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Ep. 2: Brain Dumps & Brainstorms: Finding Your Creative Flow
66 Plays1 year ago
Join hosts Chloe and Darci as they give listeners a behind-the-scenes peek into the early stages of their own creative processes, sharing exactly how they turn jumbled thoughts into clearly executed ideas.
Breaking down the difference between a brain dump and a brainstorm, along with how to use each one, this episode’s conversation is packed with valuable advice for finding your creative flow when your brain feels busy or (worse!) blocked.
So, whether you’re sifting through endless ideas for your brand or struggling to get started, Brand Jam has your back!
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
Chloe & Darci’s favorite free graphic design tool > Canva
Darci’s favorite pens > Pilot G2 in .38
Chloe’s favorite pens > Pilot G2 in .5
Creative coach extraordinaire > Caitlin Liz Fisher
Follow Brand Jam:
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Website https://www.brandjampod.com
Follow Chloe at Chloe Arielle Design:
Website https://www.chloearielle.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chloearielle
Threads https://www.threads.net/@chloearielle
Follow Darci at Sweet Tooth Creative
Website https://sweettoothcreative.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to Brand Jam Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Brand Jam, the brand strategy podcast for colorful and compassionate brands. I'm Darcy, the candy-fueled copywriter behind Sweet Tooth Creative. And I'm Chloe, owner of Conscious Design Studio, Chloe Ariel Design. On the show, we'll be talking about what it's really like to build a brand from scratch when you're a business of one. And how to find what works for you so you can create a brand that grows with your business without burning yourself out. At Brand Jam, we believe there's no one right way to be, and embracing our differences enhances the experience for everyone.
00:00:32
Speaker
So if you're a fan of bold flavored branding and are trying to do business better, come hang out. We're so glad you're here.
Writing Without Judgment
00:00:41
Speaker
You're just doing the thing and you're not judging yourself and you're just getting it down on paper. And when you come back to it with fresh eyes, it really becomes obvious what is something and is something you should keep noodling on and what isn't.
Brain Dumps vs Brainstorming: Definitions and Differences
00:01:04
Speaker
Welcome to Brand Jam. I'm Darcy. I'm here with my co-host Chloe. Today we are talking about getting things out of your head and onto the page. We're talking about brain dumps and brainstorming and all of those initial first steps to creating that are so important to including your process when you're baking your brand from scratch.
00:01:22
Speaker
When you're first starting your business, there are so many things to think about and there's so much going on. It can be incredibly overwhelming and these strategies can just kind of help bring clarity, focus, and just clear some of that head clutter so you can keep moving forward.
00:01:40
Speaker
Okay, to kick things off, I think I've been using these terms interchangeably. Darcy, what is the difference between a brain dump and a brainstorm? Okay, yeah. So it's possible that this is maybe not something you experienced, Chloe, but as someone with ADHD, I absolutely do, where I just have all of these thoughts ping-ponging around my brain. Oh, 100%. Yeah, it gets a little crowded in there. So brain dumps are when you sit down and there's
00:02:09
Speaker
No goal except to get everything out of your head and onto the page where then you can start to look at it and organize your thoughts. Because when I try and do that organization in my head, it just it doesn't work out nearly as well. So brainstorming.
00:02:29
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like that would be the same thing, but here's the main difference. Brainstorming centers around a specific topic.
00:02:39
Speaker
With brain dumps, there's, again, no specific topic, really no parameters other than take whatever is bouncing around in your head and get it out of your head. Brainstorming, we're sitting down with the idea of focusing on a single topic or subject and getting ideas related to that out of your head, but also generating new ones. So does that help?
00:03:06
Speaker
Yeah. So I think, I mean, I think there's still some crossover. Green dump is getting things out of your head for clarity and for your mental health's sake. And then brainstorming, there's a little bit of that, but also the generating of new ideas about something specific, I think is where that's really.
Creative Value of Brain Dumps and Brainstorming
00:03:24
Speaker
Exactly. And both are really important steps in the creative process, but I think that.
