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Nissi Lawrence Kazembe
Nissi Lawrence Kazembe

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To Some Creativity and to Others ...

Once in a while I find myself having an idea. Typically, this is something along the line of either a mobile, desktop, or web application. In such situations of conceiving an idea, I believe, self-awareness is an important skill to have. Realizing one's strength helps one to avoid wasting time on things that may drain the hype created by the Eureka moment.

Strike while the iron is hot. - Old Proverb

Timing, perfect execution, and passion will always in my view produce the best results. Having a design that speaks to one's idea is one way of taking advantage of the momentum at conception. The design can take the form of UI, functional block diagrams or flowcharts, anything that allows you to present ideas to potential clients or your team. However, an area like UI design is not my strong suit. So how do I manage to still come up with something presentable? Something that requires not mentioning every now and then during a presentation that the design is in a premature state? Well, with the help of a few handy tips and tools.

Be Inspired

Imitation is one form of learning, I learned this in an Expressive Arts class during my Primary School. There are so many great designs out there that you can get ideas from to create your designs. If a base design is hard to create, the various mockups available can give a sense of direction. I recommend making a sketch or wireframe layout just to kill some noise. Designs are mazes you can easily get lost in.

What tools can you use?

We live in fortunate times where tools are surplus that can aid in arriving at the same outcome. Other tools automate the entire process and others require more input from the user, trade-offs are inevitable. Whatever your preferences are, chances are there is something on the market for you. The tools listed here are just the bare tip of the iceberg. There are free and/or freemium offers with respect to each of these tools.

  • Adobe XD
  • Adobe Express
  • Canva
  • Diagrams.net, formerly draw.io
  • GIMP, the Photoshop alternative.

To some He gave abundant creativity and others like me the ability to know when something is at least presentable. So I look for that.

Hope you enjoyed this read and got something out of it. Would love to hear from you about the various tools you use.

Stay Productive!!!

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