The Importance Of A Graphic Design Process

Whether you are designing graphics for your website or revamping your brand logo, putting a plan in place will help you successfully execute the message you are trying to send across through the design. Creating a perfect graphic design to increase brand awareness is more than just putting together something that looks cool. 

If you have an unbreakable graphic design process, the chances of you creating an excellent design will increase tenfold. There are some standard steps to include when creating a graphic design process, but depending on your needs you can tailor them to fit the job you are trying to accomplish.

What Is A Design Process?

A graphic design process is a way to describe the different stages of a design project. These steps, or phases, enable you to take your design from an idea to something realized in a finished product. These steps can be broken down into four sub-processes: definition, creation, feedback, and delivery. 

The definition phase includes things like determining the creative brief, conducting graphic design research, brainstorming, and creating a mood board. The creation phase involves sketching out a design, then building that design, and putting the finishing touches to it. The feedback phase deals with presenting the product finished product for feedback. Depending on what is discussed, you will then go back and do revisions. Once you have the final product, you deliver it, taking you to the delivery phase.

These steps are transferable to any graphic design project. Let us look more in-depth at the different phases of the graphic design process and what they entail.

The Brief

This is one of the most important steps in the design process. It is the set of instructions or directions about the project in hand. Without the brief, you do not have any direction, making it difficult to create an effective product. The brief helps you better understand the scope of the project and what is needed. It goes without saying that the brief should include as much information as possible.

If you are taking a stab at accomplishing this yourself, or you are hiring someone else to do it, the brief should include things like your company’s details, brand guidelines, its target audience, what the final product is, the timeline and when deadlines are to hit certain milestones, the budget for the project, what your expect your viewers to do when they see the final product and examples that you want to be emulated through the finished product.

It is important that you go over this with all parties involved, especially if the product is a complex project. You can do this in-person, via video chat, or through online tools that allow you to share with your client.

The Research

Conducting graphic design market research is also another important step to better understand your project and its purpose. You want to be sure to gather as much information as possible. This research in accompaniment with your brief will help inform you of the direction your project needs to go in.

Research things like point of differentiation, looking into the competitor’s designs. Find out what works for those designs and what does not. Pay attention to your target audience and what they look at and engage with. Familiarize yourself with what works well in the industry in general. The purpose of doing market research is to measure what your design should and should not look like.

Brainstorming/Mood Boarding

Now is where you can get your creative juices flowing. Now that you know what is needed and the general design direction you should go in, it is time to come up with some ideas. Keep in mind that every element of your design means something. Every element of the design, from the colors, typography, symbols, tagline, and shapes, is sending a message to the viewers. Handle each design element with care. Consider what emotions and thoughts come to mind when looking at certain designs? What is the message of the design?

Keep in mind that you do not have to do the brainstorming alone. It may help when done in a group or with one other person who understands the brief and the market research. Maybe you could do this with the project owner as they might have strong ideas about how the project should look. If you are the project owner, you could tackle this with another team member.

Once you have come up with a few ideas, create a mood board that inspires the visual direction of a project. You can include things like colors, photographs, symbols, and typography. Doing this step will eliminate any frustration that may come when undergoing the creative process.

The Sketch

It is all coming together! Now that you have your project brief, your market research, your mood board and you have now brainstormed ideas for this product, it is time to rise to the occasion and sketch it out. You can either do this the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, or you can go the digital route using a digital sketchpad, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator. You can even use paint and paintbrushes. This is where your design chops and creativity can really shine.

The Feedback And Revisions

Make sure you are in communication with all parties involved in this process as you go along. This ensures that all needs are met during the design process. You may have to explain your creative decisions and respectfully fight for them or you may need to concede and make revisions. Either way, it is important to get feedback so that you know whether or not you are hitting the right target.

Once you have feedback, you can successfully move forward with creating an excellent graphic design product that encompasses everything talked about in the brief using elements found during market research, brainstorming, and mood boarding. Having a solid graphic design process is crucial for maximizing your time and eliminating any hiccups or distractions along the way.