Designing a Fresh Start: Creative Resolutions for Designers in 2024

Kicking 2024 off with some creative resolutions for designers can really get things going for you. It can be the fresh start you need.

Unless, of course, you forget what you’ve resolved a few days into January. We’ve all been there.

My strong resolution to write a book in 2020 didn’t pan out. In 2021, I promised myself I would become a calisthenics pro. A ninja, if you will. Never happened.

The last two years, I’ve been resolving to read more. And, I’ve been succeeding. That’s when it hit me.

The key towards keeping your resolutions is in making realistic ones.

Resolutions for Designers as Growth Motivators

Resolutions for designers can work the same way. Promising yourself something huge can easily demotivate you. When reality hits and you realize you’re in way over your head, you’ll just give it all up.

They can, however, be highly inspirational, if you play it right. It is the little things that make huge differences in the end. It is the small steps that will motivate you and put you on a path of growth.

Creative Resolutions for Designers: Taking it to the Next Level in 2024

So, the key towards taking it to the next level in 2024 is in scaling things down. Just don’t be as extreme as Calvin in the iconic comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.

“If the new year requires resolutions, I say it’s up to everyone else, not me! I don’t need to improve! Everyone else does!”, says Calvin.

An understandable sentiment, yet a completely wrong way of going into the next year. Or through life in general, for that matter. We all need to improve. And we all need to work towards it.

True, change will happen on its own. The only constant is change – as Heraclitus teaches us.

But, if you want to change in the direction you prefer, you’ll have to take the reins. It’s time to make your resolutions and stick to them.

Say Yes to a Bit of Code

Developers have codes, and designers have design. Have you ever thought about how well those two things can go together? Wouldn’t it be great if you could combine them in your work?

Okay, you don’t have to completely change your career course and become a developer. But, learning a bit of code can make you a better designer.

Getting code and design tips from professionals, and understanding coding in general leads to better communication with developers. Better communication makes for better cooperation. And to taking on more projects you would have had to turn down previously, lacking the knowledge.

Design Something Touchable

Websites, social media graphics, animations, UX/UI… We’ve gone all digital, haven’t we?

Well, that’s the world we live in, and we need to keep up.

Don’t you sometimes long for creating something you can actually touch? A business card, a brochure, a magazine, or a simple printable poster. Designing something touchable will make you quite proud of yourself.

If you want to take it a step further, perhaps you can dabble in industrial design. Create a piece of furniture you’ll love. Just an idea.

The point? Make something you’ve always wanted to make. You can do it, if you just put your mind to it. And if you keep your ideas and goals realistic, of course.

Experiment With a New Tool

If there’s one thing that’s true about the design world, then it’s this. It’s constantly developing. The only constant is change, remember?

Let 2024 be the year of experimentation. Choose a tool you don’t know much about. Or even a brand new one you’ve never heard of before.

Start reading up on it. Take online courses. Learn from the experts and master it. Developing a new skill will make you more competitive.

Put Your Teaching Skills to a Test

Sure, there is a lot to learn from other industry pros. But, you could also be the expert that someone else will learn from.

Put your teaching skills to a test by creating a course of your own. Mentor a younger designer. Be a guest in a podcast or start hosting your own. Sharing your knowledge is one of those resolutions for designers that can be quite fulfilling.

Resolutions for Designers: Control Your Design Pet Peeves

Comic Sans is probably the winner, with beveled text right behind it. Then, there’s the infamous “My designer friend suggested” sentence. Vague instructions, followed by statements such as: “Just let your creativity flow” and “I’ll know if I like it when I see it”. Feel free to continue the list.

Designer’s nightmares! Sometimes, you just have to live through them. Take a deep breath and pull through it.

Understand that it’s not about you. It’s about the client. And, the client always has the last say.

Designers and their pet peeves. Perhaps you can’t get rid of them, but you can control them.

Finally Start Blogging

Is 2024 the year when you’ll finally start blogging? If this has never been on your list of New Year resolutions for designers, it’s time to add it.

Blogging builds authority and trust. It improves your online visibility and fosters relationships with your audience. And, it turns you into their go-to resource for anything design related.

Use this strategy to show off your skills and watch the clients coming in.

Create Something for Yourself (Not Just the Clients)

Juggling different projects for various clients can be exciting. Yet, you have to make time for your own projects as well.

Create a new site, or redesign your existing one. Let new design trends for personal websites guide you through it. Freshen up that logo and reinvent your branding.

Design a piece of furniture to use at home, if that would make you happy.

Take a short pause from clients’ projects and do something for yourself.

Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024

Creative resolutions for designers will help you start the year off right. Say “Hello” to 2024 with some amazing ones.

Instead of getting blindsided by change, focus on making your own.

Just remember to keep the promises simple and realistic. The littlest of things can make the biggest of differences. Master a new skill, but forget about becoming a ninja.

Experiment with tools and design trends. Learn from the best, but perhaps start teaching too.

The right resolutions will motivate you to grow. Just make sure to stick to them.