10 daily creative design project ideas to get you inspired
As designers we are always looking for new ways to stay creative, but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start away from your job. There are many articles that will tell you why exploring a sideline or self-initiated creative project is important, but I found little resources providing ideas on what to do.
That’s where I’ve put together a list of project ideas that could help you get started. Most of you will have seen the 36 days of type or daily UI challenge, so I’ve tried to pick some more unusual approaches.
1. Illustrate a personal challenge to overcome it
This may not seem the most obvious design topic, but pushing yourself to create art daily around a subject you find difficult can really help overcome it.
Lauren Lee works on a great series called 100 ways to worry, in which she makes charming illustrations to help overcome her anxiety. By openly and honestly depicting the worries of herself and others, she is able to turn these into a daily positive exchange.
Not only does this type of project help you personally, but you’ll probably find many others relate and benefit from it too.
2. Animate words or phrases
Words are a really great starting block for creativity as they already have many connotations and emotions attached. When starting with typography as a base, why not collaborate and produce something that explores different languages?
Khyati Trehan’s work is a good example how animating words can be a worry free playground to experiment. It’s also great practice for those just starting out learning animation.
3. Match your medium or process to a new place
This one is great for anyone looking to start a project whilst travelling or on vacation. We can get stuck in our ways using the same tools and processes when working in the same city or office, so why not let other cultures and practices inspire you?
Niteesh Yadav is a graphic designer who worked on a series called India Through Type. Whilst travelling through India, Yadav produces typographic experiments which are based on the rich culture he finds. From hand painted elephants, to food typography from the vibrant spices, the results always break away from his normal creative practices.
4. Practice your established style with a new medium
There’s no reason why a sideline project can’t be closely related to what you do for your 9–5, but so that it doesn’t feel like work it’s good to distinguish between the two. One great way to achieve this is to roll with something you are familiar with, such as as typography, but repeat the work using a new material instead.
Emma Ruth Hughes spends time making embroidered words. It’s a good excuse to learn a new craft or skill, and if you’re on a computer a lot, swapping your mouse for some sewing or chalk art could be a welcome break.
5. Restrict your self with a time limit
Sometimes client work can be long and final results can take months to appear. What’s great about a daily project is that you can see an array of artwork finished in a short piece of time. Choosing a design skill that you are already good at, but restricting yourself to a time limit can be an effective way to increase creativity and produce new results.
Shaun Swainland produces type experiments in 10minutes. Forcing yourself to only have 10 minutes eliminates the room for creative indecisiveness, and could produce more spontaneous creative results. This works really when starting out with life drawing too.
6. Collect and document an every day habit with photography
With most of owning smartphones, daily photography is something quite common. But what should you be posting if you don’t want to see 100 photos of breakfast? (These can actually be pretty impressive, but it will be hard work to stand out) Choosing something that is already a daily occurrence in your life can be a way to personalise this. A popular choice for many is documenting the array of typography in a home city.
The possibilities are endless here, but Henry Hargreaves’ ‘Coffee Cups of the World’ is a great example. Documenting unique coffee cups from locations on his travels, this daily project could be achieved on the morning coffee run. This has now opened up for submissions, so think about the possibilities of what others may wish to collaborate to.
7. Explore shapes
If your style is quite detailed, or normally takes a lot of time, you may be thinking how can I fit this into my spare hours? One solution could be to take a simplified subject matter such a shapes. Geometry can be a creative platform to experiment with colour and movement as the detailing of the objects can be simplified.
Bringing character to a simple shape is one of the most common creative warm up exercises. Daily Geometry is playful example of this. It’s great for those starting out with animation too.
8. Make posters from the everyday mundane
Not everyone leads a life where there is something worth writing a novel on everyday, but there is beauty in the mundane. Try producing a poster on something that happens each day. At first this may seem difficult, but forcing yourself to produce something engaging from routine will teach you find creative outcomes from limited inspiration. It’s a way of appreciating and finding humour in the little things too. Check out Peter Stults examples.
9. A logo a day
This can be difficult to find inspiration to begin with. One way to overcome this is to ask those around you to give you an object and a name each day, then produce a brand logo from their suggestion. A project like this not only increases skills through repetition, but whacky outcomes and daily experimentation may help you discover your unique style.
Graphic Wizard worked on 50 logos in 50 days, and invited viewers to submit ideas.
10. Design around the same object each day
This a challenge that gets harder over time, but really pushes creativity, as by day 99 you’re likely to have explored a lot.
Manu Aranz did a delightful project called 365 eggs. Aranz captured her feelings and emotions each day, then portrayed them through a design involving one egg. It might seem nutty, but this method produces a unique series.
Choosing what new self initiated project to work can be difficult at first, but take some time to experiment with a few ideas, and you’ll soon find one that sticks.
Share your great ideas for getting started!
