Design Process April 21, 2009
Posted by kd49 in : Class 12 - Design Process, Classes , comments closedDesign of bike rack for New York City: competition website, samples of winning entries
DESIGN PROCESS
Design Process [ppt]
The process of design is critical to successful results.
Most design studios follow in some form the following steps. Research can take a few formats depending on the scale of the project and the preferences of the client:
Discovery: the phase where the designers gather information about the project including the key questions:
- Who is the audience for the product?
- How will it be delivered?
- What is the content and in what format? How often will it be updated?
- Why is the product being created: if there are business objectives, what are they?
- How will the site or product be maintained or updated?
- Review competitive projects
- Interview key stake holders
- Research – seek inspiration
- Understand any creative or technical preferences
- Identify any document functional requirements
Site architecture
- Develop a site architecture that identifies the key pages on the site and their relative hierarchy: example
- Develop wire frame diagrams of the key pages:
- example for a website
- in animation or film this translates to storyboards
- Gain approval before starting design
Schematic Design: the translation of ideas and assumptions to visual form in an effort to further refine the objectives:
- Best to explore a range of options that have distinct differences:
- Seek reaction and feedback
- Redesign : design is an iterative process
- Define functional behaviors
- For print select a paper and solicit bids
Design Development
- Refine the design and apply it to all page templates
- Establish the language for all visual elements and behaviors such as buttons and icons
- Test with users
- Research photography, if appropriate
Production and Technology
- Acquire approval before starting code or sending to the printer
- Develop CSS rules
- Create style guide: sample for logo, sample for web
- Test the code
- Launch the site
- For print, check the printers proofs and approve: set of business papers
For product design, print design and even architecture the specifics can vary slightly but the key phases are the same: video
Recap of design process: video
- Discovery
- Schematic design
- Design development and testing
- Production and technology
- Testing and launch
Design Resources:
- Web statistics
- Latin text
- Font sources: Adobe, Emigre
- Photo sources: Getty Images, Corbis, Veer
- Patterns
- and more patterns
- Ad units
- Envelope standards
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ASSIGNMENT
Continue to refine your portfolio site based on the feedback in class.