Introduction

What qualifies a design to be a design?  Or better yet, what is a design?  These are questions that were asked in the introduction of The Design Process.  The answer all depends on the person doing the designing.  It depends where lines are placed instead of shapes, where color is used instead of black or white, and where the placement of all other forms are laid out.

The introduction does a good job breaking down some of the basics of design and what it takes to be considered a good one.  The process of design is a relationship you must build and it starts with inspiration.  I thought that inspiration is spot on.  We all need something that inspires us to do what we do, otherwise we would be doing something we don't like.  As an artist, I feel that everything around me can inspire me and trigger a new idea/design.  The author does a good job of pointing that out in the beginning.

The following six stages are identification, conceptualization, exploration/refinement, definition/modeling, communication, and finally production.  Aspelund points out that these stages aren't linear and can be changed while going through the process of designing.  The stages are explained in more depth as you continue to read.

I feel as if the seven stages are important to reaching that eye-catching design.  Without a process for achieving a well-thought out design, most artists would have mediocre artwork with an incomplete understanding of what it is they are trying to convey, and I think I have gained some new insight on my approach to starting a new design with the help of this book.