I don’t remember changing the process for any given project. There is simply no way to jump to a next stage without accomplishing the previous one. Some steps could be repeated several times, but never skipped.
And it all starts with:
Step 1. – Thought. Yes, just a thought. You can call it inspiration, or intuitive hinge, but basically, it is something that comes from the connection to the similarity the mind already has from previous experiences. For example, you hear “coffee”. Right away you smell it, you feel it, you taste it, you emerge in its essence. But it is subjective because it is your experience.
Step 2. – You start recording these ideas and feelings on a paper in form of images. Yes, the little immature and chaotic sketches and thumbnails that reek by imperfection. But they are worth a gold. As one is finished, the next one pushes on your pencil in urge to be registered. And so you draw and drool and you suddenly float in a space of endless current of ideas accompanied by images.
Step 3. – Then something external interferes with your download (pain, thirst, or fabulous smell of food) and as you find yourself in the physical world again, you realize that you have consumed a lot of paper. You decide you are ready to move on and so you select the most appealing ideas and take them to the next level.
Step 4. – Then each little doodle can take you on the same freaky trip as the initial dive in
Step 5. – At some point, you stop and admit that it is time to move further into the development stage. You take the drawings that somewhat matured in Step 4 and turn the handwork into an electronic file.
Step 6. – This is when you share your creation and get feedback from the external world and from the most important person – your client.
Step 7. – You continue to strive for perfection. External input mixed with new ideas will improve and eventually finalize your creation.
The birth of a visual brand is the most exciting and rewarding aspect of my career. Once the main visuals are defined, the brand is carried out into every department of the company (signage, documentation, communication and all technical and marketing material). It may take months before the brand is fully integrated.