This journal explains more about how I went through a project from a certain new client who was looking for a graphic designer to design a brand name as well as a newspaper advertisement poster. In order to successfully meet his needs, I did a design process or stages. Design is a process that turns a brief or requirement into a finished product or design solution. Here are the design stages for the project.
Firstly, was supposed to understand or define a creative brief. A creative design brief is the outline of what a client wants to achieve by commissioning a design. Armed with creative thinking tools, personal influences and source material, a graphic designer can respond to a brief and generate creative solutions for it. A precise understanding of the problem and its constraints allows more exact solutions to be developed (Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris 2010). After understanding the brief, the next step is conducting a research.
Secondly, is conducting a research. Once the brief has been defined and agreed, a designer starts to search for information that can be fed into the creative process at the ideate stage. This research can be either quantitative, with hard statistical numbers about the size and composition of target user groups, or qualitative, with information about what that user group buys or consumes and what their lifestyle is like. This stage reviews information such as the history of the design problem, end-user research and opinion-led interviews, and identifies potential obstacles (Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris 2010). Research provides the needed information that guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with problems. This stage, helped me a lot in such a way that I collected more information and have a deep understanding of what I was about to do. I did both types of research which are primary as well as secondary. On primary research I did interview to some of the graphic designer as well as other companies that serves same local food like Mulanje Cafe. Secondly, was on internet such as Google and you-tube.
Fourth stage is prototype. The ideate stage generates a variety of potential solutions to the design brief. Prior to selection, it may be necessary to further work up the most promising of these solutions. This will allow particular aspects to be tested and will provide a better basis for comparison at the selection stage. In such cases a prototype can be created. I designed different kinds of logos so that client can a choice over the other. As a graphic designer, it is not good to design just one logo to a client because this shows that you are lazy and because of this, client will not have a freedom to choose one logo over another. I made sure that I should keep the logo simple and distinctive. A logo should have an appearance unlike that of other logo. Ideally, the distinctive logo will stand out in a crowded field by virtue of its unique appearance. (Jack Gernsheiner 2008). A prototype gives the design team and client the ability to visualize and handle a design concept, to get an idea of its physical presence and tactile qualities (Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris 2010). After designing more than three kinds of logos, I put them on a negative background to test them how they are going to like on that background because some colors does not fit on it. Once I have had the opportunity to develop and refine my design alternatives in black and white, introducing color into the equation is the next order of business. Color should never be treated as an afterthought, any more than the selection of an appropriate font palette should be taken lightly. (Jack Gernsheiner 2008).
Another stage is selection of designs. The select stage is the point at which one of the proposed design solutions is chosen for development. The key decision criterion is fitness for purpose: does the design meet the needs and goals of the brief, and will it effectively communicate to the target audience to achieve those aims? The winning design is typically that which most closely meets the design brief, or a significant part of it. It may not be possible or desirable to meet all the requirements of a brief within a single design. Since I designed three logos, it was the client’s decision to choose which logo meet his or her wants. With the help from me I gave him an insight of the characteristics of good logo. A client chose a last logo with a circle and capital “M” inside that represents Mulanje Cafe and a curved line at the bottom of the logotype. On the newspaper Ad I put brown background and a container of rice on the wood, the logo was placed at the top right corner and at the bottom is information contacts.
Last but not least is implementation stage. This is you deriver the solution to the design brief. During this stage, the designer passes the design artwork and format specifications to those who will be supplying the final product. In this project on logo design, I delivered artworks in PNG file, TIFF, as well as PDF and the mode of image was CYMK since this is print while RGB is for screen, web and mobile apps. The design team typically provides project management during this stage, in order to ensure that the end results meet design expectations, and to keep the project on budget and on time. Proofing may be necessary during implementation if a print job is involved. This will ensure that what is printed is an accurate reflection of the artwork supplied (Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris 2010).
Finally, the last stage is feedback. The final stage in the process involves learning from what has happened throughout the design process. This is a feedback stage during which the client and design agency might seek to identify what worked well and where there is room for improvement. From this project what I learnt is that client was looking for cool logo that will represents what he sale and the newspaper Ad that meets its target audience. The feedback I generated at the process becomes a learning opportunity for future projects.
Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris 2010, Basics Design in Design Thinking
Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris 2005, Basic Design Layout
Jack Gernsheiner 2008, Designing Logos, The process of creating symbols that endure
John Ingledew 2011, A-Z of Visual Ideas- How to solve Any Creative Brief
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