Understanding the Design Process (yes, there really is a method!)

Now I’m not talking about a method like in your kindergarten coloring book where everything labeled 1 is green, 2 is blue, and so on, I’m talking about a process beginning with a problem and ending in a solution. It’s something they teach you in design school early on, and the most successful graphic design companies and web design companies use this process. Good thing I went to class that day.

You should have a design brief before anything is done. In short, a design brief is an overall summary of the project you want created. The purpose of a design brief is to have a clear picture of what is to be accomplished with any design project. A good design brief will include a clear set of objectives. You’ll be able to test designs and concepts against your objectives. Remember to prioritize your objectives as sometimes it’s not possible to effectively design and communicate for every objective. Next thing you will want to have is a picture of your target audience, and be as specific as possible.

If you’re still unclear how to prepare a design brief, read on. Understanding the design process will help you to craft your own design brief.

First, we must understand your problem. You don’t have a problem, right? By problem, I don’t mean that you need a great website designed otherwise your business will go bankrupt (although for some companies that may be true). Maybe your goals are for more customers, or to sell more (these goals and objectives will be in your design brief). The problem lies in how to achieve this.

We need to understand all the variables we need to design around. So you need more customers. There are limitations to what good design can accomplish. For example, it would be very unrealistic for Ensure™ to market it’s energy drinks to teenagers with its current campaign, they would need a completely separate design and strategy. We need to ask questions and understand your company, your marketing goals and efforts, and the current market environment.

Once we discover the problems and what we need to do, it’s important to imagine the destination. Traveling without a destination is wandering, and can be fun, but in business it can end it all if you find yourself constantly nomadic.

The quickest way from point A to B is a straight line (or a curved line on a globe). We know where to start and where to end, so we need to find that perfect design solution to make the straight line. Here a design team will discuss how to best achieve results. Sometimes people need convincing or a better understanding of particular solutions and problems, and research needs to be done.

Once the gory details get sorted out, the design team puts together mockups and samples of the best ways to solve any design problem. From here, we can find what will work well, and what won’t. What will best sell your goals? Will this have any negative or positive adverse reactions? Will implementation of the design solution come in on budget?

Once the design team has achieved this step, we can choose the best solution. So we now have a problem, a destination, and a path laid out. And you have a detailed idea of how a design made it to fruition, and how it can best meet your goals and make you money.

Sometimes there will be risk involved with good design that will pay off (much of the world’s best design and businesses have taken risks), and some will need to be revised. All we have to do is go back through the path we’ve taken, and change the parts that did not work. Easily putting you on the path to healthy profits.