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My buddy told me to stop looking at design blogs and just walk around the city
He said it last year, told me to put my phone away and just look at real stuff. Signs, posters, store windows, anything. I was stuck on a logo for a local coffee shop and nothing was clicking. So I walked around downtown for like two hours. Saw this old neon sign for a bar that was half broken, but the way the light hit the brick was cool. Saw a bunch of flyers stapled to a pole, all different colors and fonts piled up. Came back and sketched something totally different. Used rough edges and a messy color stack. Client loved it. Way better than anything I found online. Anyone else get their best ideas just from looking at real things outside?
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felix_thomas736mo ago
Real stuff with cracks and layers" is key because it forces problem solving. You have to figure out why that broken sign still works, not just copy a clean layout. That friction is where the actual design happens.
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flores.jana7mo ago
Oh man, that is so true. It's like your brain gets stuck in a loop looking at the same stuff online. Everything out there is real, with cracks and layers you just don't see on a screen. My best ideas always come from just watching people and things, not from another tutorial.
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