00:03:30
Speaker
because they don't have this finished product that comes from them or you don't realize that's coming from them because maybe there's many steps in between that and the finished product. I think they're typically a little undervalued. I know I am guilty of undervaluing them when I was first starting out as a copywriter.
00:03:53
Speaker
And the more I kind of did them out of necessity because my break was so overcrowded, the more I realized how helpful they were and what kind of impact they had on my ability to be creative from day to day. So what about you? Did you, I mean, have you always, do you use them? Have you always, and how does that work for you?
00:04:20
Speaker
I think I kind of always have in some way, both of them, but I've definitely honed the skill as I've used them more. I mean, I think I mostly use brain dumping, honestly, for like to-do lists. Yeah, they're great for that. Things like tasks and things that are in my head, I will dump them to get them out of my brain.
00:04:48
Speaker
And I think brain dumping, at least for me, I would use more if I'm doing like a copy related thing. Like if I'm trying to write a blog or an email or something, my writing process is all over the place. So I just, whatever is in my head at the time, I just write them all out and then I will rearrange.
Communication and Execution in Creative Processes
00:05:10
Speaker
It's like a little puzzle.
00:05:12
Speaker
And then brainstorming. I mean, I use that every single project that I do. I like to start on paper sometimes. Sometimes it's Pinterest is where that starts. I use that all the time. Yeah. I definitely find in my own business, like.
00:05:27
Speaker
Brain dumping is more of the communication side of branding and brainstorming is more of the execution and the visual side especially. So like one does lend itself better to each side. So maybe that's why I love brain dump so much like brainstorming is fine. But whereas I used to feel like guilty or bad about needing to brain dump now that I have kind of
00:05:56
Speaker
gone through this whole pivot in how I view them. Now I get excited when it's a brain dump day when I'm like, Oh, okay. Yeah. No, my brain's at capacity. I need to sit down with a tablet and just write things out. Um, and then go from there. Um, I find it really kind of cathartic and enjoyable. It's something I look forward to, especially because one of my big blocks around brain dumping early on was absolutely perfectionism, which, you know, doesn't serve anybody and we all need to.
00:06:26
Speaker
work on not listening to those voices. And certainly I am on that journey myself. But now I know from having done this for so many years and seeing the kind of long-term results of incorporating brain dumping into my creative process, I know some of my best ideas come out of those brain dumps. So that makes me really excited to kind of sit down and do them because I'm like,
00:06:50
Speaker
What's lurking in there? Don't know. Fun surprises. Yay. Well, no until we get out all of the other things that have been blocking it. Exactly. Exactly. And knowing that it is going to make the rest of my week easier to have done that because it literally just seems to kind of unblock the flow of ideas for me.
00:07:12
Speaker
So do you have a system for your brain to, like, is there a certain, I don't know. Is there a certain app you use a certain day of the week? Like what is your, what do you do?
Organizational Tools for Brain Dumps
00:07:24
Speaker
I have a system. I can't say it's the most efficient system. It's not fully optimized, but it's better than, you know, past methods I've used. So I'm happy with it for now. So for me, one thing I really like is writing by hand. I don't like writing by hand when I have to write by hand. Like when you're in class taking notes and trying to keep up with a professor that talks to us, hate that. No, thank you.
00:07:53
Speaker
But when there's no time or running or anything like that, and it's just me and my thoughts, I really enjoy writing by hand. And so I generally will start there. I'll start with a legal pad and my favorite pen and just kind of start writing things down and see what happens. I also tend to, in the moment, if I have something that I'm like, oh, I need to make sure that gets out of my head. So
00:08:19
Speaker
but I'm doing something else, I use my notes app for that. So I will either start with, typically when I get it out of my head, I don't immediately go sort it.
00:08:29
Speaker
So I'll have these legal pads filled with my scribbling. I also have 20,000 notes in my notes app. And so when I'm ready to come back to things and sort them and organize the ideas, I'll go to one of those two things, either my notes app or these legal pads, and then I'll go through them and be like, okay, what's good? Look at it with fresh eyes. What's valuable here? What do I need to...
