Design: Art vs. Process
Successful design has two halves: innovative art and smart processes.
Process? For design?
Many designers shy away from the idea of developing processes for their work because they feel it will restrict their creativity. They think that if they go about producing a design the same way every time, everything they turn out will be uniform, mechanical, and boring.It’s true that too much process and not enough art can result in design with no new innovation. But having processes can also free up the huge part of your brain that focuses on the mundane day-to-day aspects of design to focus on what you really love to do - art.
Get a New Perspective
Think about how much of your design work isn’t the actual design. It’s talking to your clients, getting briefs for the project, doing research, checking in - none of this stuff has anything to do with sitting down to create, but it’s essential to being a successful designer.
Creating processes to handle those mundane tasks can mean you spend a lot less time on them, freeing you up to spend more time thinking outside of the box for some fantastic new take on this client’s brief. They can also help make sure that you don’t have to stop a killer creative flow to check in with the client and make sure you’re not going so far outside the box that they won’t like your concept.