The Design Process: Our First Steps
Start with a design brief.
The creative design process starts with a creative brief, setting the tone for the entire project. It's the first and arguably one of the most important steps in the getting you the design you want.
This helps me understand the scope of the project and what’s needed from me. You’ll want to include as much relevant information as possible to reduce any confusion, and as a result, back and forth.
The design brief should include:
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Company details
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Brand guidelines
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Target audience
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If there is one; define the problem the brand is facing
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What the final product should be (I.e. brochure, eBook, etc)
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Timeline expectations and milestones
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Budget
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What you intend viewers to do when they see the final product
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Examples of similar work you like (and don’t)
I'll respond with a proposal
I’ll email you a proposal, so I know I understand the project correctly to avoid any confusion.
In the proposal I’ll describe:
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The problem your brand is facing.
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My intended solution to that problem.
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What I am to deliver and when.
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My process for how I intend to get you the design you'd like, including when I'd be coming to you for design approvals and other milestones.
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The cost of the project and a pricing breakdown, I will always do my best to work below your budget and how it will be broken down
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Possibly some key notes on what I believe to be important in the project or a call to action.
The Design Process: A Visualization
Below is a visualization of my process in action for Brianna Maldonado a hairstylist at the Hair Cuttery. In this project, Brianna was not quite sure what she wanted from her branding. But, in the end, the result was something she was absolutely ecstatic with. I loved having the opportunity to help her reach an end product we could both be proud of.
Reference
After thinking of a design brief Brianna concluded she was unsure of what she wants exactly. So she gathered together some references she likes and dislikes on Pintrest and we discussed them.
The common themes through her references were, the designs were targeted to women. And they were elegant and luxurious. She likes saturated or deep, rich colors more than the pastel colors most of the designs provide. She wants her cards to pop!
Branding Board
We got together again to discuss fonts to be used as her logo and the color scheme, to see if I was headed in the right direction. This would help create a cohesive brand package moving forward.
Brianna found the darker colors didn't pop enough for her liking and she loved the pink, yellow and purple. They're her favorite colors. However she wanted the purple brought into option one and wanted the Hair Cuttery logo. I completely agreed with her critique and we moved forward with the design.
Mockup Card
I created a mockup for the front and back of the finished card. This would establish a standard for my designs moving forward.
I chose Risuali because it's an elegant, luxury style serif font. I really liked the way the ligatures for R going into I have line weight similar to dip pen (my favorite medium, and possibly have a bias in my font book)
Which I contrasted with Century Gothic because it both works as a strapline and the small text on the back.
And Instagram
And created a mockup of the Instagram based on the cards. During the approval for the card front, Bri asked for there to be more colors on the Instagram because she specializes in color, and for them to be vibrant to draw attention.
I was inspired by the 2/3rds color split to continue that motif through most of the Instagram templates
I showed her the mockups, and a few more examples to see if I was headed in the right direction. She asked for more variation in designs and copy lengths, and less use of her logo.
IG Changes
I sent her the variations I made and she was ecstatic! The only thing left was for Bri to change the copy of the templates in Canva. Typically I'd do the copy, but for this she asked to be able to change it on her own. I just sent her the fonts I used and she was on her way!
Happy Customer
Bri was so happy with the designs I did for her. She showed them to everyone she knows and told me about how much they loved them. I'm so happy to have been able to help. Nothing fills me with more joy than people being happy with my work and seeing my designs out in the world.
My Design Portfolio
