When I hear people talk about their design process, they usually sound very clean and organized, and it goes something like this:
Research.
Sketch.
Digitize.
Revise.
Finalize.
In theory, this is a great process that works well when your ideas are flowing, but that is not always the case. My process is definitely not always neat, and to be honest, I don’t think it always needs to be. I try to start all of my designs with research and sketching, but sometimes I get inspired by an idea that needs to be put in the software immediately.
I often get stuck on the sketching phase because I can be really indecisive. I can see the potential of every idea I have, so I struggle with deciding which one to go forward with. I usually just explore ideas until one of them feels right. I have to stare and think for a while sometimes before the creativity starts flowing.
Feedback is always good to get another perspective on my work. I think you can ask for feedback during any stage of the process, not just during revisions. I’ll make a lot of revisions to my design before it is finalized, and a lot of these revisions are minor details that are important, but not noticeable by the average person.
Sometimes my idea is so good in my head, but I am not sure how to recreate my imagination, and I get frustrated with my outcome. I even have to create something that I know won’t work sometimes just to see what happens. The design does eventually come to its final form, and the funny thing is that when the final piece is finished, it can look effortless, but behind that simplicity is the blood, sweat, and tears that come with trying different versions and experimenting with the ideas that didn’t make it.
So my design process is not perfect. It is a lot of trial and error, but when an idea clicks, I feel like I can design anything in the world.
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