Design is hard. The creative mind is a finicky thing. Sometimes you can get in a flow state and it seems like no design problem is a match for your supreme wit. On the other hand, sometimes you just can’t seem to get in the groove and feel like you couldn’t design your way out of a wet paper bag. Hey, it happens to the best of us.
We all have little tricks and ways of jump-starting the creative process, but sometimes what you need is a little guidance. That’s what a new book by Dave Gouveia and Chris Elkerton offers. Creative Stuff: An Activity Book for Visual Thinkers is stuffed full of activities and exercises designed to help break that mental block.
The review
Overall, I think the creators of this book have done a pretty good job. Admittedly, there are some pages that seem like filler to me (word games and puzzles that I don’t think help much). That being said though, there are plenty of fun and challenging activities that make up for the fluff. The book itself is well designed, colourful,and playful. There is also an abundance of useful information and interesting trivia.
If you need a little kick in the pants to help get those creative juices flowing, this might be just the thing.