00:08:58
Speaker
move to a more permanent place so that it you know sticks around and then from there I move those good ideas into a notion document that is organized by like general topic but is not
00:09:14
Speaker
you know, something that I'm like, oh, well, this is where I'm creating X thing. No, no, this is where I'm gathering ideas around something. Pick the category and then go through the legal pad and anything that falls into that category. I just throw it into Notion really quickly.
00:09:33
Speaker
So that's my not super efficient way of doing it, but I really like it. It's working for me and things aren't getting lost because I used to brain dump and then the legal pads would just stack up and I've been there. I wouldn't go back to them.
00:09:52
Speaker
And when I finally did, probably because they were just taking up space in my house, then I'd be like, oh, this was a really great idea. I didn't do anything with this. So then I realized I needed to implement the second section of organizing them somewhere that's a little more permanent. Yeah, definitely. I love starting something with actual paper. I don't know.
00:10:17
Speaker
There's just something that works better with my brain when I'm actually holding something and writing it out. There's a time and a place for typed things, but yeah, to get things flowing. Yeah, it's something about the actual tactile input my brain just enjoys. Same. Oh, and I had to ask, you said you use your favorite pen. What is your favorite pen? It is the Pilot G2. G2.
00:10:44
Speaker
Um, and I will fight anybody. Yeah. The pilot G2, these are a must. I really love the 0.38. I like a couple of different weights, but the 0.38 is not a super common one. Um, but I really enjoy it. Yeah. That's a skinny tip on there. Yeah. Yeah. But I think it, um,
00:11:09
Speaker
For whatever reason, I think it matches the speed of my handwriting style and my thoughts well. Because I feel like I get too much slip with the other ones. I like the other ones for things where I want the penmanship to look beautiful and whatever, and I want the stroke to be nice and juicy, whatever. But for my own note taking and keeping up with my own brain for whatever reason, 0.38.
00:11:35
Speaker
Alright, I'm more of a 0.5 girl, but I can't do the 0.7. Yeah, the 0.7 is just too messy. I mean, I like it for certain things, but probably not anything where I'm like writing full sentences. Words get too blurry.
00:11:55
Speaker
Yeah, sorry for that side. I love pens. No, I love that. I have a whole box of like the 0.38 refills like that I keep on hand because I'm just like, no, I can never run out. No, thank you. Yeah.
00:12:10
Speaker
Okay, wait, one more thing with your brain
Starting and When to Use Brain Dumps
00:12:13
Speaker
dumping. So if someone is wanting to start a brain dump, it's just anything out of your head, right? Or is, do you do it when you're like trying to do a blog or you're trying to write something specific thing that comes up?
00:12:27
Speaker
The only time I would say I mean even that I think anytime it's really focused around a thing whether it's around a single like blog post or you're like Oh, I want to think of all the blog topics. I want to write about
00:12:41
Speaker
Like, yeah, it's a little brain dumpy, but it's mostly brainstorm dump is the lack of specification. There's no rules. Anything is allowed to go on the page, which, again, why I resisted it for so long, I think, was because
00:12:59
Speaker
perfectionism does not allow for that, but once I kind of embraced it, it's been really great. And it's just kind of like a great way to see, you know, is this a thing or is this not a thing? And when you come back to it with fresh eyes, it really becomes obvious what is something and is something you should keep noodling on and what isn't.
00:13:24
Speaker
Whereas when those things sit in your head, it doesn't matter how long they sit there for, there's never any coming back to it with fresh eyes, so you never get that clarity around it. Yeah, that makes sense. But yeah, if you wanted to start, I suggest a notebook you like, or I really like legal pads, because once you put a cover on a notebook, I forget about what I put in that notebook, whereas if I stick with the legal pad,
00:13:51
Speaker
I always skip the first page of a notebook and then start like on the second or third page because the first page is way too intimidating. I can't write on the first page.
