After reviewing many of the design processes presented I feel that mine, in particular, is a pretty solid foundation.  Here is lies my problem however.  It is just a foundation.   I find that many of my biggest challenges are running into cliche ideas or using the same technique over and over for different project.  I have yet to find that Ah-Ha moment where I create something spectacular.  I don’t believe this is because of my design process, I feel it may be in the idea stage.

I often find myself jumping the gun very early in the process.  I will jot down 5 or 6 ideas and then start pushing them.  Then I get stuck pushing one further and further and before I know it I have finished the work.  Even though I have a decent idea and an alright execution, most of the time it wasn’t the most inventive idea.  Then I am left with something that a client likes, but I am not happy with because I know I could have done better.

I know designers say we are our own harshest critics, but I want to be able to push myself further and develop ideas better.  Hopefully, using what I have learned so far and the ideation processes we discusses in this unit, I will be able to develop a new way of thinking.

My creative process is a pretty standard one.  I have attached a diagram that shows the typical steps in my creative thinking.  As you can see I don’t really have a special process.  I begin by brainstorming the problem.  Usually I’ll take a walk or sit and clear my head by doing something that is not design related.  This helps me create a clean slate.  Next I sketch out some thumbnails just quick ideas without hesitation.  This ensures I get all of the ideas I have out.  Next I go through, and I take the best ones and sketch full size roughs.  Here I pick fonts and color schemes I think will work for the project.  Once the rough or roughs are complete I usually sit on them for a little while, maybe a day or maybe a week.  I consider this a proofing process.  If I still like it as much then as I did when I created it then I know it’s a good design.  Next I either make adjustments and go through the proofing process again, or I finalize the design I have.  Sometimes time doesn’t a lot for me to go through the whole process, however, I like to make sure I hit at least the brainstorm, rough and proofing steps.

I feel that my process is effective for me.  Maybe it’s because it’s become a routine to me, but I find that if I try to deviate from these steps I have a difficult time.  Perhaps this is the biggest weakness I have.  If I stray to far from what I know I begin to struggle.  However, on the flip side to this, I think my biggest strength is the willingness to change and to try something new no matter how difficult.  I think working with people who think differently than I do what be a truley gratifying experience.  Working with others that I can learn from and they don’t even need to be designers or artists.  Just everyday people who have ideas or a plan of attack is someone you can learn from.

At the beginning of this course, I was asked to give my definition of what Graphic Design was.  Now I am being asked to reflect on it and and decide whether or not my definition has changed.  I would say that my definition is still the same but I feel that some of the ways to achieve the final goal are shifting.  For instance, graphic design is no longer person centered.  Designers are now forced to work with clients and clients are forced to understand what goes into design.  This leads to new ideas and the concept that designers are now teachers and not just artists who implement ideas.

However, I still feel my original definition of graphic design holds true.  It is about expressing ideas and evoking emotion  that is understandable by all.

Design-Thinking is a hot topic used to acquire knowledge, and find solutions to bigger problems.  There are many types of design-thinking methods that are relevant to graphic design. One such method that I’m sure many designers use is the Brainstorm method.  The idea is quite simple.  You have a a group of individuals sit around and write down any and every idea that comes to mind.  In a brainstorming sessions nothing is off limits.  From the ridiculous to the weird, every thing gets written down.  These types of methods are great because they allow a large number of ideas to be presented in a short amount of time, and because nothing is off limits you begin to see ideas that you might not have considered.  Many times my firm or band will brainstorm for ideas on songs, or artwork for album titles.  It’s within these brainstorming sessions that we begin to understand what each other is thinking and ways to bounce ideas of one another to further develop a plan of attack.  Other method example is the “How Might We” Questions.  These are related very closely to brainstorming because these are the questions that you begin to ask during a brainstorming session.  Essentially the HMW questions work backwards to create a solution to a problem.  These questions help to develop answers by generalizing the problem and then allowing groups to come up with a wide array of solutions.

These methods go hand and hand in thinking.  It is usually with the HMW questions that you begin to develop the brainstorming session.  These present new ideas that I hadn’t really thought of until now.  Working backwards to create a solution to a problems is an odd way of thinking, however, it is the odd way of thinking that usually achieves the best results.

When I started research for my Methodologies Class, I had just a broad topic.  I knew I wanted to do something relating to color, but I had no idea what.  What about color interested me?  What about something we see everyday, and often take for granted did I want to spend grueling hours researching.  That’s when it hit me, color has such a huge impact on our lives that often times we don’t even realize it.

