That classic white Mac laptop surface is a clean and sleek look, but the artist in many of us sees that white expanse as a canvas for our creativity. Instead of leaving our laptops looking like every other mac users’, we see an opportunity to be unique, express our ideas, and customize our technology to match our personality and interests. Thankfully vinyl graphics make it easy to customize our macs, but it can be difficult to decide on the image you want to display on your canvas. If you’re stuck in indecision or without inspiration, here are some brainstorming tips to get your creative juices flowing.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with brainstorming is to begin with no end in mind. If you don’t have a goal, you also won’t have a place to start. And without a time limit, you’ll find that you will delay, whereas a time limit will help you settle down to work. To pick a goal, think about what it is you want your customized mac to say about you. Do you want the image to be professional? Do you want it to promote yourself or your business? Do you want the image to express your interests or do you want it to express your opinions on an issue? Begin by listing words that will describe your desired image: this will give you a place to start, and it will provide criteria to measure your ideas against after you’ve brainstormed some. When setting a time limit, there are many factors to consider, and the correct time will vary depending on the project. One effective way to create ideas is to break up your brainstorming into multiple sessions. Set a short time limit for the first day, then stop and come back to it a few days later. The first short session will get your brain working on the issue, and by the time you sit down to think it over again, you’ll have plenty of ideas rolling through your head.
When brainstorming, it’s important to get your ideas onto paper. This helps you remember your ideas, but it can also lead to further inspiration. As you review your image, it may stimulate new ideas and refinements that will help you find new directions. As you draw or write, make rough sketches: don’t aim for perfection. A perfectly drawn image or written slogan may distract from the quality of the concept or its conformity with your goals. One excellent way to generate more ideas is to find others and ask them to sketch your idea. With your description of your idea, they most likely won’t produce the exact image you were looking for, but their perceptions will provide you with new offshoots to pursue.