00:14:02
Speaker
I haven't I haven't come across that in my own like notebook based anxiety, but I know judgment but that's a new one for me, but yeah, but with the legal pads I find like I Can only get so many pages down before I'm like, okay I need to like tear off and figure out what where these papers need to go And whether I'm using them or not
00:14:27
Speaker
uh whereas like in a notebook i'll just fill it up and then it just sits there and then i for i have no idea what's in it and it's just yeah i don't know it just doesn't work as well for me so anyway so yeah if you're like me legal pad if you really love a notebook use notebook but the main thing is just to kind of be like okay i'm just putting everything that's in my head on paper and it doesn't have to flow it doesn't have to have follow
00:14:55
Speaker
If any sort of outline, it doesn't have to make sense writing down thoughts. Yeah. And then maybe some related thoughts next to it. And then moving on to the next. It reminds me of like, um, in school and like writing classes, we would do like a free write kind of a thing where it's like, just, you're just doing the thing and you're not judging yourself and you're just getting it down on paper. Yeah. Kind of like stream of consciousness writing. Yeah. It's kind of like that in terms of, but like, a little, yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker
brain organization. Although admittedly in class I was bad at string of consciousness writing because the perfectionism would not let me relax and enjoy it. Yeah, it was a tricky one for me as well. But I think the key element here was the second half, or at least for productivity's sake, the second half of your system where going back through everything and putting them in more permanent places like
00:15:54
Speaker
digitizing the ideas or putting them in a list or something that exists. Yeah. I mean, I will say do it imperfectly. And if you aren't to the point where you can organize stuff, that's okay. There's still value. There is still value in the brain dump, even if you do not.
00:16:13
Speaker
organize those ideas later and come back to them because it does keep the ideas flowing. Um, so I think there's value in it, even if you can't do that next step, if that's too much to start with. But yeah, I do think like where you want to get to with it is that you are unblocking your brain. You are getting ideas out onto the page and
00:16:39
Speaker
then coming back to them with fresh eyes and putting them in more permanent places. But even an imperfect brain dump still serves you as far as your creativity goes. I mean, the amount of times I've written things in notebooks and then they've disappeared, but the process was still helpful. Right, exactly.
00:17:00
Speaker
did I probably lose some good ideas in the beginning that, you know, because I wasn't as organized? Yeah. But that didn't negate what I got out of the brain dump altogether. Okay. So when do you use the brain dump? So for me, brain dumps, like I said, sometimes my brain just gets busy and I'm like, Oh, I need to do a brain.
Design Thinking and Visual Brainstorming
00:17:25
Speaker
a brain dump. But I probably couldn't identify that feeling as well earlier on before it was built into my process. So I would say whenever you're at a point in your business or with your marketing where you're just not sure where to start, you don't have an obvious
00:17:45
Speaker
This is the next thing, priority-wise, that you need to be working on. That's usually a good sign for me that my kind of creative flow is blocked and I need to get some ideas out of my head and make some space in there.
00:18:02
Speaker
Or, you know, if you know what you should be working on, but you're having trouble focusing on it, sometimes that's a great time to do a brain dump. And then, you know, brainstorms, you use a little further down the line when you are working on this specific thing, when you're sitting down to figure out something new, but you know what that something new is. It's a new offer or, you know, it's a new,
00:18:30
Speaker
channel that you want to tackle in your marketing, then you can sit down and when you have that kind of categorization to start with, then you can bring in brainstorming. Before that, when you're like, I'm just kind of not, I don't know what I need. If it's like, uh, I don't know, then you want to bring it up. You know, if you're like, okay, I know I want to do this. Not sure how I want to do it. Then you're brainstorming. Okay.
00:19:00
Speaker
I think I combine them often because I think I start with the, oh, I don't know. And then once I get part of the way through a brain dump, it turns into a brainstorm because I get more specific and then I start generating more ideas. Well, and that makes a lot of sense too. I think it's kind of whatever works for you. If morphing it into a brainstorm is good for you to keep up momentum and stuff, then absolutely do that.
