Week 1A: Design Process

On August 27th I did not attend class but I was informed on the topics that were introduced in class. This was the design process.
The steps in the design process are as follows:
1. Objectives
2. Define goals
3. Website Planning
4. Development Team
5. Initial Planning
6. Design Reminders















Objectives
In designing a website, you must know what it is you want the website to do. The website must consist of information about the product or organization you want the user to know. All forms of information must be taken into consideration.

Define goals
You may have a client who tells you what they want. Try to get really clear about what the goals of a site are. What does success look like? How will you know when you’ve got there?
Having this stuff clear in your mind helps you:

1. Make the thousands of design decisions between now and a finished product
2. Communicate with your client and maintain their confidence throughout the process
3. Show that you’ve done what you set out to do.

Website Planning

This step involves two  parts. In the first part, you must gather a development team (bear in mind that in most cases the "team" only consist of you, the designer), analyse the needs and goals of the client and then work through the development process. In the second part, you must create a project charter document, give your intent for the website and the reason for this, explain to your client the forms of technology and content needed to provide their needs, estimate a length and cost for the project and give an overall assessment of the project.



Development Team
Your development team should consist of a person that will do the following:
1. Strategy and Planning
2. Project Managing
3. Information Architecture and User Interface Design
4. Graphic Design
5. Web Technologies
6. Site Production
As stated before, in most cases, and for the purpose of convenience, it is best if the team were you and only you.


Initial Planning 
The initial planning process consist of:
Understand and communicate top three (3) goals.

1. Know you audience.
2. Web analytics.
3. Design Critiques
4. Content Inventory

Design Reminders

These are a few reminders a designer needs:

1. Put yourself in the background - its all about what the client wants.
2. Work form a suitable design - not every idea the client has for the project is a good one because they may be impossible to do or cause a problem with the site.
3. Do not over write.
4. Prefer the standard to the offbeat
5. Be clear
6. Do visuals last - it is better to put the things that will make the site more attractive, such as fonts and pictures, after you have entered what is needed most.
7. Be consistent.
8. Do not affect a brezzy manner.