Introduction
To many people, the process of designing something may seem arbitrary, or some sort of intangible, ethereal mix of inspiration and luck, but I think that's just a ridiculous untruth. To succeed in design, one must be able to listen, understand, and work with determination, and these things are learned and refined with practice.
If you look at most classical examples of good design you see that they didn't just happen, they were the result of individuals working hard to complete a design process. This begs the question, "What is the design process?". I think this is where you'll see differing opinions, though I think all designers will agree that having no process at all will always result in bad design.
Through various experience, I've compiled a process that includes seven distinct and important steps. They are:
- Research - Gain an understanding of the general area and requirements. See what competitors are doing.
- Observe - View what existing structures will be replaced, or at least see the environment in which the design will exist.
- Conceptualize - Brainstorm, sketch, throw around ideas, think outside the box.
- Evaluate - Pare down the ideas into only those that have merit.
- Refine - Apply the design to realistic use cases, and adjust as necessary.
- Validate - Test design prototypes with individuals outside the preceding process steps.
- Implement - Extend or reimplement the prototype into a finished product.
Oddly enough, those that read to this point tend to diverge into two groups. Those that haven't been exposed to the design process before come away with something like, "Oh, those seem like a few easy steps, this should be fast and easy." Those that have been through the standard design process, tend to think "Wow, that seems like a lot of steps. There's no way you can get everything done in time and adhere to this." In truth, neither is correct. This design process may seem longer than the "just go build it" approach, but in the long run a formal process like this saves time and money. On the other hand, it's not a 'silver bullet' that automatically makes the process painless and fast. It still takes time and effort from both the designer and the client.
