In this blog, Bela discusses the importance of building her sketching skills when working on graphic design projects. Although she’s seen how things can start off rough at the beginning, she reflects how collaboration during the iterative process reveals a clear vision by the end.
Bela Wong, Graphic Designer, Honours Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History and Communication, Culture, Information, & Technology (CCIT)
As a graphic designer, I am constantly thinking of new ideas and doing multiple rounds of sketches for any given project. Not everyone can design at rapid speed, but at the Innovation Hub, I’ve learned to embrace speed as part of my creative process. The process of designing in short bursts of time is known as rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping has helped me think on my feet, and I believe this is a useful skill I can apply to any opportunity in the future.
Build From What I Know
I’m very enthusiastic about my work at iHub, so any time I am assigned a task, it doesn’t take me long to have an idea ready to go. For example, when creating icons for the Neurodivergent at University documentary project, our team started by gathering information. We learned about the project partner’s mission and values, reviewed the project’s purpose, and collaborated with iHub leadership on specific goals for the project’s visual design. Using this information, we created a moodboard of visual styles to use as a foundation for the icon. Our team knew we needed to keep the project partner in mind and understand their needs to design an icon that would best fit their vision. Reviewing previous iHub work helped me understand the iHub design style and leverage my designs to come up with ideas quickly—even if they weren’t perfect on the first try. When it comes to designing, it’s always important for me to understand the requirements of the project first, which means I need to gather existing information and iterate my work multiple times.
Pushing Myself to Do Better
Once the team and I had gathered information about the project, we started sketching in short sprints. The timer is something that used to intimidate me because it forced me to test my creative thinking. Before the iHub, I would do 5-minute, 1-minute, or 30-second gesture drawings in my drawing class, where I captured the movement and energy of either the model or the object in front of me. At the time, I was confident because I could see what I was drawing and focus on fluidity. During my first design sprint at the iHub, I could draw fast, but I had no idea what would make a good sketch. In my classes people would say, ‘take all the time you need’, but I never had to use up all my time. However, at the iHub, I soon learned that I needed to take advantage of my timing to create meaningful iterations. The more I do rapid prototyping, the more I learn to think quickly. Now, I can get a solid sketch down in less than a minute.
Increase My Capacity with New Skills
While working at the iHub, I learned that doing multiple rounds of sketches and building off my team members’ ideas can give me additional inspiration. When we were doing design sprints for the annual report, if I saw something I liked from someone else’s sketch, I would expand upon it and create something new. Collaborating with my team members and building off the work they do pushes me to create better visuals. Though I grew up sketching independently because I have always been confident in how I want my designs to be, there have been times when I felt like I had given up or even run out of ideas. But when I am with other designers, they give me additional inspiration and help me recharge my creative battery. Working with other designers lets me ideate faster and pushes me to think outside the box.
If my designs need more work, I’ll take full advantage of the time I have left. Not everyone will choose what I think is the best sketch and that’s okay. That just means I have to keep prototyping and ask myself, “What can I do better?”
Embrace Your Instant Creativity
When starting any design project, I want to create the best sketch in one attempt. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from rapid prototyping, it’s that I should always embrace what I have in mind no matter how ugly it is, because beautiful designs all start as a rough sketch. This process also taught me to keep practicing and pushing myself into upgrading my skills because not everyone is perfect, especially during the early design stage.
Getting your ideas down on paper shows your curiosity. Plus, I’ve found it helpful when I can look at some of my past ideas during the iteration process. Best to do something now than later. Sketching demonstrates how you worked through a problem more than your final design. Show your delivery and process.
0 comments on “What I Learned from Rapid Prototyping ”