In this episode we talk about each of our design processes. We look at everything from the initial brainstorm, to the initial ideas, early stage designs, refinements, and final mockups. This is an insight into the workflow of four successful designers.

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Show Notes for This Episode:

[1.00] This week we’re talking all about design processes
[1.50] Ian’s initial phase of ideas popping into his head ‘idea sparks’
[2.40] Dustin starts with the outcome, and goes backwards from there, reverse engineering what he wants to achieve
[3.30] How Tom would see a website and instantly see how to improve it
[5.00] Ian advocates getting down the most obvious idea first
[6.00] Lisa starts by forming a personality for the company she’s working with
[7.00] She also always made it clear to new clients that she had a particular aesthetic, and that is what they should expect
[7.50] Once you have the personality down, start with mood boards, colour boards etc…
[8.50] Take the time to really familiarise yourself with the company, their values, their business plan etc…
[9.20] Look beyond just your point of contact, and think about the wider company
[10.00] As your career develops, you’ll have choice over the projects you take on
[11.00] When you care about the client’s company, the process gets easier, and you feel more inspired
[12.50] Dustin looks at how to stand out against competitors
[14.00] The first steps after the ideas phase. Lisa starts by writing down words, to get the creativity flowing.
[14.45] Dustin would start creating a rough collage of visual ideas
[15.20] Tom would just start designing from a blank canvas (typically a bad idea), but he’s lay everything down very roughly, then start a new document, and redo his work, in a more pixel perfect way
[16.15] Ian also just starts playing around and seeing what looks good
[17.15] There is something to be said for not always following a careful process, and just being rough and creating
[19.00] Tom’s process of trial and error designing
[20.15] Deliberating over which versions of the same design are better
[22.00] At some stage, everything starts to look the same!
[23.00] The rollercoaster of emotions throughout a project’s process
[24.20] Lisa starts mocking up her designs, to see them in real world context
[26.00] Looking at designing with context in mind, and revisions
[29.00] Ian not taking his own advice!


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