6 Ways to Deal with Website Design Block

Getting into a rut as a web designer is a serious problem. When you’ve got deliverables to provide on certain dates to follow the development track, then falling far behind is not an option. As such, it’s necessary to either work around or work through the website design block. Here are 6 ways to deal with website design block and carry on putting out great designs. 

1. Cannot Pick a Palette? Embrace Randomness

While the idea of picking a random color or three might seem strange to you, getting out of the website design block is the goal. Trying out some different hues can spark new creative ideas or prevent you from using a similar color palette with every other site design. The beauty of choosing a random color as a new starting point is that it prevents you from going around in circles. While you may not end up sticking with a website color palette based on randomness, it stops you from endlessly chasing your tail.

2. Look for Inspiration

Looking for inspiration in other designs is well-meaning advice, but you must apply it to your personality. For instance, if you get down on yourself when you see great web designs because you feel like you’ll never hit that mark, then it won’t be a net positive. On the flip side, if you can find designers that don’t make you feel this way and help you to fall back in love with design again, then that’s a win. So, use it sparingly and tailor it to how you relate to it. Just like with junior architects, they often return to their key influences to find their balance. Similarly, digital architects like web designers should find what gives them balance too. 

3. Shift onto Other Parts of the Design

When you’re stuck trying to produce a header and menu system that you’re happy with, don’t lose several days on it. Instead, move onto another part of the design like the inner pages that require interesting design elements to make them stand out. Know that you can always return to the header later. If it’s another day, then you’ll return to it feeling fresh. Ideas will likely come easier at that time because you won’t be frustrated that you’re still in a design rut. 

4. Get Back to Basics

Sometimes, design has become so digitized that we’ve gotten away from the beauty of design as digital artwork. When your background is more as an artist, a painter, or a sketch artist, and you moved into web design later, then get back to your first love. Play with new ideas for another site. Sketch it out on paper. Play with some exciting concepts. Avoid using a Mac or PC for this; it just won’t feel the same at all. Remember, you’re not aiming for design perfection here. It’s more like a bit of experimentation to free your mind and get back to the creative vision that guides you. 

5. Take a Day Off

When you feel like you’re burning out, then trying to push through that feeling doesn’t always have the desired effect.  Sometimes, whatever you attempt just won’t get it done. At this point, taking a day or two off is a good idea. We’d suggest that if you’re exhausted, then catching up on sleep is vital because, without it, your creativity will remain stifled. However, if you’ve hit a designer’s wall but have plenty of energy, then get out and about. Walk around the town or city just enjoying the surroundings, or pick another local city at random and spend a day there for a change of scene. 

While a staycation works when you’re wiped out, it doesn’t usually give you the kind of reset that you require. Making the effort to explore or get to the next city over to see what you can find completely takes your mind off it. 

6. Experiment More to Find Surprising Answers

Many web designers fall back on old standards that crop up in much of their work. One of them is the convenient gradient fill. It is perfect to handle parts of a design when struggling to find the right element in the space. Always be willing to try new ideas. It prevents you from falling back into old design habits that frustrate you and leave you feeling uninspired in the first place. 

It’s worth trying various techniques as a web designer to get out of a rut or a design block. But remember to step away if everything else is not working, because you could just be temporarily burnt out.