This is a really great article written by Matt Ward for DesignM.ag.
I’m going to start this discussion of by revealing a secret about my own design work: I don’t have a process. At least, I don’t have a rock solid, time tested step by step formula that I follow for all my projects. That’s not to say that I shoot from the hip or fly by the seat of my pants, to use a couple of cliched old sayings. I certainly take the time to think things through and to be both thorough and methodical in my work.
I just don’t follow the same steps every time.
There are a couple of different reasons for this. The first is the nature of the project. Using web design as a primary example, there are some projects which just lend themselves better to being done primary through a combination of my code editor of choice (Coda) and the browser, using Photoshop only to create really simple graphics. For other projects, however, I just find that it’s better to start mocking things up in Photoshop.
Of course, depending on how I begin the project, the follow through will also be different. If I start in the browser, development will progress in one way and if I start in Photoshop, it will develop in a slightly different way.
I am also impacted by my continuing education. I try to be as active as possible in the design community and am always picking up on new concepts, tricks, ideas and methodologies when it comes to both design and development. This continued learning invariably effects my thinking, which may alter my approach and ultimately change the process for a given project.
As this learning is an ongoing journey for me, I find that every time I start a new project, I am coming at it from a slightly different angle. As such, I don’t think I’ve ever used the exact same design process for any two projects in my entire career.
I’ve been pondering that notion a lot lately, and it’s got me thinking about the whole concept of the design process, and the possible advantages and disadvantages of formulaic and/or free-form processes, which is what I want to look at over the course of this particular article.
The formulaic process is exactly the sort of thing that I typically haven’t done. It presents a clear, step by step methodology that is intended to be followed from conception, through execution and all the way to the final completion. It’s organized, often based on extensive experience and may have the impressive support of numerous satisfied customers.
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