Evaluating the Design Process

Inspiration>Idea>Concept>Trial>Refine>Product

Inspiration

•   My definition of “inspiration” is a sudden thought that comes to mind that causes me to feel motivated or encouraged to act.
• When I feel inspired I usually feel overwhelmed with thoughts that need to be brainstormed into ideas.
• To me, this is a very exciting ‘step’ in the design process. It is what encourages me to complete a project.

Idea

• My definition of an “idea” is an inspiration that appears in my mind as an image.
• I feel like an idea needs to process in my mind before I am able to vocalize it as a concept.
• The idea is the result of brainstorming on an inspiration.

Concept

• My definition of a “concept” is a general idea or theory that attempts to explain something in my mind.
• It is a plan to conceive the idea.

Trial

• My definition of a “trial” is the process of testing a concept.
• It is my attempt to test the idea I was inspired by.
• A trial may be successful or unsuccessful.

Refine

•  If a trial is unsuccessful it will need to be refined.
• My definition of “refine” is to improve or make a process better to make a more perfect product.
• The ability to refine a process is very important because a good idea is not worth much if you cannot successfully complete the product.

Product

• When a process has been successfully refined, a product is the result.
• My definition of “product” is the end-result of a process.

When I first began to evaluate this design process I thought I started with an idea. The reality of it is I must always have some kind of inspiration even if I do not immediately recognize it as my inspiration for a particular idea. I feel this is exactly the design process I use when I create a product. Although I may repeat “trial” and “refine” multiple times, it is always in that order.

I missed the day we discussed the design process in class. I am unsure of the previous discussion about New Media and Target Audience so I will discuss my opinion about the relation. I believe it is very important to keep the Target Audience in mind when I design New Media products. Different Target Audiences view art in different ways. If I artfully design a very abstract New Media product for a conservative company, they will likely not be happy with the end result because it is not cohesive with their business appearance (and vice versa).

Most of the time, New Media people (especially students) start out with a product or project. We are told what the end result should be. This tends to cause me to have a delay in my design process because, initially, I tend to get stuck in a box. When I am told what the product should be like it changes my design process, but only slightly.  Regardless of the end result, I still need to start with an inspiration. That inspiration needs to be nurtured into an idea and then a concept. That concept will still need to be tried and refined until I feel the process will generate a product I am happy with.