These magazine ads made me frustrated. Everything terrible happened at once. The radio station brand was challenging to work with. The colors were not quite right. The imagery didn’t make sense or convey the right message. I got lost in the details on this one. I felt overwhelmed, so I took a breath. I reminded myself about the core principles of design. I remembered the context of the ads and the basics of advertising. So I got the colors correct, found a more energetic photo, brought in some nostalgic fonts, and focused on the hierarchy of the layout and elements.
Sometimes you have to remember the basics of your knowledge to pull yourself out of creative frustration. It always helps me reach a better product when I take a step back. Then the path to my goal feels clear.
The Digital Marketing brand book is also frustrating me with the length of the work involved and second guessing my choices for the brand assets.
In the early phases, you start to see all the options and directions the brand COULD take with any brand creation. For me, this can get easily overwhelming. So I explore my options but usually trust my gut on which direction to bring into the final stages of the creation process.
I had such trouble creating a standard grid and layout for the pages of the brand book. I spent hours adjusting and realized that it would be easier to find a layout that worked across the book by pushing forward and laying out the book pages with the information and images I would use without regard for alignment, etc. Then I’ll go back through it later to adjust and unify the grid across the pages. I really won’t know what I’m missing until I have finalized every possible page of info I need.
In the long run, this will utilize my time better and make me a more efficient brand designer.