As a designer, there are so many different ways to work. It may often look from the outside like a designer just sits down and comes up with amazing designs but there’s obviously more to it than that. Although everyone will approach their work slightly differently there’s a general design process that will usually take place. So let’s break it down and look at the design process made simple.

The Design Process Made Simple

Put simply, the design process is the steps a designer takes to carry out their work from start to finish. These steps would be considered whether they are creating designs for a client with a set brief in mind or if they are designing for themselves. 

Step 1: Understand The Brief

The first stage is all about understanding your brief. You should spend the time at this stage gaining a good understanding of what or who you’re designing for. Spending time, in the beginning, will save you time in the end. 

Things you need to think about are:

• Make sure the understand brief 
• Know who your target market is
• Collect inspiration
• Market research your customer
• Understand timelines
• Identify production processes

Step 2: Research

The next stage is all about research. Start looking at trends, inspiration and themes for your design.

Things you need to think about are:

• Finding different ways of collecting inspiration
• Looking at current and future trends
• Create a mood board

Step 3: Develop Ideas

In this stage you get to have lots of fun and start developing your ideas. This is where you sketch and explore your design ideas.

Things you need to think about are:

• Experiment with different media
• Experiment with different techniques
• Create motif ideas
• Start developing pattern design ideas

Step 4: Refine Ideas

Once you’ve developed your ideas, it’s now time to refine your ideas. By the end of this step you want to end up with finished and resolved pattern designs.

Things you need to think about are:

• Select and refine your designs
• Make sure your designs have met the brief
• Check your client is happy with your designs
• Rework anything that requires changing

Step 5: Present

When you’ve finished your designs and your ideas have been refined, it’s time to present your design.

Things you need to think about are:

• Professional presentation 
• Technical specifications
• Make sure you design is well resolved

Make sure when you’re designing that you take the time to develop and work through the design process. It’s a flexible process and may change depending on the brief, but it’s important that you consider it.

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