DESIGN PROCESS

Good designers are conceptual thinkers who see inspiration everywhere. I've found inspiration everywhere from fine art galleries to watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain. However, having the power of conceptual thinking can overwhelm a designer with ideas and make starting the actual design very difficult. That's why staying organized within a design process is so important.

My process gives me the freedom to explore all of my ideas and collect inspiration without overwhelming myself. In this article I will break down my process and share how I create my designs. This information will be beneficial to someone who's just getting started in graphic design, or a client who would like to know how a designer works, or more specifically, how I work.

Research and Inspiration.

The first thing I do when I start a project is find out everything I can about the client/company I am designing for, and the specific market. Sometimes this can be the most time consuming part of the process. I research and take notes of anything I feel is important to the design and write down any keywords that I feel I can build a concept off of. While I am researching I create an inspiration folder. In this folder I collect any images, either photos I take or images found online, that I might use later as inspiration. For example, I took pictures of mold growing and used them as a color palette for a packaging project with a biological concept. After I've learned all I can about the client/company. I take the keywords I've written down and make a mind map. Using a thesaurus and connecting the keywords together helps me narrow the words down into taglines. At this point, I have my thoughts and ideas collected and organized and I can start finding inspiration on the visual communication of these ideas. Basically I just take the taglines I've created and go crazy online. I collect any images (into my inspiration folder) that I find either visually pleasing or communicates very well. Inside my inspiration folder I have these images separated by the taglines or concept. I search for typography, drawing, paintings, movies, or any other design inspiration that has to do with the taglines.

Mood Boards.

Now that I've got lots of research and different ways I can go with the design, where do I start? Even if I feel like I have a clear starting point I still place my collected inspiration into mood boards. They include photos, typefaces, colors, and whatever else you find that displays the look and feel of the concept. Now I have three or four boards that each display a different concept. Now I show the client theses boards and ask them for feedback. Most of the time they will pick one and give me a great starting point for the actual design. It is very beneficial

to have these hanging up in my work space while I'm designing for quick reference or to keep my mind from straying away to a different design. I also like to make notes on my boards to remember little details. Like on the board above I found that most pet products use some sort of icon system on the front to visually display the benefits of the product.

Sketching.

I don't think there's a wrong way to start sketching. For logos and typographical pieces I prefer to start with a thick black marker and a pad of bristol board. This allows me to sketch quickly and make marks that can only come from my hand. I'll go back and forth from tracing images and copying other designs to learn how different marks were made. Then I'll

post them up on a cork board and decide which ones are working the best. If I need to I'll lay them out on a light box and refine them. Once I got a few that I like I'll scan them into the computer, vectorize them, and clean them up. Once I feel like I have a few good options, or if I get stuck, I review my research again to make sure I'm not missing anything important.

For posters, packaging, websites, and other layout designs I like to start with a pencil and graphing paper. This helps me make quick sketches of different layout options before plugging in design work and information. Then I'll create a branding components artboard in illustrator. This is a collection of drawings, images, colors, and fonts I can pull from (like a palette for a painter). This makes it quick and easy to plug everything into the layout in photoshop or indesign.

Mockups.

Doing a couple quick mockups is a great way to test the design for functionality and make sure all the components work well together. For example, mocking

up a few t-shirts with the logo you just designed is a good way to see how the logo works with different color combinations. This also gives you some good examples to show the client and narrow down some branding guidelines.

Presenting.

Putting together all the research, sketches, and mockups can be the most rewarding part of the design process. I'm always excited to share the final design with the client and run through why it is the best option for them. After the presentation I will take any feedback from the client and make one more round of revisions if necessary. Then I setup the files for them and label each one. If necessary I will include a pdf of what situation each file is for and guidelines on how to use them.

This design process allows me to work efficiently and back up all of my design decisions with research. Depending on who the client is they may want to be included in the process. Getting feedback from the client can speed up the process and be very beneficial if it is organized and managed. Usually getting feedback on the mood boards gives you a place to start sketching. Then, giving a few options and collecting feedback after sketching narrows it down. Finally, feedback after presenting the final design finalizes the project. When asking for feedback I tell the client to review the design for three days then write out the feedback for me to reference.