Step 1: Understand the Problem - This is when you want to gather as much information as possible. You need to determine who your audience will be and how your audience will respond to a message. Then, research what other are doing to solve the same or similar problems. Determine the message that you are trying to communicate and what media would best communicate that message. This information will provide the basis for your written objectives.
Step 2: Gather Information - This is when you gather all the required text, photographs, graphical elements, or anything else required to communicate the message. During this step you also what to make sure the information you have for your message is accurate. The step usually requires a lot of communication between the designer and client.
Step 3: Think by Sketching - Sketching is a process of putting your ideas onto paper. Designers usually start with quick and simple thumbnail sketches. Thumbnail sketches are usually just quick paper and pencil drawings of your ideas.
Step 4: Choose your best thumbnail sketches and turn them into roughs. Roughs are more accurate than thumbnail sketches. They are usually done to scale with all the basic elements in correct proportion. Roughs may also include colors. This allows the designer to visualize how all the elements and colors work together. Rough usually look similar to the finished product.
Step 5: Choose your best roughs and turn them into comps. Comprehensive (comp) is the detailed design that includes all the finished illustrations, photographs, text, type, graphics, etc. and looks like the printed or finished piece. A comp is the final design that is created before the message is sent to the printers or before it is viewed electronically.
Step 6: Production - This is the process of creating the final product. Production may be preparing the electronic file for the printer, uploading the file to the web via FTP, or converting the file into a format that can be view on the predetermine medium. Preparing you work for production can be a confusing task. Designer need to work with printers and anyone else who will be producing the final product. They will be able to help you convert that files into the proper format. Some printer require specific file formats like .pds, .tiff, or .pdf. One of the most popular methods is PDF (Portable Document Format). This insure that all the text, illustrations, graphics, photographs, etc. will be available and in place. All visual elements are embedded in the high-resolution file.
Step 7: Presentation - This is when you present all your work and your comps to the client. Presentations are important to designer, because they represent your professionalism. Your work or portfolio should be complete, neat, and accurate. Some designer seek feedback from peers before they present their work to their client.
