John Pape Online Blog

The following step can be used in nearly any creative activity.  It can be used in writing a song, creating a logo or building a web site.  It is a basic road map to follow that will provide greater clarity in the creation and design project.

Identify the Problem

The beginning of the the design process requires that you identify the problem you want to solve.  Once you have a clear picture, idea or concept of the problem it will be easier to come up with viable solutions.

Brainstorm Preliminary Ideas

Once you have defined the problem brainstorm as many way possible that will solve the problem.  When brainstorming do not edit your thoughts and ideas.  Let them flow freely.  Ideas that don’t make sense can create a bridge that will lead to a fresh new way of approaching a solution to the problem.  It is important that you allow free association to occur when brainstorming.  Do not discount or edit your ideas, that will be dealt with next.

Make Refinements

Now that you have many ideas an ways that can solve your problem, take a look at a few of the ideas and elaborate on them.  Start to polish your ideas.  Now is the time to make changes and edits.  You can even get rid of ideas that don’t appear to work in the current situation.   In this step you will begin to narrow down your ideas.

Analyze

Okay, you’ve started to refine and narrow down a solution to your problem.  Now take some time to analyze the various solutions to your problem.  Think each idea through.  Experiment with each idea. Figure out how the idea will work in a real life situation.

Decide the Best Solution

After you analyze each of your ideas it is time to make a decision.   By this point you should have fairly good sense of what will work best.  Make a choice.

Make it Happen

Finally, now that you have decided what is the best solution to your problem it is time to implement the solution.  Since the problem is well defined and you’ve explored many different solutions it is time to put it into real life situation.

Changes

After your idea is implemented it will need to be fine tuned.  Adjustment may need to be made to make it better.  Sometime you will never know the quirk until it is used in a real life situation.  You need to leave room for improvement and this step allows you the opportunity to make necessary changes

Feedback

This step forces you to look at the success or failure of the project and the solution to your original problem.  If the idea is successful you may be able to apply it to other applications.  If is dosen’t work that okay.  You may need to start the design process all over from the beginning.