00:19:29
Speaker
What does, so since you do, I think you said you lean a little bit more towards brainstorming overall. What does that look like for you? Because I think we can all kind of maybe, or maybe I'm the only one that still remembers this lesson, but the brainstorming with like the topic and then the bubble and the bubble in like for written stuff in elementary school that you learn. But what does that look like for visual design?
00:19:57
Speaker
I mean, it can look like that. I don't often do it that structured. Usually, so I have a background in design thinking through college and a little bit after. And so I have a lot of the process from that kind of influences the way that I brainstorm things. Okay, explain to someone who's not a designer me. What's design thinking? Design thinking is actually it's not like specific
00:20:28
Speaker
to visual design. It's more of an overall design. And it's just a strategy to get people to think through things in a different way than they normally would. So you can start with the outcome and then work through the journey that someone will take to get there. And then you kind of work backwards a lot of the times. And they're very specific. I haven't done it in a, it's been a minute, but there's a specific outline and strategy that design thinking uses. But one of the things they use a lot is
00:20:57
Speaker
sticky notes and Sharpies, which I like. Together? Yeah, you use a Sharpie with a sticky note to brainstorm ideas or to generate. A lot of times in design thinking, there's a timer set and there's a topic and you are trying to come up with as many ideas for that topic in that time as possible. And so the sticky note just allows you to write something down and then move it away. And the Sharpie allows you to not overthink
00:21:23
Speaker
and try too hard and write it perfect like it's not going to be perfect it's going to be big and blobby and that's okay and so i just really like that um you're just getting it down and getting it away from you and just continuing on to the next and that's kind of where i start i guess
00:21:40
Speaker
I can totally see the value in that but like my own like tactile senses and stuff I'm like and probably my perfectionism is like oh that sounds uncomfortable but it probably is you know super effective so maybe it's something I need to try. And then the great thing about it is if you do use sticky notes and you can do digital or physical um but if you use that I mean there's all sorts canva whiteboard things like that now make it really handy to do like with the group from afar
00:22:10
Speaker
But the beauty of the individual ideas on individual sticky notes is that you can then move them around and create categories and find patterns in your ideas. And I love doing that. Okay, so that actually I think like that would apply really well to brain dumping too. Like, I mean, like obviously, yes, for brainstorming, but
00:22:34
Speaker
Okay, we'll see. Like now you're giving me a more efficient way to do this is where the overview. Yes, I'm with you. This is where I'm like, I can't figure out the difference because I think I do both. Yeah, I think. I mean, again, some of it's the like, probably just my own sensory stuff around being like,
00:22:55
Speaker
It'd be hard to write with a Sharpie on a post-it. I'm just like, that sounds uncomfortable because it's so small and that's fat and whatever. It's me being weirdo, but it's essentially like a faster path to what I'm already doing because you're making it in an easier to sort format. And I think there's value in it both ways. Like the working on a legal pad might work better for me because I'm not
00:23:23
Speaker
I can get into kind of a flow and I'm not running out of space and I'm not shifting things, but then it's harder to take those things apart and reorganize them.
00:23:33
Speaker
So it's give and take, but yeah, I could see if, you know, you don't find it disruptive to your flow to be like switching between post-its that that would save you a lot of time then. Because one of the things I love about brain dumping is being able to go through and pick pieces that were like not close to each other in your brain, but really are, you know, thematically related and then bring them together.
00:24:03
Speaker
So I like that a lot. And also with the Sharpie thing, I also tend to be on the side of perfectionist and the Sharpie just makes it. So that's just not really possible. It's just like, it's not going to happen. So we're just not going to worry about that. And I think it actually, it was possibly forced upon me by one of my professors in
00:24:27
Speaker
college he would have us do like a hundred tiny sketches before we created
Encouraging Imperfect Drafts for Creativity
00:24:33
Speaker
anything. We would literally draw like a hundred little boxes maybe not a hundred but it was a lot and then you've got these little like I don't know maybe three by three boxes sometimes smaller and he was like you can only use a sharpie
00:24:46
Speaker
And you're going to draw your idea and then a different one in every single box. And it was so challenging at first. Yeah, that smells scary. But your brain does unlock at some point when you release the, this has to look amazing. And you just let your brain do something.
