September 8, 2022
Estimated Read Time: 5 min.

How to Break Through Your Nonprofit’s Creative Design Rut

Whether you refer to it as designer’s block or a creative rut, one thing is for certain: we’ve all felt it. Lack of inspiration can be very frustrating, especially when your project has such a strong social impact and the ability to create change.Developing an emotional connection with your donor base and stakeholders is vital for any purpose-driven organization, and visual assets like design are a perfect way to cultivate that relationship. 

Here are some helpful tips to break through your team’s creative block when and get you on the right path to showcasing your social impact business:

 

Start doodling.

It may sound silly but taking pencil to paper to come up with interesting shapes and little sketches often leads to ideas that would not come as naturally on the computer. Encourage your creative team to shift from perfection that the mouse provides to more organic, free-flowing concepts that can be designed after. It’s much quicker to flush out ideas than going full out on the screen.

 

Break away from the problem at hand.

Sometimes the best way to spark an idea for your nonprofit is to focus on something else besides the upcoming campaign design needs. Whether it’s going on a walk, playing with pets, or maybe tidying up the workspace, designers benefit greatly from those moments to reset. There’s less pressure to develop the design solution when you aren’t forcing it. 

 

Collaborate. Collaborate. Collaborate.

No one knows your nonprofit better than those who are on your team! Talk about design ideas with others, and don’t be scared to share the wild ones. Different perspectives can help you strengthen your vision or help you see holes and go in another direction. Especially, when it comes to design work for large-scale campaigns, the more perspective the better.

 

Get inspired by other design sources.

Within the social impact space, it’s crucial to watch others in your space and understand what risks they take creatively. Your team can always find inspiration by looking through other nonprofit websites, campaign designs, or social media posts. Don’t forget to watch the experts as well, design websites like Behance, for example, always have the most up-to-date trends that might help spark an idea or two. Just be careful that you don’t begin mindlessly scrolling!

 

As you can see, there are multiple ways to tackle your nonprofit’s creative design rut before your next big campaign launch. Hopefully, one of these methods helps your team get the ball rolling to develop the best design solution needed! If you or your social impact business are still having trouble with your design needs, Strat Labs is here to be your design expert! Connect with one our experts today.

 

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