How to Eliminate Blank Canvas Fear in Graphic Design?

Introduction

Blank page or blank canvas is the biggest horror for any designer or artist. Whether you are a novice or expert graphic artist, motion designer, or traditional artist, this is the biggest fear which every creative goes through. In this article, I will give you tips to overcome your biggest fear and cross the creative barrier successfully.

Creativity for Graphic Designers

Every artist or designer has his/her own way of overcoming creative mental blocks. But I learned the technique several years before from a book by Mark Oldach, founder and president of Mark Oldach Design, the book’s name is “Creativity for Graphic Designers“. The technique I learned from this book works every time I need it.

Some Relevant Graphic Design Courses

This is a very simple technique and not complicated at all. There are many other tutorials available for different aspects of graphic design like the course I’ve taken on Skillshare, which is an excellent course about composition, design, and layout technique known as Gestalt Theory. You will also get a 30% discount if you use this discount code “annual30aff”.

There are some other courses on different aspects of Graphic Design on Udemy as well which you should go through. Some of these courses which I recommend are 

1. Graphic Design Theory – Psychology of Design 

2. Master Graphic Design & Software with Practical Projects , 

3. Graphic Design Theory – Color & Contrast

Main Technique

Let’s come back to our main topic which was the technique of getting started on your brand-new design project while you are sitting in front of a blank canvas. The very first thing you should do is to draw anything on the canvas and then relate your objective to that thing. Then draw another thing (anything you like) and relate it with the previous object and with your message. 

For example, if you are designing a poster about an event and you have no idea what to do then draw, for example, a hat and then draw a cup and then think about their relationship with your event. If you find any meaningful relationship then it’s great, and go ahead with polishing your idea. Otherwise, start making some other relevant objects which are more meaningful in the context of your main goal which is making an event poster.

At this point, your brain will start suggesting different things relevant or irrelevant to your main objective of the design. Eliminate all irrelevant ideas and pick the most relevant ideas which fulfill your or your client’s goal for which you are making the design.

This exercise will also automatically suggest to you the other requirements of the design which are colors, textures, etc. I hope this small tip will let overcome your creative mental block and will make your creative juices flow.

Please do let me know if you find this technique helpful. I’ll wait for your feedback.