Great design starts with great questions.
I love questions. I'm curious by nature. It drives my design and helps me uncover what is important to the project. I believe that listening and learning go a long way in helping make this world a more beautiful place—in both design and relationships. I believe if you want to design something well you need to talk about the mission, vision, process, and goals of the project.
What's your mission?
This is the key question in the design process. The mission drives the direction of the project. Who are you? What are you trying to do? My mission is to help make this world a more beautiful place. What's yours?
What's your vision?
If you want to have a strong design, you need strong vision. Vision is a mental picture of what you want your project to look like. The difference between vision and mission is simple. The mission defines where you're going. The vision tells you how you'll get there. The vision for design projects isn't always clear at the beginning, but it gets clearer through the refining process.
Is the process going in the right direction?
This is the most brutal question in the design process. Often the hours of work put into a design feel too precious to discard if it's not working out. But in the wise words of one of my college professors, "you can't be afraid to kill your babies" (obviously hyperbole. My prof has a wonderful family as do I. I love babies!) In other words, if something isn't working well, go in a new direction! I try to remind myself that it's all about the mission. Am I going in the right direction? At the end of the day it's not about how much work we've put in, it's about if this design is the best answer for the project.
What are your goals?
What do you want to accomplish? Does this design help you accomplish those goals? It's very simple. Goals should be simple, concrete, and practical. If you've made it this far and are interested in working together, let's set up a day to chat.
Thank you!