I started my research by looking at Stefan Sagmeister's book 'Things I have learned'. The book is not directly about his design process but instead tells people things he has leant in life so far that can be applied to his process and are helpful. Examples such as...
~ Having guts always works out for me
~ Everything I do always comes back to me
~ Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses
~ Everybody who is honest is interesting
~ Everybody always thinks they're right
~ Trying to look good limits my life
Each of these points can be applied to the design process. For example 'trying to look good limits my life', you could say this shows the importance of following a certain style or aesthetic rather than being conceptual and creating an informed design could really limit your work.
Looking at this book has made me consider how previous issues in briefs have affected my design process now. I want my leaflet to encourage experimentation and not to stress as much as they're things I personally need to improve on in my work. 'Having guts always works out for me' is a very bold statement and inspires me to think further than the standard vector work and instead be more daring with work. I think this is an important part of the design process a lot of people forget about.
I next briefly looked into a book specifically on the design process. It broke down each part of the design process that is important.
Research -
gathering information
target audience
samples and feedback
Idea generation -
sketches
themes
inspiration
brainstorming
informed
Refinement -
appropriation
feedback (crits)
humour
personification
colour theory
typefaces
proportion
production
Prototyping -
materials
solving issues
budget
ease of production
finance (budget)
Implementation -
format
materials
finish
media
scale
series
The book helped underline the professional requirements to a design process that everyone should follow. If one stage is missed for example prototyping it could bring up a lot of issues when briefing the client with the final design.
After looking at these points i've decided to add some personal attributes to ease the stress of such a harsh sounding process, as your design process can be fun if you know how to make it!
Personal additions (some humourous and light hearted ideas) -
caffeine
naps
music
socialising
change of environment
& the joys of the final product and money at the end!
Next I wanted to look into the design process of one of the designers I personally find most inspiring, Kate Moross. Her work inspires me because of the instant feeling of fun and experimentation so I felt it would be valuable to see how she manages to create this feeling throughout her work whilst creating a wide range of design outcomes.
~ https://vimeo.com/74275116 ~
I watched one of Kate's talks on her work and design process for Its Nice That which gave me an insight in her unique process. Part of her process includes being inspired by her past, environment and pretty much anything quite spontaneously rather than limiting herself to the internet and libraries.
DIY- do it yourself, Kate uses this to describe her design process following the punk movement ethos she grew up being inspired by. The ethos follows a few basic rules that help the design process run fluidly and keeps her work consistent...
~ fix what is broken
~ grow or make your own
~ repair don't replace
~ reclaim, recycle and teach
~ you can do anything
These core values can then be applied to graphic design.
The talk made it clear her work process is really laid back and this is a large part of her success. ''If you can't fuckin' do it, learn how'', watching this speech makes me think the strict guidelines I previously read in the Design Thinking book might actually limit people's personal design process and fluidity and improvisation should be encouraged as part of the leaflet.
She actually stated during the talk that she doesn't usually make too much time for research as she prefers to work at a fast pace, improvising at every opportunity.
''Simple is cool''
''Fast is good'' as much as research can create strong ideas, a lot of ideas can come to you fast and the development stage is the most appropriate time to tweak your design to be more informed by the brief without it taking a lot of time spent in a library. ''Often my best ideas are on the phone when the client gives me the pitch''
The last thing I got from the talk was that she uses the materials directly around her to reduce costs and time.
Kate's laidback process is really inspiring and shows design can be incredibly fun when you take life a little less seriously. I think for my leaflet telling people to care less about research might be a little too much, but I want to make it clear to be more laid back with your process and that improvisation doesn't have to mean sloppy.
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