![\"Design](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graphics.learningpictures.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Design-Council-DoubleDiamond_739x517.jpg\")
<\/a>Design Council ‘Double Diamond’ model<\/p><\/div>\n
In researching ways to describe the process I came across the Design Council\u2019s \u201cDouble Diamond\u201d four step model:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Discover<\/li>\n
- Define<\/li>\n
- Develop<\/li>\n
- Deliver<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Although this seems to apply more to physical product design I thought the iterative process of diverging and converging seemed familiar, indeed it is very like a model I developed for my own research process in terms of my organisational studies. I find this awareness a useful part of my own reflective practice because it helps give me a sense of when I might be opening out (idea generating) and when I need to focus down (problem definition and solving). In getting to understand this process I can start to recognise times when I have moved through the process and narrowed things down too quickly or when I am spending too long idea generating. Sometimes this is when it is useful to bring in external feedback, as I may not always spot for myself how something might be developed further or focused down more.<\/p>\n
After a bit of research there seems to be some common areas of advice around how to review your design work:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Make sure you are answering and working to the brief: as a freelance consultant I am very familiar with working to a brief and also recognising that the contracting process can be iterative as a project develops<\/li>\n
- Consider current trends: this to me needs to balance of what is \u2018on trend\u2019 and what is gimmicky or trying too hard. You don\u2019t want a design that looks very dated or out of touch or lacking in ideas. Equally, it seems to me to reflect back to the brief – is the client looking for something timeless, fresh, traditional, contemporary and so on<\/li>\n
- Try different perspectives: upside down, monochrome, stripped back to outline and so on<\/li>\n
- Slow down and step back: this is something familiar to me from my work writing, I need to have time to review and edit (although this is not always within my control)<\/li>\n
- Remember design theory: colour, composition, typography, balance and so on<\/li>\n
- Make a storyboard: tell the story of the design. I have a preference to lay different ideas out on the floor or put them on the wall so I can physically see and live with them for a while<\/li>\n
- Emotional attachment: there is another element that doesn\u2019t seem to get mentioned very much, which for me is important and that is about emotional engagement with your ideas. I know there are ideas I become wedded to and all the rational analysis in the world makes it hard to shift from that idea<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
I think there are some basic questions that I follow that echo the process in the course workbook, they are not necessarily always in awareness and that is something to be developed further:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Have I answered the brief?<\/li>\n
- Is the design usable (I might add beautiful, funny, happy etc., if it\u2019s appropriate to the brief)?<\/li>\n
- Do I like the concept at a glance?<\/li>\n
- Is the design trendy?<\/li>\n
- What is the message or idea? Does it communicate what I am intending?<\/li>\n
- Am I emotionally engaged (if so to what degree)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I like the point made by Design Shack<\/a> \u2013<\/p>\n
\u201cGood design answers questions. It often answers them before users have a chance to even ask them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Interestingly, it is often the approach I take in my consultancy work too \u2013 my self-reflection stems from asking \u2018what question am I trying to answer?\u2019<\/p>\n
In terms of wider feedback I have family and friends who are often willing to share their opinions. I also make use of two of the OCA Facebook fora (Photography Level 1 and Visual Communications). I haven\u2019t shared anything through OCA Discuss yet, partly a usability issue because of accessing the site on occasion, and I think partly because of a need to build my confidence in a new field first.<\/p>\n
Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Research Point (Page 44, OCA Graphic Design): Critiquing my work How do you approach being self-critical? What issues does it raise? Do you have friends, family, colleagues or a group who will critique your work for you? Thinking about critiquing my own work is not as simple as it might \u2026 Continue reading