Design Process

Projects rarely fail in execution. They fail due to unclear or incomplete briefings. Structure creates space for creativity.

Scope

Use this skill when you:

• Structure a design project from the beginning
• Capture, validate, or complete a briefing
• Create wireframes or prototypes
• Use moodboards as a decision-making tool
• Prepare the handoff to development
• Plan a design review or usability test

Principles

1. Structure Creates Space for Creativity

A systematic process prevents creative energy from dissipating into disorientation.

2. The Briefing Is Half the Battle

Unclear briefings are the most common cause of failed projects.

3. Diverge, Then Converge

Every phase has an exploratory part (opening options) and an evaluative part (assessing and narrowing options).

4. User-Centricity Is Non-Negotiable

Design that only pleases the client but ignores the user has failed.

5. Differentiation Before Convention

Good design requires the courage to deliberately break conventions where it serves the user.

6. Iteration Over Perfection

Better to show early and gather feedback than to polish in isolation for too long.

7. Documentation Is Not an Afterthought

Design decisions that are not documented get lost during implementation.

Rules

DO: Capture and Validate the Briefing Systematically

A complete briefing contains:

• Current State: What already exists? Why is it no longer sufficient?
• Goals: What should the design specifically achieve? (formulated as measurable outcomes)
• Target Audience: Who are the users? (reference to Customer Journey)
• Constraints: Budget, timeline, technical requirements, corporate design guidelines.
• Competition: What are competitors doing? What should deliberately differ?
• Success Criteria: How will success be measured?

Review every briefing for contradictions, gaps, and implicit assumptions.

DO: Follow the 7 Steps of the Design Process

1. Briefing and Research — Clarify requirements, gather data, analyze competition.
2. Strategy and Concept — Positioning, information architecture, content strategy.
3. Wireframing — Structural layouts without visual design. Focus on hierarchy and user flow.
4. Visual Design — Colors, typography, imagery, design grid.
5. Prototyping — Interactive prototypes for real user flows.
6. Review and Testing — Usability tests, accessibility checks, stakeholder feedback.
7. Handoff and Documentation — Structured delivery with style guide and specifications.

DO: Use Moodboards as a Decision-Making Tool

• CREATE at least 2 visually distinct directions.
• PRESENT them to the client BEFORE moving into visual design.
• Moodboards are a basis for discussion, not final deliverables.

DO: Get Wireframe Approval Before Visual Design

• Wireframes clarify structure, hierarchy, and user flow.
• Approval at the wireframe level prevents costly structural changes.
• Deliberately keep wireframes free of color and imagery.

DON'T: Jump from Briefing Straight to Visual Design

• Without a concept phase, designs emerge that look attractive but fail strategically.

DON'T: Complete Design in Isolation

• SHOW intermediate results early and regularly.
• The longer you work without feedback, the greater the risk of misdirection.

DON'T: Blindly Adopt Trends

• Dribbble and Behance trends are inspiration, not blueprints.
• Every design element must be justified by a user need or brand strategy.

DON'T: Hand Off Without Documentation

• A Figma link alone is not a handoff.
• DOCUMENT: Spacing, interaction behavior, responsive behavior, edge cases, loading states.

Patterns

Double Diamond

For every non-trivial design project. Diamond 1 (Understand the problem): Discover, then Define. Diamond 2 (Develop the solution): Develop, then Deliver. Ensures the right problem is being solved. See references/double-diamond.md for details.

Design Sprint (5 Days)

When a validated solution is needed quickly. Mon: Understand, Tue: Sketch, Wed: Decide, Thu: Prototype, Fri: Test. Result: Validated prototype in one week.

Styleguide-First

For large-scale projects: First define the design system (colors, typography, spacing, components), then assemble pages from it. Result: Consistency, scalability, faster page construction.

Content-First Design

Always. Create text and image concepts BEFORE the layout. Design responds to content, not the other way around.

Stakeholder Alignment Workshop

At project kickoff when multiple decision-makers are involved. 90-minute workshop covering goals, target audiences, expectations, and no-gos. Document the outcome in writing.

Anti-Patterns

The Frankenstein Design

Elements from various trends and stakeholder wishes thrown together. No clear concept. Solution: Define one visual direction and follow it consistently.

Design by Committee

Every stakeholder has equal say in shaping the design. Result: Compromise design. Solution: Collect feedback, but one person decides.

Pixel-Perfect Waterfall

Every page fully designed to pixel perfection before the next one begins. Solution: Build the system first, then assemble pages.

Lorem Ipsum Design

Layouts with placeholder text. Real content later breaks the layouts. Solution: Content-first with real or realistic text.

Feature Creep

Continuously adding new requirements during the process. Solution: Lock scope in phase 1. New requirements go into the backlog.

Checklist

• Briefing complete and reviewed for contradictions
• Target audiences/personas defined
• Competitive analysis conducted
• Information architecture and site structure established
• At least 2 moodboard directions presented
• Wireframes created and approved
• Design system (colors, typography, spacing, components) defined
• Visual design created based on the system
• Responsive behavior defined for all breakpoints
• Interactive prototype created for core user flows
• Usability test conducted with at least 3 users
• Accessibility check passed
• Handoff documentation created
• Style guide documentation up to date

Cross-References

• customer-journey — The journey defines which user flows the design must address
• ai-design-workflow — AI tools support multiple phases of the process
• landing-pages — Landing pages follow the same process with a focus on conversion
• website-audit — Audit and relaunch initiate the design process with analysis
• branding-identity — Brand strategy informs the visual design
• webdesign-review — Review as quality assurance at the end of the process