00:25:05
Speaker
something happens and there's like a whole other branch that's unlocked for you. Yeah that's I mean there's like a kind of direct parallel on the copywriting side of where I say you know write it ugly and this was something I had to get over but I wouldn't have made it as a copywriter if I didn't. I was forced just by the nature of the job but I basically just give myself permission that the first 10, 15, 25 whatever there's no limit on it but
00:25:35
Speaker
The first time I write it, it can be ugly, especially if you're talking about something like a hero pitch, the five to seven words at the top of your homepage that are basically the most important copy on your website. Those five to seven words have to do a big job and to get them to be that efficient and that perfect and on brand and everything that you want them to be.
00:26:01
Speaker
Like it's not going to fall out of your head that way. You want it to, you really do. Life would be lovely if that was how it worked, but unfortunately it's not. And so you do have to kind of be like, press mute on perfectionism and be like, write it ugly. Keep writing it. Do like you had with the little boxes all next to each other of where like I write the line and even if it's terrible, I don't delete it. Then I write the next line and I'm just writing that line over and over again until it improves.
00:26:29
Speaker
It does. It improves so quickly when you do it that way, but when you are just writing it, scratching it out, writing it, scratching it out, deleting it, doing it on the website itself or whatever, it just takes a lot longer. Yeah. It's like you're opening and closing the door. Exactly. You have to keep it open. Stop closing. Yes. I know. I think it was Ann Lamott in Bird by Bird.
00:26:57
Speaker
she talked about shitty first drafts in that book. And yes, yeah, it's like the same thing. Just let it be bad. Yeah. Yeah. Someone who I follow who does writing coaching, Caitlin, Liz Fisher talks about, you know, like embracing the terrible first draft a lot. And I'm always like, so happy to see that stuff. I'm just, I need to hear even at this point, I still need to hear it. But it's especially important if you
00:27:23
Speaker
Like I know about shitty first drafts. I know about writing it ugly and I still need those reminders. So I think it's really important for the people who, you know, maybe haven't had the time to focus on writing the way I have to hear it as much as possible too, because they might not be able to remind themselves. They might not know. They might be holding themselves to this standard of, you know, Oh, well I'm not a good writer because
00:27:48
Speaker
I wrote this, the first few lines I wrote weren't good. So that's just perfectionism talking and we don't listen to her. Yeah. And something that helps me that might not help everyone is setting a timer for doing things like that, which I know as some people it
Enhancing Focus with Timers
00:28:06
Speaker
might shut your brain down. But for me, I thrive on a deadline. And I'm most my most creative towards the end of that deadline. I think that's
00:28:15
Speaker
not uncommon. But I mean, you're talking to an ADHD person. So yeah, no, I don't think that's strange at all. But yeah, that, you know, extra kind of like adrenaline or whatever that kicks into gear when the deadlines coming up. I have a it doesn't always work for me with timers, especially like short timeframe things.
00:28:42
Speaker
Like if a timer is running for less than 30 minutes, get it away from me. It just does not, it does the thing where it just shuts me down. Um, so it doesn't always work for me, but absolutely like, man, I never wrote a better paper than the night before it was due. So I, um, yeah, I definitely see the value in setting a timer. I.
00:29:07
Speaker
I would say I don't typically set one for brain dumping, but definitely if you're the type of person that that helps, I would strongly encourage it. So and try it both ways and see what works best for you. Yeah.
00:29:20
Speaker
And I'm not hard on myself with the timer. If it goes off and I still have, like I'm not running, facilitating an event or something. It's like, if the timer goes off and I'm in the zone, I'll just turn it off and keep going. Like I'm not. Yeah. Well, and I will say, I probably should use a timer more than I do because sometimes I can spend too much time on things and it, you know, has diminishing returns after a certain point. Um, so there are some things that I,
00:29:48
Speaker
like social media posts, like captions and even designs and stuff. I'm like, I do not need to tinker with a design for an Instagram post for hours. That's not the best use of my time. I may really love it when I'm done with it, but what's not the best use of my time? Probably not. So yeah, I do think being aware of the time you're spending and using timers when they're helpful is a super good thing to keep in mind.
