The 7 Step process designers use to complete a project

 

 

This blog is written to provide a step by step guide and also a list of things a designer needs to successfully complete a project. 

This will not only help with understanding the design process, which at times can be confusing and frustrating, but also to ensure that all boxes are ticked when providing the relevant information needed to make the process seamless.

Step 1: Understanding the scope of the project

You get small and big design projects, some with more bells and whistles than others. For designers to understand the size and complexity of a project, they ask a potential client or agency to fill out a briefing document. The answers to these questions will determine the amount of hours to be allocated to a project, which helps with finalising a quote.

Step 2: Get approval on a quote

No project will start without the sign-off on the FRS (Functional Requirements Specifications) document, proposed quote and deposit payments.

Step 3: Finalising all bits and bobs of project

Ideally, designers love to have all information stored in one place. Instead of getting hundreds of emails with different information, it is much easier to have all the information per client in one place. At Visual Render Design Studio we send through a design brief questionnaire so that each client’s information can be processed and stored in one place. . Designers work with folders, and software, and have different team members responsible for different aspects of the project. If the brief is not completed in the beginning of a project, valuable time gets wasted with the sorting of information. By streamlining the process and putting the hard work in at the beginning, things run smoothly. 

Here is the most vital Information needed for a project:

  • Size (amount of design collateral pages, measurements, purpose, Website page amount)
  • Colours (brand colours, corporate ID, secondary colour palettes)
  • Signed-off copy (this is very important. Most of the time projects get paused because the copy was not finalised. The role of a designer is to let pictures and words work together in a cohesive way, so without the final copy, a project will take longer)
  • Extras (integrations, plug-inns, SEO, social media)’
  • Images (if a client provides own images). Please see the format we prefer:
    • Cloud drive with pre-selected that named appropriately
      • Folder name of page
        • Folder of section
          • Appropriate image for that section 
  • Brief (a summary of the ideas a client has for a project)

When working with an agency extra information will be needed.

Usually with big projects where messaging is important to clarify, or where more than one brand needs to be represented, or where the quality, standard and expectation of a project is important and needs to be fleshed out, VRD recommends a project design brainstorming session. This helps to get everyone involved on the same page. It is a highly effective way to clarify the direction for the designers and developers as well as clients. It also simplifies the messaging and copy used in a project.  Read more about the project design brainstorming session here.

Step 4: Draft design pages

Usually designers send through design draft pages. This is not exactly how a project will turn out, but instead of wasting time with a design that a client will not like, designers test the water to see if the direction they are going in is right and whether they should change course completely. Here the interpretation of the brief is also very important. The more information provided in the initial briefing process, the better the first draft.

Step 5: Establishing a uniformed look 

The feedback on the drafts will help designers to establish a uniform look and feel for the project.

Step 6: Final Designs get signed-off

Final design drafts get sent through for last revision rounds. These designs (some accompanied with wireframes) will be the way the project will look at the end.

Step 7: Design assets get shared

All design assets (files, fonts, images etc) get sent to the developers to incorporate in the final build of the project. Or the final product is shared with the client in the correct format.

Find out more about our project design workshop here or get some tips on the best copywriting for websites here.

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