/Design Process

The Brief
The first and most important step of the creative process. I work with the client to define thier goals, criteria and priorities either by a face to face meeting or a questionnaire and phonecall. This part is all about getting to know, and understanding the client. The client/ designer relationship is immensly important to me in order to fully understand the project.

Research
Any design project, regardless of how big or small it may be can always benefit from valuable research before the work begins. During this step I get to know my client's business, this normally includes general reading on the industry and subject itself, and also on its competitors.



Visual Research
This is where I look for inspiration, mainly from competetitors and peers to see what is and isn't successful and evaluate why. Competitive analysis lends a huge advantage to the creative process, since a great amount can be learned from thier successes and failures.

Sketching & Exploration
This begins as a very open minded brainstorming of thoughts related to the project at hand. This helps me to gain a wider perspective on the project and problem that I am attempting to solve.

Thumbnail sketching allows me to explore all of the multiple outcomes and complex ideas for the project in a quick and short period of time. Being able to sketch and jot down ideas is a crucial part of the creative process.



Reflection & Client Feedback
After taking a break away from the project, I like to return with renewed enthusiasm, insight, more ideas and also feedback from others if possible. Once I have finalised my idea/s, I present them to the client for feedback to ensure that the brief has been successfully met.

I allow the client enough time for intake. I then work with the client to produce stronger ideas if necessary and the best ones come straight back to the drawing board. As mentioned before, I feel that the client/ designer relationship has to be a strong one in order to produce the best results in order to successfully solve the problem and get the most out of the project.

Execution
Once a concept is agreed upon, the final production can begin. The design goes through the final proof reading, high resolution images inserted and final adjustments are made regarding color, typography and layout. Attention to detail is a critical part in this stage of the creative process.