Iterating and Refining Designs in Canva
00:30:17
Speaker
So Chloe, once you have a bunch of post-its, or if you're doing it where you're doing the tiny sketches with the timer in the boxes, where do you go from there? What's the next step in your process?
00:30:32
Speaker
So from there you kind of go back through and I don't know, you can physically circle the ones that you like best or just take the one you like best. And I usually go to the computer at that point, or you can draw it bigger and refine it on paper. Um, but let's say you're making a social media post and that's what you've been brainstorming or sketching about. I would generally, I would probably move it to like illustrator or Canva.
00:30:57
Speaker
Canva is usually the better option for the greater public, which I love Canva. I am not a designer that hates on Canva because it's amazing and it makes design so accessible and they just keep making it better. Anyway. We love Canva. Yes, we love Canva. So once you bring your design into Canva and what that means is you're just translating what you have on the paper. You have a headline, a spot for a headline, which it's usually just a box or a line because your sketches are small. Then you're going to put your headline in.
00:31:26
Speaker
And then if you have an image on there, you're going to find the shape that's similar to the one that you drew. And you're going to put the frame in there. And if there's any other elements, you put them on the page. But you don't need to rearrange them at first. Just put the elements onto the Canva. And you can do this without the brain dump or the brainstorm if you already know what elements need to be in there. So put them on there. Don't mess with them. Duplicate the page.
00:31:52
Speaker
and then start messing with things. I can tell from like the animation, you're like duplicating is key, right? Yes, iterating. I think that's just kind of a theme of this episode is don't delete the things that you think are bad. Just keep pushing through and keep duplicating. Anytime you want to change something, duplicate it again. Like you've made some changes. You're like, I don't know about that. Duplicate it because you don't want to be
00:32:22
Speaker
100 changes down the road and be like, oh crap, I really liked that first thing I did, but I rearranged everything and I have no idea how to do that again. This way you can just scroll up and find it.
00:32:32
Speaker
Yeah, and having the having the ability to compare it. Yeah, like being able to see it next to each other, just like the whole like having the ugly headlines next to each other. Yeah, this whole episode is really kind of like all about iterating rather than ruminating, which is something I like. I like to say, yes, like iterate don't ruminate. But yeah, I
00:32:54
Speaker
I didn't learn the thing about duplicating. I would just make the changes when I would make design in Canva myself as someone without a design background. And it took me a while to realize I should just duplicate the page and make the change. And I definitely wish I had learned that sooner. So I'm so glad you mentioned that.
00:33:15
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And then you can add things in and duplicate and take things away and then you can look at them next to each other, put it in presentation mode, flip back and forth, see which one you like better. That way you never lose anything. Yeah, and it helps me a lot too to even like go out to like the grid mode where you can see if you have 8,000 pages because
00:33:38
Speaker
Sometimes for me, seeing how it looks from far away makes me realize that maybe my design is not strong enough for a small screen, like a phone, like people would be viewing on Instagram. That helps me too.
00:33:52
Speaker
Yep, put it back in that tiny sketch format. Exactly, exactly. It's full circle. I love that. So then you go in and you iterate in Canva or Illustrator until you have the final design? Pretty much, yeah. And then I usually
00:34:11
Speaker
we'll put that the final design, I'll either make a copy of the whole thing, and then delete the other ones and have that be in its own like the finished one will be in its own document. And then you have all your drafts in a separate place. Yes. Okay, I have a question for you about that.
00:34:26
Speaker
So when do you know that you can delete like all those iterations you had? Like, okay. Oh, no, you keep them. You keep them. It's just that you separate the final one out. I make a copy. Yeah. And while I just make a copy, it depends. If I'm doing it for a client work, they don't need to see all my shitty first drafts. So I will make a copy and they will see the final one. But sometimes it's just helpful to put it in a different document. I don't know. Yeah, I totally, I totally agree with. I'm not
00:34:56
Speaker
what i'm trying to figure out for myself is that i end up with so much in canva that is just like previous versions but i can't let them go like yes if i'm like no that version really didn't work but when i have ones that are like somewhat similar i have a hard time like ever fully clearing them and so i tend to save them
00:35:15
Speaker
which will make a folder archives folder.