Most if not all of us have a favorite color, and this whole idea of Color Psychology helps, at least in a small part to explain why.  You can use color to get people to buy things, and even to invoke emotions.  How ridiculous is that?!?  You have the power to control the hearts and minds of people by the color of a logo.  Change the paint in your bedroom and you can effect sleeping patterns.

There is so much that has yet to truly be understood about this topic of color and the effects on the human brain, I just hope I can harness it for my own selfish needs.

I’d like to get something off my chest if I could…Of course I can this is my blog after all.  I would like to talk for a minute about the importance of typography in design.  Now most of us being Grad students understand, that type is just as important as the images that accompany it.  Why then is it that I see many designers out there who just don’t understand anything about kerning, leading or even not to use 40 different type faces together.  I remember my first year as a design student I was required to take one semester of typography.  I could take another if I choose, however it wasn’t required.  I think there is just too much to comprehend with only 4 months of a typography course.  I think it should be required to take at least a full year if not more.

Type needs to be respected and understood.  It says a lot about a designer when they can understand basic aspects of typography.  I would love to hear so horror stories from teachers or professionals about this topic.  Feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Many times during the day I find myself distracted by articles on various blogs and around the internet.  Some deal with World News, a lot deal with football, and even more still deal with design.  I read everything from business aspects of design to what other designers are doing.

I recently came across and article on Computer Arts Magazine’s website discussing the idea of collectives.  Now I’ve never really thought about it, but starting something like a collective is actually a really helpful way for a freelancer to get their name out their and but have the ability to help others out if they get over whelmed.  It also brings to light the fact that even though many of us look forward to being our own boss, the lack of social interaction we experience during the work day can leave us feeling isolated.  Starting something like what the designers in the article did, allows you to gain the support of other designers and to build up your reputation, even if you lack some of the marketing skills to get the bigger clients.  They do say that some of the drawbacks are that instead of being within one studio many of the designers are placed around the country or across the globe.  This makes it difficult to meet or to do critiques as much as they would like.  However, I think that for people looking to break out this could lead to developing a really good team of designers with different ideas and styles.

One could also look into starting something with artists with different strengths and weaknesses.  For example a web guy, an illustrator, a copywriter, and so forth.  Where as everyone will have the ability to design something or work on different projects, they will all be able to come together to develop something extraordinary for clients.

I’d like to delve into a discussion on the why the client is important to the design process.  This goes along with the paradigm shift in graphic design, where the designers hold onto vast amounts of knowledge and create, they are now forced to become teachers and explain the process behind what they do.  The typical process goes client comes to designer with need.  This can range from logo, branding or just a flyer. The designer will then go to work on ideas, doing thumbnails, roughs, and finally developing an idea to near completion. Finally the designer submits it to the client for approval, where the client will either approve the design or make changes and the process begins again.

Here is where becoming a teacher can really become beneficial to the process.  Sitting with a client during the initial thumbnail, or rough phase can help you explain to the client why you are using certain color, typefaces, or images.  This opens up a discussion between you and the client.  Sometimes clients don’t give a designer all the information at first.  Whether it’s because they don’t believe it is relevant or maybe it’s because they didn’t even think about it at the time, this discussion allows all ideas between both parties to come out and opens new doors. Also, opening a discussion with the client shows that you are just as interested in their company or product as they are, possibly leading to new work.

Design today is a team oriented career.  Yes it is true that there are  small 1 or 2 man operations that do quite well, this is no longer the norm.  Some of the greatest design breakthroughs have been between good designers and non-designers.  All I ask is that we embrace people who have little to no idea what it is we do and figure out why.  Why do they like the way something looks?  Why did they choose that color over another one?  Answering these questions will not only make the client happy, but it will make you a better designer.

Trying to come up with the near impossible task of defining an idea or concept is enough to drive someone insane. I remember telling my parents I wanted to go to school for design; “So you’re going to doodle pictures all day?” Now don’t get me wrong, my parents have been supportive in everything I do, whether they agree with it or not. But I couldn’t help feeling like being a designer was no better than that kid in elementary school who kept eating all the glue. However, graphic design is more than that. So what is it exactly?

Personally, I feel that graphic design is relaying a lot of information to a lot of different people in a way that is understood by as many as possible. It’s using ideas and concepts in such a way, that you are able to tell a story. It’s using color a type to evoke emotion on the viewer. To me, graphic design is one of the most important concepts in human development, A single idea that is understood by all. A good example of this is the stop sign. No matter where you are, the concept is still the same.  When you see an red octagon you know that 99% of the time it means stop.  Now sure there are variations but in general it is the same idea.

Using this basic idea of graphic design is how I have tried to explain it to people for the past three or four years. Unfortunately, there is so much more that I don’t understand and hope to achieve within the next few years.