Design Process

The Design Process There are four distinct steps in the Design Process we’ll be using in this class. They are... Ideas Thumbnails Rough Final

The Design Process The Design Process is something that all designers use and develop based on their specific needs.

Case Study: A logo design for a company called “e-Design” A company called e-design approached me to create a logo. Without telling me what line of work they do, they wanted to see several ideas from me first.

STEP ONE: IDEAS Ideas - Thumbnails - Roughs - Finals The design process should be done for each project we work on in class. It consists of four parts: Ideas - Thumbnails - Roughs - Finals STEP ONE: IDEAS These are your initial ideas about the project you’re working on. Start gathering information Make a list of everything which comes to mind when you think of the project. Look at examples & take notes on what’s needed to complete it. Research images on the net, in clip art… ideas come from all over

STEP 2: THUMBNAIL SKETCHES Thumbnail sketches are small SKETCHES (not drawings) that are meant to convey your ideas in a simple and fast format. They should show a range of VALUES (lights and darks).

BAD THUMBNAILS

BAD THUMBNAILS

THUMBNAIL TIPS Don't fret over details. Use thumbnails to establish approximate locations for major elements. Try for an approximately proportional page size . Billboard Style Make lots of thumbnail sketches! You'll rule out many design ideas quickly this way before wasting time. Poster Style I encourage you to do thumbnail sketches in pencil in the concept stages of a project, based on the theory that working on the computer actually inhibits initial experimentation

DESIGN TIPS Good designers will tell you that doing thumbnails is essential. Looking at your ideas in front of you as opposed to in your head makes all the difference in the world. To save you TIME and MONEY (which is what thumbnails do) designers often utilize GREEKING. GREEKING is non-sense placeholder type or lines used in place of text. The examples shown at left indicate the words “interior design.”

When laying out page design, DESIGN TIPS When laying out page design, Pictures can also be “greeked” using an “X” to represent their placement.

My hand-drawn rough draft. STEP 3 - THE ROUGH My hand-drawn rough draft. Notice that this drawing is a larger version of a thumbnail sketch and that’s about all. This rough step is your first attempt at creating the final work whether by hand, digitally or using a photograph. Once this initial concept is created, you’ll receive feedback or a critique, in order to make adjustments according to what your customer wants or based upon other designers feedback.

Case Study: A logo design for a company called “e-Design” I wound up with this design and offered them some different color and black and white choices…

I went from this thumbnail... To this rough draft... … to this final.

PRE-PRODUCTION …the work BEFORE the work Gather as much information about the project as possible before you begin working on ideas. What size? What color? Specific fonts? Styles? Is it humorous? Corporate? Simple? Have a specific theme? Are there photos or other art you can use or that have been provided?

…the actual work done to create the project. PRODUCTION …the actual work done to create the project. Now that you have an idea of what size, what color, what style and what theme to create, start creating it using original artwork by hand, illustrations, stock photography or digital artwork you create using insudtry software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc..

POST-PRODUCTION …Now that the artwork is done, what’s next? Now that you have the artwork completed and approved and everything is finished and in place, do you email it? Archive it? Burn it to CD? Upload it to a cloud or Drop-Box service? Do you email it? Does the client pick it up? What format do they need? .jpg? .pdf? .png? .eps? Vector Files? Etc.

THUMBNAIL RECAP Thumbnails save you time and money. They also let you express your thoughts in a quick and visual way. 2 – 3 minutes to produce

ROUGH RECAP Larger version of a thumbnail Shows a bit more detail and solid position of objects Your first attempt at creating the artwork

FINAL RECAP There is a balance to the whole design. All the text is correct and set into place There is a balance to the whole design. It is free of any glue marks, smudges, eraser marks or blemishes that might be on other copies. It has been proofread thoroughly