The Magic
Insight into my creative processStep One: Brainstorm
I always start my design process by creating a giant, mega-list of everything I have ever known. I like to start by listing every type of person I can think of; Stunt doubles, morticians, angry middle-aged playground moms - you get the gist. Everyone has a problem in life, and if there is a problem, you can design something!
Step Two: Research
You might think you know everything about everything, but I promise you, there's more. Research is where the magic first starts to happen. Sometimes I find out crazy things, like how cornflakes might have been invented in hopes of curing masturbation, or that you can use fruit to power a car. The rabbit hole of research is endless, like one crazy treasure hunt.
Step Three: Rejection
Just when you think you have a genius idea, you have to share it with someone, and once you share it with the world, something is bound to suck. This can discourage you, or it can steer you towards something awesome. All of my best projects had ideas that were rejected many times.
Step Four: Make that sh*t real
Time to make a logo, but never just one. Design patterns, illustrations, packages, books, websites, flyers, apps (i’m out of breath), and advertisements. Present them to the client, redo them all the next week. This cycle of design could go on forever, or.... you could hit greatness!
Step Five: The factory
This stuff didn’t just appear out of thin air, I had to build it! With my bare hands! I had to cut on a straight line, measure twice, and print out drafts over and over to get it just how I wanted it. While tedious, it’s pretty epic to see this strange thing I conjured up in my mind sitting on the messy desk in front of me. Seeing my designs in tangible form is my favorite part of the design process. My second favorite part? Getting to do it all again!