After I finished writing my monthly client blogs, I was really excited to get started on a design project that Courtney asked me to help out on. For this project, I was tasked with designing a marketing promotional booklet in InDesign. Like with most of my design projects, I followed a similar process in order to stay both on task and on brand.
Before I begin designing anything, I always start with finding inspiration. For me, Pinterest is a great place to begin looking through the latest design trends and to find layout ideas. One thing that is important to keep in mind during this first step is that the design must reflect the brand or client you’re working with. Therefore, it also helps to be familiar with the company and know it’s colors, typefaces, and general visual identity. For this particular project, where I was helping to design a promotional booklet, I also made sure to look for inspiration that had a modern and professional look.
Once the initial research is completed and I have some inspiration, I get started in InDesign. I was working with a template and pre-written content, so my main job involved arranging the content and adding visual elements. For any graphic icons, I used Illustrator to create the icons before adding them into the booklet. While the template had a strong foundation for the layout, one of the biggest challenges in this project was making sure that everything was balanced. Using the company’s three main colors, I made sure that each was used in equal amounts throughout the booklet.
When I feel like I’ve got everything put together, I always go back to make final edits and do any necessary revisions. I also check for any mistakes or areas that could use improvement. This is also a good time to receive initial feedback from others. For this project, I sent my progress to Courtney who had some suggestions before I passed it along to Mara, the Senior Designer at Smarter Searches.
While each design project is unique, it’s helpful to have an outline of a design process in order to get the work done. Everyone’s creative process is different, so it’s important to find what works for you!
