Creative Research
Creative Research Isn’t
Just Googling —
It’s Stepping Into Their Shoes
Most people think research is easy: just search for competitors, trends, or “similar designs,” and you’re done. But that’s only scratching the surface. True creative research is about unlearning your own biases and seeing the world from another perspective — the client’s perspective.
Here’s what I mean: before you even start sketching ideas, try this:
Forget your style for a moment.
Every designer has habits, favorite colors, preferred layouts. Step away from those. The goal isn’t to reproduce what you already like — it’s to explore what actually works for the client.
Put yourself in their shoes.
Imagine the company as a person: their goals, their audience, their fears. Look through the eyes of the owner, the marketing team, the frontline staff. What decisions would they make? What story are they trying to tell?
Assume knowledge, then test it.
Generate ideas based on your assumptions of the brand. Sketch concepts, layouts, or messaging that you thinkwould resonate. Then compare with the reality: what the client, audience, or market actually responds to. This comparison is where insight lives.
Document your discoveries.
What assumptions were right? Which were wrong? How did research confirm or challenge your instincts? This documentation doesn’t just inform your design — it builds trust with clients and strengthens your creative reasoning.
Why it matters:
This method forces you to think beyond surface-level inspiration. You’re not just copying what’s out there; you’re empathizing, testing, and discovering. And the more you practice stepping into others’ perspectives, the stronger your intuition becomes — your ideas will start landing faster, feel more aligned with client goals, and ultimately, become more effective.