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September 29, 2023
UNBLOCKING CREATIVITY IN UX AND SERVICE DESIGN
HCD Service Design UX/UI Design
Everyone in UX, UI or service design is a creative type — yourself included!
That’s true whether you’re curating colour palettes for wireframes, mapping out
information architecture, reimagining the processes of a service, putting
together a design research insights report or masterminding the operations of a
complex project. And, like all creative types, you’ve probably had moments where
you felt stuck or lost momentum.
The same way that writers famously get “writer’s block,” designers, researchers,
strategists and even managers can sometimes get what we’ll call “designer’s
block.” The good news is, we’ve had designer’s block too, and we’ve been
brainstorming all the ways you can overcome it!
Today’s blog is all about getting unstuck and unleashing your creative flow in
UX and service design work. We’ve sorted our top tips and techniques into two
sections:
* 4 Ways UXers Get Stuck and How to Push Through
* 5 Steps to Finding Your Creative Flow
4 WAYS UXERS GET STUCK AND HOW TO PUSH THROUGH
Sometimes, we sit down to do the most creative part of our jobs, the parts we
usually find the most fulfilling… and then suddenly, minds go blank, and there’s
no clear path forward. Does this sound familiar?
Depending on your working style, getting stuck can happen when you’re under lots
of time pressure, or it can happen when work is slow and you suddenly don’t have
enough time pressure to keep yourself focused. Whatever the case may be for you,
we’re here to help.
Below, we’ve lined up the most common situations that cause our practitioners to
get stuck, along with our favourite suggestions for getting unstuck!
IF YOU’RE…
1. Stuck in synthesis:
Service designers, design researchers or any practitioners who’ve had to analyze
data or synthesize it know that these crucial steps in the research process can
feel the fuzziest and the longest. Synthesis involves swimming through piles of
data while trying to find connecting patterns or themes. Keeping track of that
much information at once is like acrobatics for your brain. It’s no wonder that
we can find ourselves reading the same data points over and over again without
getting anywhere!
TRY…
Practicing mindfulness: We love a little bit of meditation in the middle of the
day. Set an alarm on your phone so that you’re not constantly checking the
clock, close or unfocus your eyes and start focusing on your breath for a couple
of minutes, or more if you have time. This should help slow your thoughts down
so that you can calmly examine each one without judgment and reexamine your
research priorities. Not a fan of sitting still on your breaks? Try the same
thing on a walk!
AND…
Setting small goals: Once you’ve calmed your mind, you should return to your
analysis or synthesis session with clear goals in mind. Break the process down
into steps, and make each of these a mini goal to accomplish. For example, you
could start by scanning just one interview’s worth of data, or you could start
by looking for patterns around one specific pain point. Then move forward one
increment at a time.
IF YOU’RE…
2. Coming out of a repetitive task loop:
Doing repetitive activities can sometimes be dizzying. Whether you’re working on
something that involves a lot of repeating micro-tasks or you’re following the
same script over and over again in a barrage of user interviews, it’s normal for
your brain to start feeling a little fried. By the time you’ve completed these
types of tasks, shifting focus to something more creative can be tough.
TRY…
Changing up your routine: This could mean a change-up in your after-work life,
like going for a meal and a venting session with a friend instead of parking
yourself in front of the TV. It could also mean re-ordering your remaining
priorities for the day so that you can focus on easier tasks until you’ve had
some rest. OR, it could mean taking your break a bit earlier in the day so you
can get some fresh air instead of waiting until you’re hungry for lunch. The
bottom line here is: There are many benefits to shaking things up, including
improved memory!
IF YOU’RE…
3. Getting lost in design options:
UX and UI designers are celebrated for their capacity to create visually
appealing prototypes and products that impress stakeholders and entice users.
But staying consistent in this feat isn’t as easy as it looks! We can sometimes
get lost in hyper-specific details, cross-referencing and comparing tens of
variations of the same design with very slight differences. “Figma fever” sets
in, and soon everything starts to look exactly the same. This feeling is enough
to stop anyone in their tracks.
TRY…
Looking away from your screen: The best antidote for indifference is new
inspiration. Find a moment in your schedule to ditch your desk and get out into
the world to look around. As you do, ask yourself questions like:
* What logos stand out most in your local mall?
* What products in your corner store look the most beautiful?
* What complimentary colors can you find in the trees at your neighbourhood
park?
* Which passersby have the best outfits and why?
Or any other version of these questions! You get the gist.
(The idea here isn’t to try and copy what you see, of course, but to look at
your options in a new way, pull yourself into a beginner’s mindset and bring
that new perspective back to the drawing board with you.)
OR…
Asking a teammate for feedback: When you’ve been staring at your work for hours,
your eyes can get so used to what you’re seeing that it’s harder to judge things
impartially. A fresh set of eyes to help see things you might be missing. Reach
out to someone you trust, and don’t worry if your work doesn’t look polished. A
work-in-progress design is nothing to be ashamed of — it’s a beautiful and
necessary thing. After all, that’s why prototyping exists!
(Note: If indecision is preventing you from finding a way forward in your UX
project, Outwitly’s North Star PrinciplesTM can help! Click below to download a
FREE ebook packed with pointers for developing clear, effective action plans
that align with your goals.)
IF YOU’RE…
4. Generating no new ideas:
The trickiest part about UX, UI and service design work is that eventually you
have to actually design something! (Big surprise, right?) All of your time
investments and your stakeholders’ financial investments are riding on this
output, and that thought alone can be intimidating. Still, if you can get past
it and get into ideation, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be happy with the
first few (or many) ideas you come up with. All that exploring and diverging can
get frustrating if it feels like it’s leading nowhere. So what now?
