10 Stages of Graphics Design You Need to Know
What are the steps in graphics design? In this article, you’ll learn about the 10 stages of graphics design, including how to decide on your design style and how to put together a portfolio of work. By understanding these 10 steps, you’ll be able to plan your path to success as a graphic designer!
Pre-design stage
When you begin work on a project, it’s important to look at as many possible solutions as you can before settling on one. This is often referred to as pre-design stage and is an essential part of creative brainstorming. Take your time with pre-design and remember that good ideas take time—the first step will never be your best. Some people like to doodle when they think; some prefer using sticky notes or mind mapping software. It doesn’t matter what method you use, but know that keeping organized is critical for success in any creative endeavor; organization lets you move forward quickly and efficiently when necessary. No matter what tool or approach you use, keep track of all ideas throughout your entire design process; it’s likely one (or several) will come in handy during later stages.
Sketching Stage
The brainstorming stage. Even if you’re not an artist, take a pen and paper (or just use your laptop), and start writing down all sorts of design ideas that come to mind: Words? Symbols? Numbers? Pictures? Cursive letters? All are great ways to get your creative juices flowing in this first step. Next, try sketching out your ideas on paper. Sketching is a great way for everyone—artists or not—to explore design options visually before committing them to code or Photoshop. It’s also a fun stage because it feels so fast and loose, allowing you to take risks that might not be possible later on. So don’t worry about being neat—aim for speed instead!
Colour Schemes Stage
Colour schemes and palettes are vital when designing infographics as they can completely alter how your information is perceived. It's important not only to choose a colour scheme that coordinates with your data, but also pay attention to contrast; if your palette is too similar it'll make it difficult for viewers to differentiate different aspects of your infographic. A good rule of thumb is that no more than three colours should be used in any design project. And if you're looking for inspiration, never underestimate mood boards; they're great way of pulling together disparate ideas and forming a visual language with which you can start working.
Image Selection Stage
Learn about image selection and choose which images you want for your design. There are many questions that need to be answered at this stage: Do you want your own original photos or stock images? Do you have copyright permission for all images? Are there any rights-managed (RM) images available? How big should they be, how many should there be, etc.? This stage is also called stock photo research.
Alignment & Typography Stage
What goes where? How should each graphic element be placed? It's a pretty obvious question, but it's important because how you answer it will determine how readable and effective your final design is. After all, one misplaced graph or confusing headline could get your viewers quickly turned off, no matter how beautiful your design is. So learn about alignment, read up on typography, and get these details right before moving on. A good place to start would be Layout Fundamentals for Everything from Business Cards to Brochures by Jason Craycraft. This classic book provides an overview of basic layout principles that apply no matter what medium you're designing for.
Composition & Arrangement Stage
Composition and arrangement are two sides of one coin. Composition is taking a concept, and putting it on paper; arrangement is taking your image, and putting it in context. Arranging your content may seem daunting at first. But every designer has had to do it at one point or another. Your boss asks you if you can make that photo bigger, or a client says they need their logo centered between these two text blocks. If you don’t know what you’re doing here, don’t worry: I have some tips below! Here are some things to consider when arranging your design: Size - How big should my image be? Does it fit in with everything else?
Technical Stage
The technical stage is one that can make or break a design. This is where you have to nail down your details like fonts, colors, and images. In short, it’s imperative you get these things right before moving forward or else there’s a good chance your design won’t work. It also requires technical skills (i.e., graphic design), which may require help from others in order for you to excel at it.
Proofreading & Polishing Stage
The proofreading and polishing stage is vital. Without it, your book could be riddled with spelling errors and awkward phrasing, which will make your book look sloppy—and worse yet, will confuse readers and cause them to doubt your knowledge or credibility. When you work on polishing a manuscript before self-publishing or submitting it to an editor at a publishing house, pay attention not only to spelling and grammar but also word choice and sentence structure. Your writing should be as error-free as possible. Every line of text must shine without distracting errors or typos that can detract from your content's message.
Finalising the File Formatting Stage
One of our graphic designers recently had an exchange with a client about whether or not to send design files in Photoshop format (.psd) or Illustrator format (.ai). The customer was vehemently against .psd, because anyone can open and change it. That is true; there are no restrictions on using .psd files, unlike .ai files which require a license from Adobe to use. However, as all graphic designers know, working in any program other than one you are most familiar with slows you down. Choosing a file format for each stage of design depends largely on what your goal is for that specific stage—how much creativity do you want your designer involved in?
Delivering the Graphic Files Stage
Once your client has approved and signed off on a project, it’s time to deliver all your graphic files. This is another opportunity for you to make sure your customer is fully satisfied. Make sure that any fonts or graphics are embedded or linked correctly, upload all needed images (if they weren’t already provided), and proofread everything one last time before hitting send. If your client chooses to have their logo design applied digitally (as opposed to printed), then you might also offer up some tutorial videos for them that walk them through how to best use their digital files in certain mediums.