Summary and Personal Adaptation of Techniques
00:35:18
Speaker
Okay, so then you can get out of the clutter. But they're still there just in case at least until Canva like caps us at how much storage we can use. Like, why not just keep them around? I don't know. I went to art school. I'm a hoarder. They tell you to keep everything. Okay, all right. No, that's good. I just need it later.
00:35:39
Speaker
That's totally how I operate, but I wasn't sure if that was like standard or not. I mean, like I recommend that for copy too. I always make in any file I'm working in, I'm usually writing in Google docs. I keep what I call a scrap bucket. It's the last section in my outline that I can jump to on the links on a Google doc. And it's where I take anything that I'm like, okay, yeah, I'm not going to use this. Like I found a better version.
00:36:08
Speaker
a better way to say this, but I'm not deleting it either. Like, I just refuse. And so it gets copy and pasted. Yeah, because you just never know. Okay, so yay for hoarding our scraps. Digital hoarding is better because it doesn't take up
00:36:28
Speaker
Yeah, but, but you know, I don't, maybe I shouldn't mention this because I know you will care about this and then you'll have the same anxiety I have. But I have like guilt about my digital hoarding tendencies because they do have an environmental impact. And most of that guilt centers around my inbox because I will never be an inbox zero person. Oh, I'm an inbox zero.
00:36:51
Speaker
Oh, I wish I was. I just can't. So yeah, so the idea behind like, you know, junk email being bad for the environment that it, you know, uses servers, use fossil fuels, it they, you know, I'm sure they emit things, but I am not an engineer or an environmentalist. So I don't know for sure. But, um, so I have guilt around that.
00:37:15
Speaker
And so then that tends to carry over a little bit with Canva. Because I mean, I would say the scrap buckets on my Google Docs don't take up a ton of space, whereas my iterations on Canva. Yeah, where Docs are small. So I have some guilt about those things, but it makes me feel better to know that it's normal to not be willing to let go of a design. Even once I've put the final design out into the world, I'm like, OK, I could probably delete the other versions. And I'm like, but.
00:37:45
Speaker
What if I want it later? What if I come back to it and decide this is the better version? Well, if you do want to delete, you could just narrow it down to like some of your favorites or something. But anyway, we digress. OK, so to recap.
00:38:01
Speaker
Brain dump is just for getting things out of your head, making space in your brain, keeping things flowing on the creative side. And brainstorming is generally a similar process, but it's centered around a specific topic, subject, goal, whatever. But these are both things that
00:38:25
Speaker
I recommend using, Chloe recommends using when you're from the time you start with the kind of day one basic branding we talked about last episode, all the way to when you're where we are, you're sent to our businesses, still using these things like beyond. Yes, exactly. They're never they never go out of style. Love it. Taylor Swift teaches smoothly put in there. Yeah, well, I learned from the master on the Easter eggs and stuff.
00:38:55
Speaker
Oh, I was just going to say it because we were spending so much time defining them, but at the end of the day, don't get hung up on which one you're using, whichever thing you're using that is working for you. Like it doesn't, you don't have to be like having the specific correct title of it if it's working and it's getting ideas out of your head. Don't worry if it's a brain dump or a brainstorm. Just, just do it.
00:39:19
Speaker
Yes, definitely. Nobody's going to come and beat you over the head because you use the term wrong or whatever. We differentiate so that we make some kind of sense here, but your process could look like mine. It could look like Chloe's. It could be a mix. It could be something totally different. Whatever works for you. Yeah. As long as, you know, it's not based on what perfectionism is telling you to do.
00:39:53
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Brand Jam. Check out the show notes for links to the resources we talked about. If this episode hit the spot, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. It helps Brand Jam reach more listeners, so we really appreciate it. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you next time.