My Creative Process
Discovery → Direction → Concepting → Design
2 min read
It’s great when inspiration hits you out of nowhere, but you can’t wait around for it.
Having a creative process, or certain steps to follow can help jump-start that inspiration.
If it doesn’t, at the very least, it keeps you on track. It keeps the wheels turning.
Having a creative process is essential for creative entrepreneurs.
Here’s a look at mine as a brand designer.
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I like to start with discovery or developing an initial idea.
This usually comes from brand strategy for branding projects, but it can also come from a random reference that sparks an idea.
After gaining insight on a direction for the project, I visualize my ideas by creating a board on Pinterest.
This always jump-starts my creativity.
I create a messy board, pulling inspiration & ideas from different industries & subjects. For branding projects, I make sure to cover typography, colors, icons, patterns & photography.
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The idea starts to come to life after refining.
I organize the mess in Illustrator; creating an intentional mood board that acts as the creative direction for the project.
I make notes on my thought process & explain why I went with certain decisions & share this with the client.
I get their feedback & combine our ideas to create the perfect final mood board before moving forward.
It’s much easier to get into a creative flow when you have an idea of what you’re going to do next.
Client Mood Board
With a solid direction in mind, I start working out all of my ideas.
Sometimes it’s sketching or using physical media; other times it’s digital, getting straight into manipulating that perfect font I had in mind.
After all that prep work, I’m ready to play around.
Whatever your step in the process looks like here, keep it open & unorganized. Experiment & try it again. Iterate, iterate, iterate.
Pattern Iterations
From here, I narrow down all my options & execute the strongest one.
This looks like bringing it all together in Illustrator or Photoshop to finalize things.
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So to recap my creative process:
Discovery (coming up with a strategy)
Direction (mood board/creative direction)
Concepting (getting ideas out)
Designing (executing the strongest concept)
Some other things to keep in mind:
Sometimes the process can feel drawn out, & that's okay. You can make creativity a process or part of a routine, but you can’t rush it.
Breaks between each phase are essential. I’m a firm believer in ‘sleeping on it’. Come back with fresh eyes, and get a different perspective if you can.
Getting into a creative flow is so much easier when you have references or create some sort of plan of action. If you don’t know where to start, start there.
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What does your creative process look like?
Click the image below to save to Pinterest for later! ⬇️
