Sunday, March 2, 2008

Design is a Napkin and a Pen...



Design is a conceptual and psychological process constantly undergoing subconcious manipulations perhaps inspired by ones present environment. In order to solve arising problems a designer must record his/her epiphanies for it will ease the execution process. Ideas are constantly flowing whether you as a designer prefer to use it as an advantage or not design is simply a napkin and a pen.


Many, not just designers, find themselves sitting in a restaurant with only thoughts of delicious food, yet somehow in the subconscious you are at your most creative moment. A creative, genius idea will abruptly pop into your head, and there you find yourself grabbing a crayon, rummaging for a pen and whatever temporary drawing surface you can to get your idea recorded in a visual way. Later when you get home you pull out the napkin and get to work, and all flows smoothly. Ofcourse this is a typical thing for many people but little do they realize without an idea comes no concept, with no concept comes nothing to execute. An idea is the primary source of potential success in a design but can be the hardest thing to develop. Obviously the execution must convey the idea, but the 'idea' is the key point, as better designers can better execute a good idea.


As a designer no project is ever forgotten, no matter the situation the projects are always on my mind, and I'm always finding myself spontaneously determining new solutions to problems I'm currently encountering. Without fluke, the time I spend working out concepts always reflects in my final execution. Sketching and drawing out ideas anywhere possible, whether it's a sketchbook or a napkin determines solutions to design problems making the execution process flow smoothly as you already have a solid idea of what you are about to execute.



In the above image I've placed a few pieces where I've thoroughly worked out design problems before executing. Whether it's packaging, illustration, or information design, conceptual problem solving is the most important process of design.

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