How to Gain Visual Experience
Every person creating content has at least once wondered where to get ideas and inspiration for their projects. To avoid such troubles, you need to broaden your visual experience.
Today, we will talk about what visual experience is, how to form this skill, how to create ideas independently, and where to take time for it. I will also tell you what to do to benefit from your addiction to social networks and where to look for sources of visual experience.
Visual Experience = Viewing Experience
Everything, from social networks to the place of residence, leaves an imprint on your visual taste. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in working with content.
However, now we are in constant information noise, which hinders the development of visual experience: poor-quality visual content blurs the sense of beauty. Therefore, you need to constantly train this skill because it is a kind of creative muscle, without which it is impossible to grow in the creative industry.
The proper level of visual experience helps to understand the current trends. That, for example, simulated emotions will cause the consumer’s distrust. Therefore, brands are actively broadcasting the concept of naturalness in content: from the colour solutions of content to models' emotions.
Image Resource - Everypixel
As in the case of physical training, classes on the development of visual experience should be systematic and thoughtful. It is impossible to accumulate the necessary knowledge in a couple of days.
“I Don't Have Time”
You need at least 1-2 hours a day or 700 hours a year to form good visual taste. It seems that it isn't easy to find at least an hour of free time to train this skill at the current pace of life. However, according to the study results, in 2020, Internet users used social networks daily for an average of 145 minutes a day, which is about 900 hours a year. It is the time that you can spend on developing your visual expertise.
Open the app usage statistics on your phone and see how much time social networks, games, and entertainment take up per day or week. Most likely, you will find an extra couple of hours.
Sources of Visual Images
After finding some free time, you need to figure out where to get materials to develop your visual experience.
1. Social Networks
In social networks, cancel all subscriptions, which are not associated with the visual or broadcast uninteresting visuals. Pay special attention to those social networks where you spend more time. It would be best if you left only trendsetters — those who, by their example, make innovations go mainstream, and content creators – photographers, stylists, art directors, etc.
This method will allow you not to cut back on social media and at the same time benefit by viewing content that broadens your visual experience.
2. Pinterest
Pinterest is a portal that hosts a large amount of aesthetically beautiful content. Pinterest algorithms form a feed taking your interests and activities into account: likes, saves, transitions, and requests.
Subscribe to the collections of other users if their content inspires you and mark the content you like. Pinterest makes it possible to quickly and conveniently make mood boards using Pinterest content and content from other resources. To do this, you need to install an extension for your browser.
You can easily find cool ideas on any topic there and improve your aesthetic judgement.
3. Behance
A popular platform among designers. On Behance, they post their works and form a portfolio. Subscribe to accounts whose content has hooked you and view them.
If you have already started unsubscribing from unnecessary social media accounts, subscribing to the correct accounts and registering on Pinterest and Behance, you are on the right track. But there is one more important step to the cherished goal.
There Will be no Result Without Practice
The main thing in spending any resource is the result. So the output of your surfing should be a mood-board, collections or shoot briefs.
However, if you stop here, your results will be deceptive. The final step should be the implemented project. The realization of an idea and getting real experience is what allows you to grow professionally.
You will be able to properly set tasks for creating visual content and communicating in the same language with those who have implemented these tasks. You will learn how to select shooting references, distinguish between good and bad content, and evaluate its compliance with the current visual trends.
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