5 Steps to Optimize the Design Process

How to find clarity and resolve so that you can release your creation to the wild, then rinse, and repeat.

Sometimes design and product development processes can get hung up on the enormity of the task, or tied up in the details. Too often, we lose sight of the needs of the consumer — the very thing at the core of our project’s purpose. Here are a few methods for finding clarity, quality, and getting a project done so you can move onto your next big thing.

1. Be Your Audience

Get back to basics, put yourself in the role of your customer, look at things the way they would. Your best laid plans can sometimes get in the way of your true intent: creating something of value for your intended audience. Too many input sources can fuzz that focus, and make it difficult to course-correct.

2. Take Baby Steps

Creative ideas are not always achieved through long-term planning. If the project is large, break it into a phased approach. Smaller goals and milestones along the way will help your team make new discoveries that may further enrich the final outcome. Delays and changes to the project are inevitable; be ready to ride that bull. The final product may not resemble the original vision, but therein lies the opportunity for true innovation.

3. Lead with Intuition

A group should have a designated leader with a confident and experienced point of view. They should have the sensitivity to move with the ebb and tide of the group, but also have the constitution to make decisions when the group gets stuck.

4. Release and React

Often times, ideas are squelched in the vacuum of the boardroom before they have a chance to be released into the wild. Instead of making decisions that attempt to predict what the audience wants, release it, observe audience reactions, and make modifications based on those reactions. Rinse it off, and repeat the process.

5. Search for Opportunities, Not Mistakes

Throughout the process, there will be wrong turns or ideas whose outcomes do not prove fruitful. Don’t sweat it. Instead, use those discoveries to inform what to avoid in future phases.

The desire for sweeping change has a tendency to obscure value for your audience. Instead of relentlessly seeking the new and novel, seek advancement through micro-innovations. Each member of a group will have strong feelings on what they think is best for a product. But in the group process of creation, remember that the needs of the customer should always be your North Star.

Robbie Bruzus is Associate Creative Director at Level, a purpose-driven digital design firm.