Design from scratch: what are the main stages of work?

Question

Design

Hello!
Recently there was a chic topic Layout from scratch: what are the main stages of work?
I learned a lot from there, I realized that I was a sucker ... I cried ... I wanted to change my occupation, but first I decided to ask a question about the "previous" stage - the development of the layout. Well, to finally ... and go to the factory)
Let's take the initial data from that question:
There is an order, suppose that this is a business card of a large company with a bunch of services that wants to introduce itself to the user as widely as possible. We need to make a layout. Nothing has been agreed yet, neither the content nor the wishes of the customer, but we will accept as a condition that the order is given to you unambiguously.
How do you structure your work? Where do you start? What main and additional stages are always present in your work schedule, up to the delivery of the layout to the layout designer? In a word - describe your time-line ... and how you organize it.
I think everyone will be interested.

Answer 1

0 we start the asana, and the googledox folder in the "projects" for the project
1 we take a blank for the brief from the templates and the client fills
in 2 we create a technical specification based on it and shake it up with the customer (DM)
3 page sketches are created
4 based on them - mockups
5 based on them based on wireframe
6 prototype
7 final production design is created
8 road accident is carried out, everything is finished according to internal standards (layer names, groups, file names, extra garbage inside, etc.)
9 file garbage is cleaned and backed up
10 we transfer the final version to the customer
now a couple (but far from all) details:
- naming layouts is important
- items around 4-6 depending on the size of the project - optional
- depending on the tasks between 3 and 4, there may be a user flow scheme item, or a visual board of links between screens, if it is simpler
- the output may (or may not) form a uaykit and a corporate identity in one or another layout.

Answer 2

1. TK - we shake the client, or we write it ourselves, including prescribing the terms and procedure for payment, and agreeing on it.
2. We work.
3. We hand over the work, get edits, return to step 2 within step 1, loop.
Tools are briefly described here , philosophy and parting words here .

Answer 3

If there is a logo and corporate identity guidelines, then I take it and do it, but usually, if a company needs business cards, then they usually don’t even have a logo yet. And often there is no name.
The first thing to determine is the priority of working with this customer.
1) A lot of money in a short time.
2) Little money for little time.
3) A lot of money for a lot of time.
4) Little money for a lot of time.
In principle, it makes sense to work only with the first two categories of customers. If the customer positions himself in the third or fourth category, then with the third one, in principle, you can immediately say that this work cannot be done quickly, because the amount of work is large, and then break the task into stages with phased payment.
With the fourth category, the conversation is simple - either they are ready to move to the third, or they can be safely refused, saying that they are not yet ready to work with design.
Company name and logo. We take a week to brainstorm, come up with options for names with logos, and show them to the customer. Usually the customer, after looking at this, begins to think constructively, and gives you a name that he likes.
Once the name is there, you can start working on the logo. We take a couple more days and come up with a few sketches. We show the customer, either there is a hit to the point, or together something is invented. Because he is required to clearly formulate why this or that option does not suit him. Having such information, you can immediately depict something "on a napkin".
So, there is an excerpt of the logo. We implement it in different versions. Simply put, you have, for example, a crane. We draw several cranes - just cranes, and in a composition with a square, rhombus, circle, triangle - in general, the customer needs to choose either a simple crane or a composition.
After the logo is ready, we select the corporate font. Russification is usually required, that is, it can take a couple of weeks. Therefore, having selected several options, we select the English version, and then you can already make the Russification of the font. At the same time, we choose a color palette.
Now, when there is a logo, name, corporate identity, you can make a corporate identity - business cards, envelopes, letterheads, calendars, pens, jewelry, badges and watches, badges, lighters, cell phone cases.
Work on the logo and corporate identity takes some time, but there is not much design work. Mostly meetings and sketches. But the production of an identity is a lot of work, and for this it makes sense to carry out the first stage (preparatory). Because according to its results, the designer knows what the customer wants, what the customer likes, and the customer knows what to expect from the designer.

Answer 4

Let's go.
1. First you need to find out the goals and objectives of the site. It happens that you can develop not a business card site, but arrange a group in VK, or somehow simplify it. Let's say we're still making a business card website.
2. You need to collect as much information as possible from the customer: about activities, services, prices, history, approaches, so that later on the site you don’t lie, but prove the coolness of the customer with facts .
3. We form technical specifications in some form, budget, planning, sprints, that's all. The stage is difficult, pulls on a separate article, because everyone is different.
4. The designer discusses with the client and identifies typical site users. Builds hypotheses about what features they need and how they are used to using sites of this kind. Based on this knowledge, you can estimate the future product.
4.1 An analyst or designer can come in here to conduct qualitative and quantitative research to test hypotheses, but this is often overlooked.
5. The designer draws rough layouts, assembles a presentation in some form (for example, literally a presentation or a prototype), naked pictures cannot be shown. When the prototypes are agreed upon, the backing, if any, begins to be sawn.
6. The designer draws the final layouts. For speed, you can work out several visual concepts that are consistent with labor / money costs, agree on one of them and fry the layouts in this direction. See the progressive jeep method .
7. The designer coordinates the layouts with the development team. Surely you will have to correct something or draw a few states. Then it cleans up the sources, prepares a style guide with button/link states, etc. This is where the front-end comes in and messes up the layout.
8. When the layout and back (if any) are ready, the designer and testers (if any) look at the finished product and check it. The main thing is that the product solves the user's problem and works (brings money/customers). Well, you can look at the visual design.
9. Deadlines cannot be shifted, but functions can be cut . Therefore, after the release, there probably remained chips that can still be finished. If the client wants this, we take the statistical metrics in hand and go to correct / supplement the site.