What is the Design Process?

I have been asked numerous times about what it is like to be a graphic designer, so here are some of the daily routines that all designers must go through, in addition to more niche topics that you may not know of.

Design Process Stage 1

Reseach

The design process starts out at humble beginnings. Before any thought is put into designing any graphics, research is done on anything and everything about the topic or client. Designers need to know the full Who, What, When, Why, Where: who the design is for; why would the recipients want the design; what are their values, morals, behaviors, or habits; where is this design going displayed or featured; when it will be displayed; and the list could go on and on. The point of design is that everything has a purpose, and so knowing the reason behind every little detail can be vital to a good design. Another aspect of the research process is about visual research, which includes things like mood boards and inspiration boards. These are especially important in the application stage, but we will get to that in a minute.

Design Process Stage 2

Brainstorming/Sketches

The next step is all about brainstorming and sketching, the trial-and-error phase. Usually, a designer will start with a brainstorming session of ideas that could be explored. As for me, I like to start with a word map, especially for some of my branding campaigns. Brainstorming can look different from designer to designer, so if you want to start designing then you should explore the different options available, and find what works best for you.

After brainstorming, sketches follow close behind. Sketching refers to drawing or illustrating the rough drafts of a design. This can mean logo designs, typography choices, layouts for publications, supporting elements, and the many more examples. Sketching can also look very different from designer to designer, but it is nearly always the origin of the final design. This a time to take all the ideas you brainstormed, make them a reality, and test their feasibly and limits. Many may not know this, but the vast majority of designs go through alignment, visibility, and readability tests before they are ever shown to focus groups. The best design will then move onto the final steps.

Design Process Stage 3

Rendering

Past sketching, rendering comes next. Rendering is the term used by video editors and 3D modelers to describe the process of taking all of the audio clips, recordings, animation, lighting, or 3D model assets and combing them into a completed video or 3D model; I use it here though to refer to the process of taking all of the assets and guidelines made during the sketching stage and using them to create the final product. It is about taking the brand guidelines and the visual assets you have made and using those as building blocks for the business letterhead, website page, or any other graphic design process you take on. This stage is also about refining and polishing the designs by using the feedback you acquired through testing and focus groups.

Design Process Stage 4

Application

Finally, the last step is application. Once you have your finished product, now you have to sell it, and you do that by taking the product and applying it to different platforms, avenues, or mediums in which to display your work. Usually this means reorganizing and representing the information graphically through different formats. For each platform or avenue there are different requirements, which means that you have to make custom changes to your outline for each platform. For example, you would not make an Instagram post about the statistics you found in your research about how your target audience will respond to the designs you made. Likewise, you would not present a mood board of stylistic pictures and no information for a professional review. Platforms like Linkedin.com, Behance.net, social media presence, professional websites, handouts, and much more require a graphic designer to find different ways to tell the same story.

There is a lot that goes behind the scenes of the graphic design process. I hope that I have cleared some questions up about it.

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