What Should your Design Process Be?
A design process is a series of steps to formulate a design or collection.
I think a good design process is:
• energizing
• inspiring
• sustainable
• efficient
Realistically, I don't think there is one process that works for everyone. It takes time and experimentation to figure out which design process meets the above criteria.
I used to design without thinking much about process. I think I was addicted to the chaos and drama of being disorganized.
Eventually, I got tired of wasting time and solidified a design process to help streamline my focus and maximize my time and creativity.
I'll try to explain my process as brief as possible in this post. If you're interested in a more detailed explanation, with tools and resources, download "Fashion Design Strategy and Tactics" (it's free and a quick-ish read)
1. Define
Before I do anything, I define the target customer, season, line plan, and concept.
Target customer- Who is the customer? Factors like age, lifestyle, income, values, and geographic location determine a customer profile.
Season- How will the weather, mood, and festivities influence what customers buy?
Line plan- What is the goal number of looks, pieces, or colorways in the collection?
Concept—What theme or "story" will resonate most with the brand and customer?
This is the most critical part of my design process. Without it, I would waste a lot of time designing clothes that aren't relevant and won't sell.
2. Research
To complete Step 1, I need more research.
Here are my research action items:
• Market research to learn more about my customer
• Trend research to identify trends relevant to my brand and customer.
• Concept research to design the theme or story of my collection including color, fabric, prints + patterns, embellishments/ novelty, silhouettes, key items. I like to order sample yardage fabrics ASAP because this often causes a snag in receiving samples on time.
3. Brainstorm
Step 1 + 2 prepared me with the framework I need to start brainstorming ideas.
Because I know my customer, season, line plan, and concept, I can design clothes that are relevant to each of those points.
At this point in the process, my design sketches are quick and loose.
4. Edit
Now I have all these sketches, too many sketches.
Here's where I drop any ideas that aren't relevant to my brand, customer, season, or concept.
I like to create a "dropped folder," where I put my discarded ideas.
Knowing that they can be resurrected in the future helps me not become overly sentimental about dropping them.
5. Present
After condensing my brainstormed ideas, I can now get them ready for presentation.
The types of visuals and verbal presentation depends on my audience.
Here's a summary of each:
Casual meetings with other creatives:
Visuals: Rough sketches (especially if I'm anticipating a lot of changes and dropped designs.)
Verbal presentation: call-outs on silhouette, design details, and any information that best communicates the design idea and message.
Technical meetings with pattern or sample makers:
Visuals: Technical flat illustrations with design callouts.
Verbal presentation: information that communicates fabric and the measurement specifications of the garment—like body length, neck width, sleeve length, etc.
Meetings with merchandisers:
Visuals: Combination of sketches, photos, and samples. In my experience, merchandisers work best from more realistic renditions of designs.
Verbal presentation: focused on evidence that a design has a high probability of selling (trend relevance, comparison to past styles that sold well, outfitting opportunities)
Meetings with leadership teams:
Visuals: Physical samples that have gone through a series of edits.
Verbal presentation: Regarding design details, the samples speak for themselves. I focus more on the inspiration behind each design.
Conclusion
My design process: define -> research -> brainstorm -> edit -> present.
This process summarizes the creative process.
After a design is adopted and units are booked, a whole other process begins (but that's a subject for another post.)