now, learning about 960 system, WordPress, CSS, etc., to be a good designer.
I want also to say that, when I visit a site talking about design, that has a ugly design, I automatically close it (how can you talk about design with an ugly design?). But here I’m impressed. Even the comments are wonderfully designed!. Congratulations!!!
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 18:47
Thanks, I’ve been in a relative slump lately and this article has inspired me to try something new.
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 18:02
Nice…very motivate tips…it will definitely help many..thanks for sharing…!
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 11:24
Really great article, I love the part “Read Books, Magazines, and Interviews”…that’s a best way to learn :-)
thanks for sharing…
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 15:36
One of the Best Website that i ever seen, Great News from Ruben, That every one must follow this
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Srinivas Reddy
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 18:02
Nice…very motivate tips…it will definitely help many..thanks for sharing…!
Johan
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 11:24
Really great article, I love the part “Read Books, Magazines, and Interviews”…that’s a best way to learn :-)
thanks for sharing…
ragunath
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 15:36
One of the Best Website that i ever seen, Great News from Ruben, That every one must follow this
Chetena
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 13:52
Thank You for such a wonderful article.
It contains some really useful links and tips! :)
Stan
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 08:19
thanks for the post. Great ideas ! Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.
Jamie
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 20:16
I can only say I do at least 2 of these and the others here and there. I’m going to set myself the challenge of following all these tips for 7 straight days. Inspirational I would have to say!
Kyson Kane
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 00:32
Nice! I do about 7/10 of these. Really great tips!
Thanks for the share,
Kyson
Ruben D'Oliveira
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 16:30
That’s great guys. I’m glad you found the article useful:)
Don’t quit and Good luck
Chris
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 15:43
Thank you for the tips! As a new designer starting out these tips will certainly help me become a better designer.
Kris
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 15:37
Excellent post and although i try and make sure im doing tutorials regularly, there are some other good points that I will start doing / using :-)
Jackie
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 13:04
I am bookmarking this post for future reference when I get in a slump! Great tips here :)
Nattu
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 13:31
Thats very interesting article… I like it Mr.Ruben D’Oliveira… This article motivates me a best designer…. Thank u all……. Thats this is the first time i am replying to the article, thats because of ur article man…. Cool
by Nattu
Adam Huxtable
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 12:18
Great post, some really great ideas on self improvement. Especially the ‘Tutorial a day’ one.
Aaron
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 12:25
#1 is definitely a good idea to improve ourselves :D
John P
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 17:13
This is a nice article. I’ve been down the road where I sometimes loose inspiration and need to be inspired. This article has provided new avenue to seek inspiration. Great job!
Robin Cannon
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 18:18
Really good article with a lot of excellent advice.
I’d add one more vital suggestion though;
Stop looking at websites. There’s a real problem about web design being too self referential. If you only ever look at other websites for your inspiration, your own websites are going to look generic.
Make sure and spend a little time getting completely away from the technical side of things. Find inspiration in nature, in architecture. When you read books and magazines, look at non-web related publications too (e.g. I have a subscription to Vogue, and find lots of inspiration there which I can later implement in some way in a website).
Flavio Mester
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 16:13
Always useful to try new things, there’s always room for improvement especially if you’re stuck.
Gareth Torrance
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 15:05
This has been such a great read. I really need to make myself more active online and offline. I haven’t really been getting involved in the whole web design community, so I think its about time I get started. Oh, and I also use a moleskine.
Zeeshan Siddiqui
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 13:00
Very motivating article! I agree with others, the ’1 tutorial a day’ is something that every web designer needs to start doing.
rajasegar
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 19:13
Good read, thanks for sharing
Ransome
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 18:47
Thanks, I’ve been in a relative slump lately and this article has inspired me to try something new.
Almarma
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 20:05
great post and great website. I just have arrived to this site, and I’ll keep for a long time! Very interesting and useful information and very motivative. Just what I needed, because I’m starting with webdesign, and I find nothing but troubles everywhere! Sometime ago I bought Artisteer thinking it was going to be the miraculous thing that would let me design sites without programming, but later I discovered that there is nothing like learning to program to be 100% free. And there’s where I’m now, learning about 960 system, WordPress, CSS, etc., to be a good designer.
I want also to say that, when I visit a site talking about design, that has a ugly design, I automatically close it (how can you talk about design with an ugly design?). But here I’m impressed. Even the comments are wonderfully designed!. Congratulations!!!
Snarky
Friday, July 8th, 2011 03:39
Read, write, talk, build. It’s surprising how few developers and designers actually follow that advice.
Anil Pakhare
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 10:55
Wonderful Article, Thanks a Lot.
It come when I actually needed it most. This means lot to me. Going through depression personally, This gives me new energy to do things (new & old).
Thanks again Ruben :)
a.tomlinson
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 06:43
This is very motivational. Like you mentioned, just don’t stop. Consistency is the key to being successful. I’ve practice these steps for awhile although some not as frequent as others. Reading this served as a reminder of what I love to do. Time to get back in the game.