Rekindle Your Passion For Design

By Drue Lawlor, FASID
Director of Coaching at Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting

Do you remember when every day was fueled with excitement and creativity? Do you still feel that way or are you feeling like your passion for design is slowly burning out and you don’t know how to rekindle that passion?  Here are 3 key elements on which you should focus if you truly want to rekindle your passion for design.

First, when you put your efforts toward building a team you will be able to take things off of your plate that you don’t like to do, don’t want to do, don’t do well, don’t want to learn to do, and doesn’t make money for you. Think of the time that would be save that would allow you to spend time each day pursuing activities that fuel your creativity. You could then spend some time perusing those design magazines that are piling up, visiting design sites and industry vendors to learn about new products, taking a walk outside to take advantage of the inspiration that nature provides, or maybe sketching design ideas. Even if you carve out 20-30 minutes a day that you did not have before, you will be spending time inspiring creativity.

Though it may not seem like much fun, a second key “remedy” to reignite your creativity is to have systems in place. Think of this are a way to use your creativity and focus on what the results will mean for you and your business. Develop processes and procedures for all the areas of your business so that the business can flow more smoothly and efficiently – and can do so whether you are in the office or not. If you already have team members brainstorm with them to create those processes and procedures and if you are currently working alone, then connect with some other designers and use each other to share input when developing your systems. Having a “community” of design professionals can offer inspiration, resource recommendations, and help with building your team.

When you build an effective team and have business systems in place, you will then have more time to focus on identifying and marketing to your ideal clients. There is nothing like working with an ideal client to rekindle your passion for design. First, though, ask yourself if you can clearly identify your ideal client. If not, you may often end up with clients and designs that don’t excite you, and that do not allow you to express your creativity. So spend the time to clarify in detail what your ideal client looks like – one way to do this is to identify past clients you would identify as “ideal”, ask yourself why and then make a list of the qualities that would qualify them as “ideal”.

To share a favorite quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it” –Abraham Lincoln

Use your desire to rekindle your passion for design as an impetus to develop a team, create effective systems, and identify your ideal clients – and thereby develop an atmosphere for creativity.

Need more inspiration? It’s near the end of another year, so you need to Celebrate Your Wins by reading this blog post.