TRY…
Creating in a different context: As a creative person, you probably have more
than one outlet — maybe it’s knitting, painting, or writing, or maybe it’s a
different type of design or storytelling, like character design, story
illustration or even dungeon mastering. Whatever arts-based activities you
enjoy, we recommend engaging in them in your spare time to help stimulate your
creative mind.
David Epstein, author of The Range, discusses in his book how artists and
innovators who dabble in more than one discipline become more agile thinkers and
are able to “make connections their specialized peers can’t see.” Doing more of
what you love AND having better ideas at work sounds like a great deal, doesn’t
it?
5 STEPS TO FINDING YOUR CREATIVE FLOW
UXers and service designers alike know that coming up with a great idea or
action plan is half the battle at most. The execution of your ideas, and the
intention, speed and flair you apply in that execution is what ultimately marks
a successful UX or service design project.
Sometimes this process comes easily, and ideas flow through our fingertips
quickly and blissfully. This concept of a “flow” state was coined by a
well-known psychologist named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who described flow as the
secret to happiness, a mental state where you feel fully immersed in what you’re
doing, where discouraging or distracting thoughts fall away.
But we’re not always so lucky as to find a flow state immediately. Sometimes,
when we have this big idea staring us in the face, putting it down on the page
feels like pulling teeth, and we just can’t seem to gain momentum.
That’s why we’ve put together a list of tried-and-true steps for getting into
this productive mode. We hope they help!
1. Take care of your body: Make sure that you’re well-fed, hydrated, as well
rested as possible and feeling comfortable in your workspace. This might seem
like a given, but when we’re stressed and working to deadlines, we get in our
heads and we often forget to check in and see how we’re feeling physically. Ask
yourself, “Do I need to open a window for some cool air?” “Did I eat enough
breakfast?” Your brain is part of your body, so you should make sure it’s set up
for success.
2. Lean on your support system: One of the principles of flow, according to
Csikszentmihalyi, is the need for balance between a person’s skills and the
challenge presented to them. Sometimes, even when we have lots of experience and
we’ve built amazing design portfolios, a lack of confidence can make that
skills/challenge balance feel off.
If you’re worried that a task is just too difficult, why not ask a trusted
teammate, close friend or family member for a pep talk and a confidence boost?
People who know you well can remind you of how far you’ve come and how much
potential you have.
3. Reaffirm your purpose: It’s also normal to lose steam if you’re not feeling
challenged enough. UX and service design practitioners often have to keep
repeating the same types of tasks, and after a long time, it’s possible to get a
bit jaded. To overcome this, find ways to remind yourself of the reasons why
your HCD work is so important. Check out any impressive work your coworkers are
doing and read articles about groundbreaking products and services. Think about
how you could innovate in the situation and top your last big success.
(Sometimes your best competition is yourself!)
4. Minimize distractions: Put your phone away, put your notifications on “Do Not
Disturb,” close your office door, use noise-canceling headphones, change your
Slack status to “busy” — whatever you need to prime yourself for focusing. A
flow state can only come to you when you’re able to fully concentrate.
5. Try to relax: There have been many scientific studies showing that stress can
have a major effect on creativity. According to the American National Library of
Medicine, a little bit of stress can motivate you, but a lot of stress can put
you in a standstill, especially if that stress is caused by a perceived lack of
control.
As we mentioned earlier in this post, meditation can play a part in calming the
mind, but if that’s not your thing, we recommend giving these quick tricks a
shot:
* * Put on a playlist of your favourite music. It doesn’t have to be slow,
calming music, if that makes you sleepy. Try a couple of different genres
and see what works — some people need lyrics, some people need
instrumentals only, etc.
* * Create a relaxing ambiance. We love doing this through smell, by lighting a
scented candle or pouring a cup of aromatic tea, but you might choose to
work with your other senses. A cozy blanket or a change of lighting might
help too — just make sure you can still see your work and you’re not
harming your eyes.
* * Shake out the nerves. We all know that physical movement helps with stress,
but not everyone has time for actual running in the middle of an agile
sprint! More and more yoga teachers and wellness coaches are recommending
that you give yourself a literal shake. This involves shaking every part of
your body and hopping up and down on the spot with total abandon for a few
minutes. The key is to forget about how you look. The sillier you get, the
more relaxed you’ll be.
If you follow these steps to a tee, we’re pretty confident that you’ll get into
“the zone,” also known as that “flow” state, and start making design magic
happen again. Just don’t forget to set an alarm before your next meeting, or you
might lose track of time!
(Hey — Want to stay up to date on the latest trends, conversations and
opportunities emerging in the UX and service design communities? Sign up for the
Weekly Wit, Outwitly’s newsletter dedicated to UX and HCD topics!)
In the end, if you take just one message away from this blog, we think it should
be: “Don’t get discouraged.” When you’re starting a new task from scratch, it’s
easy to get overwhelmed and wonder where to start. And when you’re pushing
through a longer design or research process, it can be easy to lose your sense
of direction. A lack of ideas or flow can make you question your know-how and
abilities. But there’s no reason for that!
Every artistic soul struggles with their work from time to time, especially in
high-pressure work situations. The key to overcoming roadblocks is to stop,
reassess, use your resources and persist. We hope that the tips and tricks above
will guide you in this process and help you channel your creative genius.
We’ll leave it at that, but keep an eye out for Part 2 of this series on
unblocking creativity, featuring the Outwitly team’s top strategies for finding
inspiration in their work!
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