How Freelance Print Designers Stay Inspired (And Why It Matters for Your Project)

When you hire one of us, a freelance print designer, you’re not just paying for our skills in creating repeats, layout or colour matching, you’re investing in creative thinking. The ability to come up with bold, thoughtful and original ideas is what makes great design stand out, and keeps your audience paying attention.

In my studio: the beginnings of mood boarding a new print collection concept

But how do designers stay creatively inspired, especially between big projects?

In this post, I’ll lift the lid on how I stay creatively sharp and inspired as a designer, and how this ultimately benefits the clients I work with.

Behind the Scenes: How Designers Stay Inspired

"Inspiration Everywhere" Posts

I've been covering inspiration in my "Inspiration Everywhere" series here on my blog for a couple of years now. Sharing the ways that I, as a freelance print designer, source inspiration, anywhere and everywhere. I recently shared a quote on my instagram from @wearespiritualbeings, I will admit I'm not usually one for sharing quotes, but sometimes one just really resonates;

"If you love one, you usually love them all. Interior design, fashion, art, architecture. Obsessed with it all. The way light transforms a space. The way fabric carries movement. How color sets a mood before words even arrive. A well placed object. A clean line. A sudden curve. It is all storytelling through form, texture, silence and shape. Beauty lives in details. And those who notice, feel it everywhere."

This is how I feel about "Inspiration Everywhere" and why I started blogging about it. Feeling it all. Going on a walk and photographing that one great flower or one of natures colour palettes created through the changing colours of the leaves on a tree. A mark on old brickwork that looks like it has potential to be a fab stripe pattern or markings on a shell found by your 4 year old neice at the beach, that could inspire a whole collection of geometric prints (for example...).

The creative eye is always at work and that's what creates those beautiful designs you've briefed out to your freelance designer.

Here's my top 5 ways I stay creativley inspired:

1. I Consistently Collect Visual Inspiration

Colour palettes at the local market, Spanish flowers, Seaside shell, Colours of the forest leaves

Inspiration is everywhere, in nature, on packaging, in bookshops, on gallery walls, or even the typography on a train ticket. I make a habit of capturing visuals that spark something: textures, colour palettes, clever use of space. These become part of a growing library I draw from when working on client briefs, helping me generate fresh ideas fast. My "flower bank" for example, is a folder on my computer, that I update regularly with photos of flowers that have caught my eye on walks. I now have hundreds of photos, that I quite literally draw from when creating new prints.

2. I Keep a Visual Journal to Explore New Ideas

From rough ideas to sketched out concepts: pages from the visual journal

Not every idea is born perfect. A visual journal gives me a place to test, play and refine without pressure. Now, a journal sounds quite formal and quite beautiful. This is neither of those things. Its a sketchbook (or a few sketchbooks), full of scribbles and new ideas that come to mind. A creative brain dump. Sometimes what starts as a five-minute doodle turns into a concept for a client’s print or illustration. Concepts can then make their way out of the journal and into painted or digital creations. Even if an idea doesn't make it out of the journal, and its purely a scribble exercise it’s this kind of regular creative “fitness” that helps me show up with fresh, confident ideas when your project needs it.

3. I Visit Exhibitions, Galleries and Print Fairs

Cézanne's Studio - Aix-en-Provence, "Paris Prints" Textiles Show - Paris, "Flowers" Exhibtion - Saatchi Gallery

Design is a living, evolving industry, so I make sure I make time to attend exhibitions, design festivals, and print fairs. I'll visit shows locally, in London and across the UK, or even venture further afeild to Paris and other European cities, to stay as connected to current trends and techniques as I can. This helps me bring you up-to-date, culturally relevant design. It also helps me recommend the right materials, printer or supplier for your projects.

4. I Experiment with New Techniques Behind the Scenes

In my studio: Reference book research, Ink sketches, Masking fluid experiments

When I’m not working towards a deadline, I love to explore creative processes and even take some time to hone my own processes. Often signing up for floral painting, still life drawing or block and screen printing classes. Collecting reference books on printing and crafting techniques, to refer back to when working with clients. These hands-on techniques feed back into how I think about painting style, texture and composition, and they’re often exactly what helps me give your project that unique, crafted edge.

5. I Build in Space for Creative Thinking - So You Don’t Have To

You’re busy running your business, planning an event or building a brand. When we work together, you don’t have to worry about where the ideas are coming from. That’s my job. My creative process ensures that every design solution I present is intentional, considered, and aligned with your goals, not just something that “looks nice.” When I hand over that final design, It's not just the visible design, the painting or the layout and colour, that you're looking at. It's the creative thinking, that comes before.

Why This Matters for Your Project

Great design isn’t just decoration, it’s strategy made visible. The way I stay inspired directly affects how quickly and effectively I can translate your brief into something eye-catching, intelligent and truly reflective of your brand.

If you're looking for someone who brings creative energy and attention to detail into every stage of the process, I would love to hear from you. You can get in touch via email: harrietruscoe@gmail.com

Follow:

@harrietruscoe for more inspiration and day-to-day freelance life

@the.print.boutique for ready-to-purchase textile prints and studio work