Rise and Shine: How Your Morning Routine Could Be Key to Your Creative Flare

How do you travel to work?

As summer has brought brighter (and earlier) mornings here in London, my colleagues and I have been reflecting on how a good morning could be key to a creative day. Becoming better designers is something we have to work at every day, and often it is the little things that add up. I thought I'd share some ideas on those little things. Here are three practical, actionable, and simple tips anyone can incorporate into their morning routine to start your day open to creative ideas!

Your commute to work

Design is all about challenging conventions and getting people to see things in new and different ways. One of the easiest ways to bring this to your work is to do it in your everyday life. By bringing a little design thinking to your daily commute to work, you can transform a monotonous routine into something that energises your creative mind. Simply said: don't travel to work the same way twice.

I'm lucky enough to live in London where I can easily vary my morning commute. I can choose between several different types of transport including trains, buses, a water taxi, cycling and even a two hour walk. If the same variety of options are not available where you live, don’t despair. You can still shake things up. Take your spouse's car or walk on a different side of the street. When my commute gets stale, I like to head toward a new coffee shop I have never been to because new environments refresh the creative parts of our brain.

The key is to stay switched-on whenever you try something new. Be mindful of what is different about the route you took. Take the side streets and see those in-between-spaces that often get overlooked by designers. Notice the way light changes space between morning and evening. New approaches are an opportunity to experience environments in new ways. So don't miss a single opportunity to do just that.

Stop looking at your phone

Buy a manual alarm clock and avoid looking at your phone first thing in morning. Getting to good design sometimes takes a little peace and quiet. If you give your mind a moment to wonder, you’ll be amazed at what comes flooding in. It’s okay to not be checking work email or catching up on news for a minute or two throughout the day. It's okay to just stand there, and it's even more okay to actually look up and take in the world around you. Don't take a picture, just look. The famous fashion photographer Bill Cunningham was once offered a plate of food while working and turned it down saying, "No thank you. I eat with my eyes." To the creative and design oriented part of your design mind, viewing a constant stream of images from your phone is the equivalent of a diet of Doritos. Here are a few other ways to de-plug.

1. Although we are very attached to our eReaders there’s nothing better than reading print every now again. Think about the layout, notice the type choice and appreciate the paper!


2. To help you spurn the ‘unlock impulse’, I'm going to borrow from artist Molly Mcloed. Molly recently posted a series of smartphone wallpapers designed to discourage needless unlocking, and the London Brand Design team has chipped in to add a few other designs to choose from.

"Unlock impulse" by the London Brand Team

‘Me’ time

“In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude.” - Rollo May

At the start of the day it is extremely helpful to put aside time to get away from your busy desk and work alone. Getting some quality ‘me time’ with your work self can be a challenge, but putting time aside to look at the beautiful work of others and to consider new techniques can be really productive.

I have a recurrent weekly appointment in my calendar for “me time.” I use this little refuge to spend time doing focus activities, taking care of all the little stuff, or getting the head space needed to come up with new ideas. This can be as simple as a sitting off in a corner of the studio to mark up some drawing or going out for a coffee to do some brainstorming.

I treat it like a client meeting and respect, in that I want it to be productive. The point is to acknowledge yourself and your creativity as a valuable. Being alone will put you in an ideal state of mind to get inspired with great ideas; it will help you stay connected with your own thoughts. As Goethe described it, “One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude.” Put on the kind of music that inspires you, put your head into your work, and just think.

Wesley has over 12 years of experience as a specialist in wayfinding strategy and environmental graphic design. Having developed and managed sign programs for many high-profile international projects, he brings a unique design approach to all aspects of a project. You can contact him at wesley_meyer@gensler.com.