When we don’t have a client coming to us about a new project or when we just come up with our own projects, we still have to find inspiration somehow.
Much like any other creative endeavor, a creative block sometimes leaves us lost. So, the answer is to try other creative hobbies to help inspire UX design projects.
It’s amazing how doing something else suddenly gives us incredible, innovative ideas that we wouldn’t have gotten just sitting around at our computer. While most creative hobbies work, these are some of the more inspiring.
Build Something
Getting hands-on doesn’t mean playing with a smartphone. Instead, we could try building something. Whether it’s something as simple as one of those model building kits or as ambitious as volunteering with Habitats for Humanity, just build something. The process focuses the mind in different ways and showcases potential areas where UX design changes could make a major difference.
For instance, think about all the different types of hammers available. Those came from someone who used a basic hammer and decided that a few changes could make a major difference in the user experience.
Write Or Blog
We all have experiences and ideas of our own that we’d love to share with anyone who’d like to listen. So, why not share what’s rattling around in our brains and inspire UX design projects at the same time? For instance, let’s think about our day for a moment. What did we see, hear and interact with? What problems did we notice?
Taking some time to free write or turn the things we experience into a blog helps us uncover potential projects. In fact, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little may never have created WordPress if they didn’t notice the problems with the Blogger platform. So, blogging helped lead to the creation of WordPress, a user experience project that’s in constant development.
Pick A New Skill To Learn
Sometimes it’s hard to step out of our comfort zones, but it’s vital to the creative project. After all, we’ve probably already analyzed our own hobbies and skilled to death as we trying to find ways to improve them in some way. The next logical step, of course, is to start learning something new.
Take some online courses or watch some YouTube videos. It may sound overly simple, but the idea is to get the creative juices flowing and make the brain think outside the proverbial box.
Start Cooking
For any of us that watch late-night TV, it’s hard to miss the dozens of new kitchen gadgets released every few weeks. Seriously, check out the As Seen On TV section of any store to really see this in action. Or, just visit one of those stores dedicated to kitchen, bathroom and other home items. It’s insane how many different pans and utensils people need to just order a pizza.
However, picking up some of those gadgets and learning to cook is one way to inspire UX design projects. All those great gadgets came from cooks who wanted to make life easier. Honestly, can any of us imagine not cooking with some type of non-stick pan or spray?
Start A Side Project
We’re all busy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something beyond UX design. In fact, it’s probably good for our health and creative minds to do something different. This is why it’s important to start a side project from time to time. The great thing about a side project is it’s not restricted in the same way professional projects are. For instance, when we work with clients, we’re limited by what they want.
When we work on our own projects, the sky’s the limit. It’s finally a way to see just what we’re capable of, even if it’s not a UX design project. It’s amazing how that change of pace inspires us to try new UX projects. Need some ideas? Check out this fun list from The Muse.
Play And Design Board Games
There’s a reason so many creatives love to play board games – they’re fun and boost creativity. The social time with friends and family allows us time to talk to those we care about and learn from their experiences. Everyone feels more comfortable as they play the game.
For those of us who feel more adventurous, gather a few gaming friends and try creating a new board game. Just look at Kickstarter and all the innovative games or even The Game Crafter.
The hobby honestly doesn’t matter. It’s all about taking a break from normal UX design and experiencing the world in different ways. As long as it gets us out of our own heads, it’s a great way to inspire UX design projects.
Images: Chetan Menaria, Brad Neathery, Webvilla, Maarten van den Heuvel