Design Processes & Why Every Designer Needs One

Every day I read a new article about dealing with clients or how to best present your work, however the underlying principal of all of these articles is the creation of a process. This is one of a few things that long established firms have that freelancers and new business ventures most likely do not. I personally have been struggling with the creation and refinement of my personal process over the last year and have refined it to a point that I think is relatively successful.

Every design process varies greatly, however they all share some common ground. A good design process should start by learning about the project and defining its goals. But why create a process, what are the benefits?

IT SUPPORTS THE VALUE OF DESIGN

Every designer I have ever will tell you about the positive business benefits of design, however what do you have to back it up? By establishing a design process that sets clear and distinctive project goals, you and your clients can accurately gauge how successful a project has been. Additionally this information is a great way to establish future work. After a project has been completed you will be able to discuss why the outcome was the way it was and what could be done to improve future results.

THEY HELP YOU PRESENT YOUR WORK

By establishing your process and being able to explain it you will have the necessary pieces to make a well organized presentation of your work. Simply having the process creates a justification for why you do things the way you do. More often then not, clients have no clue what designers do or to what degree of difficulty it takes. Explaining your process helps to put into context why you design meets the goals of their project, and theoretically should help you keep review discussions on track by relating your decisions back to these core set of goals.

IT KEEPS YOU ORGANIZED AND PRODUCTIVE

How many times have you been sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper (or screen) without a single clue about how to get started? Having a process in place, one that is not limiting, will mean you know exactly where to start. Your process should be able to assist you in establishing a context for the design to take place in. Usually it is defining this context that stumps designers; however it is also what establishes the success of a project.

IT ESTABLISHES CREDIBILITY AND CREATES VALUE

You probably see this every day but do not realize it. This is exactly why all the large agencies and firms are able to justify their high rates. It is their process and the implied results that make them attractive to their clients. With time and refinement you process can do exactly the same for you! Not to mention is gives you something to talk about on your website besides the fact that you know photoshop (hint: everyone does).

HOW TO GET STARTED

Getting started is actually surprisingly easy. You should think back to a project that went particularity well. First write down all of the reasons why you felt that the project was so successful and what led up to this result. Next (and this should be the easiest) think of all the projects that have not gone so well. Write down all the items that led to the projects being unsuccessful. At this point you should have two lists, one of traits of good projects and one of traits of bad projects.

Defining a process is as simple as defining what it would take to avoid negative traits and foster the good ones. If this still seems confusing or you are just starting out don’t worry I have a couple of tips that should help you out.

Single out firms with established processes you gravitate towards and emulate them.

If you idolize a firm for its strengths then emulating their processes should help you establish your own. This is because you most likely find the firm interesting because of aligning ideals between the two of you. Remember that this is only a starting point, you will need to adjust the process until it meets your needs and becomes proprietary to you.

Read these articles

Not so much a tip as a suggestion, these articles were very influential in the process of establishing my process.

Behance Magazine - Tip: Focus on Results, Not Time
Ideas on Ideas - Can you rescue your ideas?

Don’t be afraid of change

Establishing a process can be a hard thing to do because you may realize your new process does not fit the model your current clients expect. Bringing clients on board with your new process may take time, but justifying the change with results should help. Place trust in your process and see it through this is the only way you will know how successful it is.

It is amazing how easy it is to function as a freelancer or firm and avoid establishing a process. I know I have done it for quite some time now. However, it is not until you take the time to do so that you really begin to see the benefit.