Four “I”s

What process do you use to accomplish your design projects?

What steps do you take to complete the assignment efficiently and effectively?

Do you have a repeatable method that guides you from brief to solution that takes many options into consideration?

If you don’t, you should. It keeps you focused and productive in the face of the pressures that naturally accompany graphic design (or most any other creative) projects.

May I suggest the following Four “I”s.

Inspiration: There is inspiration for projects everywhere. You may have heard it called your “visual vocabulary.” Designers need to be students of design and it shows up in just about every place you look. Another term you may have heard is “swipe file.” The truth is just about anything will inspire just about anything if you’re sensitive to it.

Investigation: Applying the inspiration to the project at hand while asking “What if?” is a crucial part of arriving at a solution. Experiment! Discover! Attempt many possibilities! Your best solution is seldom your first one. The more possibilities you design, the more you have to consider. And refining a bad idea results in a refined bad idea. Commit to the search.

Iteration: When you’ve arrived at a workable solution, even it can be revised toward a better solution. Consideration of the many nuances of the design may indicate better ways of completing it. This also gives the chance for sizes, arrangements, colors, typefaces to show up as elements of the best possible solution.

Implementation: Put the design to work. Put all of the previous research into play in the environment for which it was designed. Think through all possible needs and collect the files that will be needed. Prepare the final files for delivery or production as necessary and pass them along to the responsible parties. Even at this point assess the success or lack thereof of your work. Is there something you overlooked? Fix it and remember it for the next project.

This is just one of many methods that result in designs that are appropriate to the brief given. If you choose not to use this one, find one that works for you and use it well. Your designs will be evidence of your thoughtful process.

Happy designing!