What Is The One-Hour-Block Technique And How Can It Help In Graphic Design?

For many people, working in the graphic design industry is a dream come true – they get to spend all day being creative and artistically inspired, as well as playing around with colour and texture. But what happens when you’re having one of those days where inspiration simply will not come? You sit at your desk, wracking your brain for some tiny little idea but no light bulb appears. Some designers take the day off, whereas others try the one-hour-block technique.

Basically, this technique involves doing all of the work that you need to get done in a single hour. It forces you to be time-conscious and prevents you from redoing graphic designs from scratch simply because they don’t ‘feel right’. At the end of the hour, you review the work that you completed and decide whether it meets your clients specifications. If it doesn’t, you still have time to tweak the project a little until it does. The one-hour-block technique can also help you to create natural designs, which tend to be your best work.

But what do you need to make the one-hour-block technique work for you in the graphic design profession?

• Good timer: It is important to have an accurate timer on hand to ensure that you only take an hour. Use an egg timer, a stopwatch and even the timer that came with your mobile phone; whatever you want, as long as it alarms at the end of the hour.
• Planning: Before you begin your hour of work, make sure that you jot down the specifications of the project so that you have a point of reference should you become stuck. You can do this in dot point form if it makes it easier.
• Inspiration: Take some time to take a look at other graphic design projects that achieve the same aim that you are trying to. Ask yourself what makes these designs successful and what puts them ahead of your client. Then ask yourself how you could improve that.
• Design: Now you can begin your first one-hour-block. Set the timer, pick up a pen or a mouse and begin cramming as much graphic design into that timeframe as you can without rushing.

The one-hour-block technique will take some getting used to – you will probably need to use it for two or three graphic design projects before you begin to notice any improvement in your work. Once you have gotten the hang of using such a technique, however, you will find it an invaluable tool for ensuring that your projects are completed to schedule and that they really are a work of art.