The creative process, it is a very real thing but it’s not a one size-fits-all set of checkboxes or a list of rules to follow; it’s a framework. The creative process is a set of tried and tested rituals, but they vary from person to person.
A creative framework should help narrow the scope of a project and take away second guesses, so the designer can focus on answering the question at hand. Because design is about looking for the question and then answering it, it’s important to remove any noise. Since confidence and clarity are the end goal; work has to be approached in a confident and clear way.
Starting with the client brief, the initial conversations, the mood boards, wireframes and sketches. To the grid, the palette, the font choices. All of these self imposed constraints build an organic framework where creativity can thrive. There’s no time for artist’s block when clients are paying by the hour, so a solid creative process means that at no point does the designer ever have to look at a blank document before work begins.
It’s this organised foundation that leaves room for thought; and that’s where creativity thrives.
Creative processes
Initially, Brand and Web are approached in a similar way at Typeface. The framework is assembled by gathering the initial brief and client conversations, competitor research and market analysis. In the case of Brand, this might start when taking this information and applying it to a mood board, to map out the thought process and give pool of ideas to draw from. In web design, this process usually begins with the client brief and initial site map, and continues with the Wireframe and Style Guide process.
Brands don’t live on screens. The creative process at Typeface may start on screen if the exercise calls for it, but it will always move in to the physical space. Ideas flow on to paper organically, lines can be erased and moved until pleasing abstracts are created. Shapes are formed and redrawn. This solid framework encourages creativity and leaves room for play; it’s the ethos behind the Typeface creative process.
