My Personal Design Manifesto

My Personal Design Manifesto

Design for a purpose- know what is the main point the design is trying to make, and make sure it does just that. Don’t lose the purpose of the product while trying to make it look good.

Find your prime time- everyone has a certain time when they work well. Maybe it is early in the morning, or noon, or even staying up until 3 or 4 am to get your creativeness going. Whenever it is figure it out and draw during that time.

Get everything on paper- even in the middle of working on one idea have a separate sheet of paper ready just to doodle down any ideas that pop into your head so you can go back to them later.

Explore ideas- explore every idea you have even small one. Research, make drawing, or even sketch models you never know if that idea will turn out to be your favorite.

Don’t ever settle- don’t create anything that you think “doesn’t work” make sure that you are pleased with every angle, line, surface, or material even if it’s not your first choice and are required to use it.

Experiment- even if you know something will not work or you know you won’t end up using it, go ahead and tries it. It could inspire you to figure out your final design.

Organized chaos- keep your work area “messy” so all your ideas are out and visible, however don’t get buried in your work to the point to where you are distracted or held back by it.

Draw- draw, draw, and draw some more!

Don’t be afraid to ask- ask everyone what they think of your work, a little criticism and go a long way.

Be comfortable- create in a setting that you feel good in, music, lighting, furniture, etc. if you dare uneasy in your environment it will come out in your work.

Take risks- try some crazy things and push the envelope; you never know what you can do and who will be impressed by it.

Keep the final in mind- during your creative process keep referring back to what you think the final is supposed to look like, but remember that it can change at any point if you want.

Have fun- if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing then what is the point of doing it.

To the point- Don’t stray from the path and get off topic but more importantly don’t have tunnel vision when looking for ideas.

How it’s made- After the basic form is down always keep in mind how it will be manufactured and taken apart later.

Longevity- Don’t design anything that isn’t durable.

Green- What can be more “green?” maybe materials, recycling, and manufacturing?

The right RIGHT answer- The problems you encounter will have several answers, it’s your job to figure out which one works the best.

 

Step back- Pace around, walk away from your work to see it from a distance or distance angles, just walk around it.

 

Look back- Reflect over your process (drawings, sketches, models, ideation) several times throughout.

 

Start- Don’t think just do.

 

Take breaks- work on other things in between ideas, it can give you inspiration.

Test it- try to figure out what problems are going to happen before they do.

Look around- design ideas can come from ANYWHERE.

 

Keep drawing- You have an infinite amount of ideas in your head so get them on paper.