April 23, 2004 | View Comments (21) | Category: Design
Summary: What is the first thought that comes to you when beginning to work on a design?
In yesterday's discussion of "That Professional Look, I mentioned that there had to be some design formula that allowed for "tight" designs. A couple days ago I was talking to Didier about the design process and he mentioned that there really isn't one.
That is absurd I thought to myself. Every designer has to have a process that they go through. But then I looked at what I had written for my process in regards to the current redesigning going on and I noticed that there were basic steps that I was following, but nothing elaborate.
After that I began to wonder what is the first thought that comes to me when I get ready to work on a design. After I get an idea or the client has spoken to me about what needs to be done, what process does my brain go through.
The one constant in all my design processes is that I always try to figure out what is the most important item that the user should see first. That is always my first thought. If it is an ecommerce site they should see the product first I think. If it is a blog they should see the most recent entry.
I do not even think about color or layout until I think of what is most important. However, I do not think everyone has the same thought process as I do (hope not) so it would be interesting to know what is the first thought that comes to you when working on a design.
Unfortunately, after the this discussion I can see many designers asking themselve "how can I fit this in a two column layout?"
This post is left open for many humorous comments I am sure, but if you leave something funny at least help us out by also leaving something honest. Unless the funny comment is honest.
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I agree with the fact that it all starts with a first thought, and other thoughts come in a sort of cascade of thoughts. However, the first thought rarely has the greatest effect, if any, on the eventual out come.
There is no specific process, or an order of things, that you must go through to get a good design. There are things you have to cover, but the order in which you do that can change for every design. It all depends on where your thoughts take you.
Each new design is like taking a trip to your friends’ house, but trying different roads every time. You always get to your friends house by the end of the trip, but you might use different techniques each time.
Phil Baines (http://www.wubbleyew.com/blog)
I assume you mean when we sit down to sketch the first comps.
The first thing I ask myself is, "How can I make this different? Will it need to be different anywhere?"
Sometimes I come up with a layout I've never done before. Other times, I go with a basic, tried-and-true layout with some number of columns. It depends on the needs of the site. Unless it can somehow improve the experience for the end users, there isn't really a need to abandon columns. After all, we haven't yet gotten to the point where it's impossible to create a unique-looking two-column layout, nor have we come to perfecting the usability aspects.
I like the way Phil put it above in that last paragraph.
Chris Vincent (http://dris.dyndns.org:8080/)
To echo a bit with what I said in the last post, I really think it comes down to personalities and how well you (as the designer) can observe and listen. If for instance, I'm meeting a client at their office, I will make certain that I observe the furnishings, accessories, photos, awards, dress code and "happiness factor" of the employees. I've discovered over the years that many a client will "tell" you what they are wanting to do style wise even though it was never spoken to you directly by them.
Mark (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
My first thought is usually "how does the current design fail?"
Erik J. Barzeski (http://nslog.com/)
1. What is driving the need for change?
2. What is the impact on all levels of customer?
3. Prove it.
I get a lot of requests for change that are basically because someone had a good idea while shaving. That's not always good enough. So I take each project through my little three-step process and if it passes the test, it is worthwhile to work on.
But that's probably not what you are asking as I reread the post and some of the comments. You mean when you actually sit down to design...
1. It depends.
Matthew Oliphant (http://usabilityworks.typepad.com)
I think there's two levels at which the discussion of design process could go. The first and most obvious is the technical design process (2 columns or 3, how do I break the blog-loke template?) and then the pure design, which I would argue that a designated process doesn't apply.
To apply a hard process to a visual design is almost like trying to find a box, so you can break out of it.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
I think everyone is keeping their secrets to themselve...:-P
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Matthew -
I agree w/your 3 points and usually implement the idea w/my clients - although I don't state (and sure you don't either) "prove it." However, I will usually take an early morning shaving idea and try to satisfy that desire within the context of what I think is appropriate in my professional opinion.
That approach doesn't always work, however.
In terms of a very real and almost real time example - I just got kissed on the cheek by one of my clients because I caved in and gave him exactly what he asked for (his early morning shaving idea) after debating with him why he shouldn't do it for several weeks. In truth, as much as I didn't believe it wouldn't work, it does.
One more example of the client (customer) always being right.
