Creating something special—whether it’s a website, brand identity, photograph, or design—isn’t something that happens by accident. Every good piece of work is based on a process that carefully develops the raw idea into a finished product. I believe having a clear creative process will both assure quality and strengthen trust between myself and my clients. Here’s a look behind the curtain at how I make ideas happen.
1. Discovery & Understanding the Problem
Every successful project begins with truly understanding the challenge at hand. Before I put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, I spend time learning about you, your business, and your goals. This often involves a detailed questionnaire, a discovery call, or research to uncover what you really need.
This section is of particular importance to me because I want my work to be aligned with your vision. It is not solely about what looks good but what will involve your audience and serve you best. The sort of questions I ask are: What are the business objectives? Who is your target audience? What are you trying to convey? Are there styles/images (as references) that resonate with you? By thinking about these questions early on, I can make sure that I am being meaningful in my work.
2. Brainstorming & Concept Development
After I feel I have a solid grasp of the challenges you are facing, I will then begin the idea generation phase. This is the fun part. I play with ideas, I generate a lot of first drafts and iterations, I look for inspiration, I explore all the different directions of the project, and I generate some rough sketches. When you prototype and experiment, it is important to return to the goals you are working toward. While creativity is fun, it needs to have purpose. I make sure to keep my brainstorming to ideas that will connect with your target audience, and congruent with your brand character. This is an open phase as well. I usually show clients (and share) my initial ideas and sketches as they are being generated and get their first response. This can help steer ideas for both of us, and ensure we are progressing in the right direction.
3. Design / Build / Create Phase
After settling on the best concept, I dive into the actual creation. Whether I’m designing a logo, developing a website, or editing photos, this is where ideas transform into tangible work.
I believe in transparency during this stage, so I keep clients updated with previews and progress reports. This open communication helps avoid surprises and ensures the project is evolving according to expectations.
It’s a dynamic phase—sometimes the work takes unexpected turns, and adjustments are made along the way. Flexibility is key to producing the best possible result.
4. Refinement & Revisions
It is normally expected, especially in the creative industry, that the first time is not great – this is why feedback and revisions are so essential to the process. When I share an early draft or prototype, I am open to short and honest feedback and suggestions. I see the work as a collaborative process and we will improve the work (colours, layout, functionality) together until it is the way it should be. Collaboration means partnership, and we both bring our vision and experience together to create something nice together.
5. Final Delivery & Support
When the project is complete, I will either send you all the final files or I will go live and that will be the end of it. But it won’t stop there. I am always around to answer your questions, sometimes you may just want to have a little bit of information as you start utilizing your new design or product. I want you to feel confident and excited to move forward with what we have created together and I want to help you be successful- either with support on updates in the future, or with answering questions that come up.
