Devious Design

When you start a design project, your most necessary thing is a concept, an idea – inspiration. As long as you have a solid concept, you have a really good chance that your final product will be successful.

I’ll explain with some background:

Many times you hear people suggest starting an assigned project really early to get ahead. That has never worked for me. Not once.*  Any time I attempt to get a head start on a design project, I fail miserably because I get attached to my first attempt, which undoubtedly won’t work once all the necessary content – stories, photos, graphics, etc. – come in. And if you have a big client, you will probably have an excess of additional content and requests for changes arriving later – or much later – than you’d like. (Usually, the fatal flaw in my first attempt is that I try to work with what I have rather than what I may or may not eventually receive. It’s just as frustrating to have to redesign something because you never received enough content.)

It is extremely stressful to have to go back and make significant layout changes late in the game. This is where your concept development comes into play. If you have a simple, flexible, developed concept, on-deadline work will be much easier to build – and hopefully your final product will be more cohesive and visually stunning.

An example of simple concept development:

Goal: 2-page newspaper spread on campus safety
Initial visual inspiration: Caution tape and the little criminal dude on neighborhood watch signs
Colors that go with that imagery: Yellow and black
What else is yellow/black/criminal? The Watchmen comics

BAM – now you know the look to persue. From there you develop further.

What kind of fonts would fit with that theme?
Well, it should look gothic, like a metropolitan city at night – skyscrapers, streets, taxis. Maybe think comic books ­– Batman, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Sin City. So, let’s try Franklin Gothic or some other sans-serif font, preferably with both a condensed and a extra bold version, like Univers.

How are you going to get it to look as dark as you think it should?
Reverse the type.

What if we don’t have photos or illustrations?
Resurrect the little neighborhood watch dude! And make him big so he becomes a design element rather than a goofy decoration. (It’s fun to experiement with scale.)

Now what do you do?
Open your InDesign document. You already know it’s going to have a black background, yellow text and an ultra-condensed gothic-style font. Having these basics figured out gives you all the flexibility you need to quickly create a cohesive design. Now all you have to do is tedious work – waiting for your content, placing it, lining things up and tweaking it until everything fits comfortably – but the cool, conceptual part was done before you even started.

And here it is:

All you needed was some inspiration.

* Let me clarify: Working ahead has never worked for a layout in a design project that I was developing for other people and waiting for content. It generally works brilliantly for other endeavors.

Today I’m going to discuss how to approach design – and not just print design or Web design – but design in general.

Step 1: Realize that good design practices are applicable everywhere and for every project you’ll ever attempt to do.

This includes writing papers, designing Web sites/books/pamphlets/posters/newspapers/signage/packaging, programming software, writing music, decorating rooms, organizing cities/groups/folders/libraries, editing video – everything.

Step 2: Know that most of the following steps are mainly a refinement and understanding of normal human tendencies.

We all do it – at least a little bit.

Step 3: Know where you want to go.

Decide what you ideally want the final result to be. Just get a basic idea and then stop fantasizing about it and do it. Don’t get hung up on the final goal, but always keep it in the back of your mind.

Step 4: Start with something really simple and plan.

A masterful painting of the human form starts with simple shapes and grows into something more precise. A symphony starts with a basic melody or chord progression that sets the theme. An orchestra starts with just one instrument. A skyscrapers starts with a foundation. A thesis starts with an outline. A design starts with a line. You get the picture.

You have to have a solid structure at the beginning or else the whole project will collapse later – maybe not right away – but later. Or at least you’ll be setting yourself up for a lot more work if you don’t put in enough effort at beginning. And whatever it is, make sure you like it. It’s no fun to work with something you’re unhappy with.

To do this, develop some structure. Use a grid. Make a flow chart. Write an outline. Set the tempo. Whatever. Give yourself some sort of boundaries to work within. And, especially for graphic design work, remember to set up your documents correctly. This is important.

Step 5: Make sure the results from steps 3 and 4 fit together.

If you can imagine your initial structure or foundation eventually developing into the final result you’d like, you’re on the right track. If not, modify one or the other until you can. Either fix your foundation or rethink what you want the final result to be.

Step 6: Find some style.

Develop a voice, a mood, a color scheme, a theme – and stick with it. Be consistent and make sure everything works together. If it doesn’t, figure out why and fix it. If you can’t figure it out, ask for a second (or third, fourth, ect.) opinion. Then fix it.

Step 7: Mess around.

Try different things. Be creative. Mix things up. Rearrange.

If you don’t like something you’ve done, work with it until you do. Once you like something you’ve come up with, rework it until you like it more.

At this point, you may want to reevaluate your final vision. Or maybe you want to start over completely. Both are fine.

Step 8: See where it goes and finish a draft.

Take whatever you’ve done so far and take it to the end. Finish the paper, article, song, site, video etc., with the style you’ve developed. Compare this version to what you wanted as the final product and decide if you’re happy with it.

Step 9: Tweak, polish, proof – attack.

Fix everything. If something seems awkward, keep working on it until it doesn’t. Or delete that part – sometimes it’s better to just get rid of it. Don’t settle if you don’t like something. If you really don’t like it (and have the time), start over.

Step 10: Bask in the glow of your finished product.

Enjoy being finished and stop thinking about it.

Tips and tricks:

1. Keep it balanced.
2. Make sure things line up.
3. Be organized.
4. Keep it clean.
5. Spell things correctly.
6. Use your resources.
7. Make it easy on your readers/visitors/listeners/etc. Give them what they expect. Don’t try to be overly creative or trick people – it won’t win you any points.
8. Don’t be gimmicky.
9. If it feels awkward/wrong, it probably is.
10. Make sure transitions/seams are smooth.
11. It should flow.
12. Be aware of things that make your work seem less professional: slang, typefaces like Comic Sans or Papyrus, outdated material or methods, too many sus4s, bad production quality, etc. Basically anything that seems cheesy, overused or outdated.
13. Gear your work toward its intended audience.
14. Ask for advice and consider it.