@nickwichman
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There’s Power in the Process
I’ve been fortunate enough to gain significant project experience over the past couple years and I’ve learned a few things about the true importance of process.
Process is defined as “a particular course of action intended to achieve a result,”
and in the creative design industry it is just that. The result, of course, is a successful design campaign, created for the correct target audience, and executed within a given timeline with specific resources. These pieces will only come together seamlessly with good project planning, timely content delivery, sufficient meeting time, and an experienced designer or design team.
The “particular course of action” that I use for my projects is a tested, matured, and completes projects with, almost always, no holdups.
First, I connect with the client and discuss their desired project, including budget, desired medium (be it print or web/interactive), project goals, target demographic, and learn about them. Second, I research their industry, their competitors, their audience, and solutions that will be appropriate and successful for meeting their goals. Third, I organize the information; discuss concepts and proposed direction with the client. Fourth, I plan the project. This is a critical stage that many designers skip. It is not enough to just jump into the design at this point. It must be clearly organized and wireframed. Much like the importance of a blueprint when designing a home or car, the blueprint for a design project clearly shows the elements that will be used and their influence on the site around them. Then, and only after the clear planning stage, the fifth step begins. Create. Finally, after all of the client input, after the industry research, and after the strategic planning, I will begin the actual creation of the visual pieces. Using design standards of space and typography with creative execution, I will create the designs. And sixth, analyzation of the designed pieces is the final step. There is nothing as exciting as launching a new project and seeing real results.
As I said, without a process a design project can have a lot of problems.
Some of the issues that may come out of a poor design process (or complete lack of one) are the following: poorly designed/not demographic-focused designs, long waiting periods with no communication, misunderstandings in scope and project direction, and (worst of all) the disappearing-designer, or the designer who just falls off the face of the earth. I encourage you to research your designer, find one that fits well with you and your project, and one that invests themselves in your project as if it were their own.
If you have any questions or would like a free consultation from a professional designer in Portland, Oregon, either email me at info@wichmandesign.com or contact me here.
