How I Work

Because no two clients and/or projects are exactly alike, I often begin with a series of mission-critical questions (during the Discovery Phase), and rely on my client’s answers as my guiding light for my design recommendations. Without clarification and careful consideration of these, and other variables, early on (e.g., target audience/end-user, success metrics, competitive landscape, etc.), a design is likely to fail… or, cost far more and deliver much later than originally anticipated.

In other words, with my four-phase process, you will not only have a product that looks good— it will also be closely aligned with your business and marketing strategy… and, carefully crafted to serve the needs of your target audience/end users.

MY PROCESS*

Phase I: Discovery

During this phase, I conduct an informal interview to better understand and document your strategic objectives, target audience(s)/end-user(s), competition, success metrics, creative and technical requirements, as well as the product(s) and/or service(s) that will be created and/or marketed.

Phase II: Ideation

Next, I often conduct a competitive analysis of your competitors’ websites and/or products; I help define “user personas” (to better understand the target audience/end-user); I create a site map and/or storyboard; several possible themes/concepts, and recommend the addition and/or removal of content and features when appropriate.

Phase III: Design

Once a theme/concept has been selected, I often create wireframes to define the navigation, content structure, and functionality. Then, the primary focus (creatively speaking) shifts to aesthetics. A prototype or mockup is created and presented for another round of approvals. On some projects, usability testing may also be conducted near the end of this phase.

Phase IV: Production

By now, the look, feel and functionality have been clearly defined and the final creation of all content (text, graphics, animation, etc.) and coding are well under way. Ideally, a system for gathering and analyzing your marketing and/or user metrics is in place so that performance can be measured and optimized on an ongoing basis. Prior to launch, there is a testing period to ensure creative and technical integrity.

*I now offer a new service/product called OddoMotif, which is intended for small businesses. With OddoMotif, the process is condensed, in an effort to accommodate clients with smaller budgets.