Not sure he'll kiss me after he gets his bill however.
Mark (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
my first thought is along the same line as Keith's.
"What is the purpose of this site?"
In my head, everything else falls into place after that. The purpose determines the audience and the most important content. Which then determines layout and design. And, in the case of clients wanting to make changes, the purpose determines whether or not they'd be appropriate changes to make.
eris (http://www.erisfree.com)
Definitly I do not say, "Prove it" to my business partners. That's my lingo. What I do is probe their ideas to see what sparked it, the logic behind it and start getting them to think in terms of risk and opportunity.
Now, I have only ever killed 3 projects out of, wow almost 60 now. Many of those 60 I never felt warranted being produced, but I know my place: I am not the business partner, I am only there to optimize the opportunities and minimize the risks. ;)
Matthew Oliphant (http://usabilityworks.typepad.com)
I concur with so much of this...so much great stuff...
I usually approach design from a solutions standpoint. I used to work in the PR office of an academic institution, where there were waaaaaay too many chiefs and not enough indians, and all the chiefs were trying to flex their non-existent design muscles when mulling over a comp.
So the first thought is, and it's usually after the big meeting, "Based on what the client has told me about his needs; based on what I know about the company; based on his competitors and who they're reaching that he's not reaching; based on what's needed to put this company in a new direction...how will I come up with a solution to his design problem?"
Seems that when I approach design this way, it's a lot more difficult to get caught haranguing over details of color and layout. When you approach the design as a solution to a problem, it seems like all of your efforts are directed at the client's needs...and explaining them that way makes the client feel a little closer to your design solution (instead of it being a case of picking "cool" colors or "hip" fonts).
I think the look, layout, style -- and everything, really -- would flow out of that.
Doy (http://www.doycave.com)
My first thought is "How do I want the viewer to feel/react?" I try to set the tone first...corporate, emotional, funky, friendly, etc. Second thought is "What do I know?" That's where I pull in the givens...logo, copy, size, shape, etc. Then I see where the blanks are and go from there. :-)
Judi (http://www.momathome.com)
Wow. After reading all of the other comments, I feel guilty. I almost never think "What is my goal for this site?", or "How do I want the user to feel or react?".
To be honest, my first thought is:
"Should I use Verdana or Georgia as the content headers?"
I guess being 13 gives you totally different perspective on the design process.
Alex (http://pixul.net/)
I start with a potato.
Not a special potato. Just your regular, run-of-the-mill potato that is no different from any other potato.
I stare intently at potato. Intently. For quite some time.
I throw away the potato.
Then I procrastinate with Counter Strike until there are about 6 hours left until deadline.
Then I hook up the caffeine IV.
It usually turns out ok, but I seldom remember anything about it...
Sergio (http://overcaffeinated.net)
Sergio - as long as the check clears, none of the rest matters, right? :-)
And if they call later asking for some support... you find the thrown away potato and tell them it contains all the documentation, and throw it at them and run. :-)
Use the dodging skills you learned in Counter Strike, and the enhanced metabolism from the caffeine IV, and all will be well.
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
color.
no matter what is the media i am working on i always start with the background color.
then the font color.
Claudia
Who's my audience. That's my first thought -- but I'm thinking print design and web design -- I'm not going to make a company who's target market is 20 somethings look like Martha Stewart Co. -- or turn a hospital advertisment into a Bacardi Ad. I don't care if it gets to be the next cool technique for either medium, that doesn't make it good design.
Brady J. Frey (http://www.dotfive.com)
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#1
My first thought/action is to combine the clients' immediate requirements with that of their customers; I find it's essential to form some common middle ground before laying your (web) design foundations.
Once that's established, I move onto loosely working in the look 'n feel elements that the client wants. If the client hasn't been explicit, then it's pretty much a "best practice in communication" excersize. That's not saying “churn out the same old stock template and then tweak” — far from it. To me, it's the part where I decide what will communicate requirement X to the customer the most effectively, whether it be a simplistic Amazon-esque layout, or something more sophisticated.
I also like to make usage of mind mapping processes throughout to help organise site and navigation structure(s). I've yet to try it, but FreeMind looks as though it might come in handy.
Pete F. (http://www.markedup.co.uk/)