Fuelled by a passion for merging design, art, fashion, photography, and video content, Pakistani-Canadian designer Alishbah Masood has created trend-setting work for beloved local businesses and iconic brands like Adobe.
Read her exclusive interview below to learn more about her design process, how she overcomes burnout, and why she relies on Stills for imagery to inspire and elevate her projects.
Stills: Describe your design process and how it’s changed as you’ve evolved.
Alishbah Masood: My process involves hands-on and organic techniques. I begin by finding my take on the project and aligning my style with the project’s scope. Regarding client work, I always like to research and find inspiration. Once I have a direction, my favorite part of my process is letting all my thoughts go into my sketchbook. With the collection of research, inspiration, and the client’s vision, I allow myself to sketch ideas that come to my mind freely. From there, I work with clients to narrow down to one direction that best fits their vision.
My personal work is a similar process. Rather than focusing on researching or finding a certain aesthetic, my designs are a mix of ideas that come to my mind when I feel inspired by everyday experiences—a quote I read, a picture I took, or a new design style. From there, I combine my organic artistic techniques with my digital and graphic design knowledge. Since starting my career, my design process has evolved from being structured to letting myself have more freedom. In the beginning, I often focused on producing precisely the vision I planned. Now, I find the best designs come from letting your creativity wander and working with the mindset that your completed design is what came to you naturally. It’s a reflection of your style.
Where do you look for inspiration?
My go-to places to find inspiration are Pinterest and Instagram. Besides social media, I also love writing my ideas in my notes based on everyday inspiration. I’ll find myself walking past a restaurant with cool signage and taking a picture, coming across a unique color palette and using it in my next design, or having a conversation with someone who inspires a quote for a poster design. I’m constantly grabbing my phone to take pictures and writing notes to gather inspiration. The thing I love about creative inspiration is that it can be translated from one medium to another. Disciplines like fashion and interior design spark creativity in my digital or traditional artwork.
How do you get your head back in the game when feeling burnt out?
As a creative, it’s so common and normal to have phases of burnout and lack of inspiration. During this time, I take a break from pushing myself to create when I lack motivation. To get back to creating, I focus on self-care and putting myself in places that will clear my head and spark new ideas, like going on solo outings, seeing friends, or planning something fun to change my environment. Once I have a clearer headspace, I go back to my curation of ideas, looking at my notes, sketchbook, social media, and boards to get myself passionate about creating again.
What is your ‘secret weapon’ when creating? How did you develop this skill?
Adding to my design process, my ‘secret weapon’ when creating is embracing freedom and detaching from rigid plans. By gathering different mediums, putting them together, and being content with the direction I took naturally. When designing, sometimes there’s pressure to create exactly what you envisioned, and when you can’t execute it, you become hard on yourself. Developing the skill of being proud of the work I create takes time, but it’s all about shifting your mindset. When you’re kind to yourself, you end up creating something even better than you could’ve planned out.
Looking back, what are some hurdles you had to overcome?
Two main hurdles I had to overcome were societal perceptions of creative careers and finding my unique design style. When choosing to study graphic design in college, I had a lot of support, but I also felt like there was a stigma around choosing a creative path when it came to success. It was challenging to ignore those thoughts in my head that made me think maybe I was making the wrong choice. Thankfully, I trusted my gut and continued to push myself to a point where I’m now grateful to be in this position and have had the opportunity to work on such amazing and fulfilling projects.
I also had to overcome the pressure of finding my unique style. I felt lost when I realized that many designers had distinct design styles and couldn’t find my own. I am now learning to find what reflects me. The core of my creative process is freedom, which has naturally started to show in my work.
What do you like about Stills? How is it a good resource for designers?
I love the variety and quality of images Stills has, especially the usability it has for designers. It’s a resource I know I can rely on for unique and high-quality images to enhance my projects. I also appreciate the platform being a place to support creatives, allowing photographers to leverage their work while also building a community that uplifts a diverse group of creators. Stills’ ability to serve as a platform for different disciplines of design is such a valuable resource in the creative space.
Explore a curated Board of Alishbah’s favorite imagery—all available to license on Stills.
