Making Choices in Design: Brainstorming & Planning

NEVER underestimate the power of brainstorming!

It is absolutely the most important part of designing anything. It is not impossible to have your first idea, be the best one (and end up the final product), but it is not likely or usually in anyone’s best interest. The best way to approach a new project is always to do your research on what your designing for and the intended audience, then make those thunderclouds in your head start throwing lightning everywhere to destroy things… well, actually to create things, or something like that. But, anyway, the point is if you lay down all the ideas you can think of, your chances of selecting a REALLY good design is greater. You get to compare and contrast all the different possibilities, weighing the pros and cons to find out what might be the most positive eye-catching solution.

I clearly remember being in school and disliking having to sit down and make 30 tiny thumbnail sketches for a single project, and then having to narrow them down to 15 ideas and do slightly larger thumbnail sketches, and then narrow down some more… It seemed like an endless process to get to a final product. However, it really is necessary to create a great design and to bring out the best in its creator. Granted, the process does not have to be as long as stated above, but it is in everyone’s best interest to put out as many ideas as possible to sift through and find the best ideas to move on to the next stage.

One can never stress the usefulness of planning enough. I was never a goal-oriented and driven person until I got to college, things changed a lot. It is very rewarding to plan things out and see them through to completion. And, as stated before, the final product of whatever you are working on will yield a much better, refined, polished, sleek, beautiful result if you PLAN. This may be going to far, but sometimes I keep a check sheet sticky noted to my laptop to remind me of the things I have to do and/or the steps I need to follow to get my work done in the way that I like. I find it gratifying to check things off when they are done, it’s just one more thing that’s been accomplished and I won’t have to bother with it again. I’m sure there are many more methods out there to keep yourself driven and try to bring out the best in your work. Please seek out ways to keep learning and motivate yourself to do your best!

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
-Anonymous