Our Design Process

January 11, 2010 by Brooke | Resources | No comments

For those who wonder how the magic happens here at The Bloc, we’ve put together a walkthrough of the process we go through for every project. Our process is divided into three stages: Prep, Creative, and Wrap.

Prep

1. First Contact. In this step, we’ve either been contacted with a project request, or we’ve proposed a project ourselves. In either situation, this is a brief introduction to a potential project.
2. Brief. Next, we dig deeper and find out technical details of the project: expectations, deadlines, etc. If this is done in person or over the phone, we later email our notes from the session to the client for verification before moving on.
3. Quote. With the information we’ve gained during the brief, we estimate the cost of the project and send the client a detailed quote with the discussed project scope.
4. Proposal & Contract. Once the client accepts the quote, we customize an official proposal and contract for them. The proposal contains a description of the agreed project scope and the project timeline, while the contract is a legal document that explains our Terms & Conditions and ensures that everything will occur as discussed.
5. Deposit. With the signed contract, we also require a 50% deposit before beginning the project. The remainder is invoiced upon completion of the project.

Creative

1. Research. What we do in this step depends on the type of project, but we always have the client fill out our Creative Brief form, build a mood board, and check out the competition. Anything related to the project that requires prep work also happens here.
2. Brainstorming. This is easily the most important step of the project: we sit down with pen and paper and let the ideas flow. We don’t rule anything out at this point, as even “bad” ideas can develop into something great. Knowing when to move on isn’t easy, but we usually stop once we’ve progressed through our second wind and feel the ideas start to dry up. At this point, we give our brains the rest of the day off to avoid an effect similar to looking at a word so long it seems misspelled.
3. Refinement. Once our brains have recuperated, we choose our favorite ideas (usually 3-5) from the Brainstorming step and begin refining them. We usually start on paper before moving on to digital.
4. Presentation. Once we’ve finished the Refinement step, we choose our favorite of the options and present it to the client. Depending on the project type and our judgment, we occasionally present more than one option, but we feel it is our responsibility as designer to choose and present only the best.
5. Revisions. If the client requests changes, we address them in this step. A maximum amount of time for revisions is included in the project cost, which may be used at the client’s discretion.

Wrap

1. Invoice. Once the project is complete, we invoice the client for the remainder. Payment is due within the timeframe specified in the contract.
2. Deliver. When all fees are paid, we transfer all project files to the client along with instructions on using them. This takes on various forms, depending on the project type.
3. Archive. Our final step is to clean up all our files and archive them. We save every project, so that we can always return to them if needed.

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