My Creative Process: The 4 E’s - Evaluate
Part 1/4
For as long as I can remember I’ve had a process which I’ve followed since college which has changed and improved over the years as I’ve learnt new skills and worked in different roles. In 2023, whilst applying for design vacancies and during interviews I was often asked what my creative process was so I thought I’d formalise it and create something that easy to remember. I hope that by sharing my process, it can be helpful to other designers or those aspiring to join the creative industry.
Evaluate
Before diving into the creative process, I take the time to thoroughly evaluate the project and lay the foundation for success. Every project is unique, and so is the journey to its successful completion. For me, the creative process begins with a crucial stage: evaluation. This phase is the foundation upon which the entire project rests. By taking the time to understand the project's goals, constraints, and target audience, we can ensure that the final outcome is both effective and impactful.
Ideally, each project would start with a detailed brief. However, in reality, this is often not the case. Instead, I rely on initial conversations to gather information and clarify requirements. I've also found workshops to be invaluable in fostering collaboration and uncovering valuable insights. By bringing together key stakeholders and team members, we can brainstorm ideas, identify potential challenges, and ensure everyone is aligned on the project goals.
Every project has different timescales, so the evaluation phase can vary significantly. Sometimes, we may spend days researching competitors and analyzing market trends. In other cases, we may have just a few hours to gather information and create a quick concept.
Here's a list of 10 key considerations I try to address during the evaluation stage:
Audiences and Personas: Defining my target audience goes beyond demographics. I research their interests, lifestyle, and online behavior to understand their needs, motivations, and expectations. I identify their pain points and how they interact with similar products, ensuring my designs truly resonate with them.
Level of Importance: Prioritising objectives is crucial. I determine the most critical goals for the project, identify key performance indicators (KPIs) such as increased brand awareness, usually shown as impressions, website traffic, or sales conversions, and establish how we will measure success throughout the project.
Data: I ask for available data to make informed decisions. This includes market research data, customer data from previous projects, surveys, and CRM systems, competitor analysis data, social media analytics, and website analytics. By analysing this data, I can identify trends and patterns, understand customer behavior, benchmark against competitors, validate assumptions, and ultimately make data-driven decisions. A B testing helped alot during my time at Animal Friends because we were able to see what was working and what wasn’t after 7-10 days, it felt like we were always improving early on within campaigns.
Who needs to be involved: Collaboration is key. I ensure all relevant stakeholders are aligned and have a voice in the project, it’s always good to know what hasn’t performed well in the past or if any designs could cause bugs. This includes project managers, designers, developers, marketing manager, clients, social media experts, and, when possible, end-users.
Environment: I consider the external environment that could impact the project. This includes factors such as economic conditions, technological advancements, the competitive landscape, regulatory changes, and trends on social media.
Budgets: Determining the budget is essential for project scope and resource allocation. Sometimes the budget can dictate the design so its always best to know at the start.
Timescales: Establishing clear timelines is crucial. I create a realistic project schedule with milestones and deadlines for each phase, utilising tools like Gantt charts. Over the year I’ve used Asana and Monday which are really helpful to see how long you’ve got left of certain tasks. I also account for potential delays and build in buffer time to ensure tasks stays on track.
Mission, Vision, and Values: I ensure the project aligns with the client's (or our own) mission, vision, and values. This means creating designs that are consistent with the overall brand identity and strategic goals while also contributing to the company's core values. If there aren’t any core values etc its a good opportunity to run a workshop and create them.
History: Understanding the companies history and background provides valuable context. I review their previous branding efforts, past marketing campaigns, and customer feedback to gain insights into their successes and failures. Sometimes if you’re creating a logo there might be a hidden gem which you can give life to, abit like what the Co-op did with their logo from the 70’s. I also like to find old photos of the workplace or building where the company was founded, these photos can be used as visual assets for the about us page on the company website, a good example is the iconic Amazon Jeff Bezos photo with the name sprayed painted above his desk. Also its a good chance to see how far a company has grown and improved?
Risks: I try to identify and address potential risks, such as delays, budget overruns, unforeseen circumstances, and negative public perception. I develop mitigation strategies to minimise the impact of these risks and regularly monitor and review them throughout the project.
Summary
By thoroughly evaluating the project at the start, it helps to lay a good foundation. This involves a deep dive into the target audience, prioritising objectives, gathering relevant data, considering the project environment, and identifying potential risks. By carefully considering these factors, I ensure the project aligns with the goals and delivers impactful results benefiting the customer and the company. Now that the evaluate part of the process is complete, time to jump into my favourite part of the process…