Category: Design Process

Why is Research so Important to Graphic Designers? 

Why is research such an important part of being a Graphic Designer? At its core, Graphic Design is about Communicating a Message.  

While designers are still artist, where they differ is the purpose of their art. In traditional art mediums such as sculpting, drawing, painting or writing, the goal of the art piece is to express an emotion or to illustrate the artist’s perspective on a topic. That type of art is typically based on personal expression and emotion. Designers on the other hand are typically creating with the express intent to say something. They typically use their art as a second mouth.  

That’s why in Graphic Design, research is such a crucial step. 

How to Research as a Graphic Designer? 

Utilizing your Clients 

The client that hired you could be an asset in directing where your research may lead. While it is crucial for designers to research and operate independently, starting off by picking the brain of your client. Someone who has expertise in the field you’re designing for, their competitors and their target market could save you time and them money.  

Research Beyond the  Client

While a client can provide a great baseline and new avenues for further research, there is also quite a lot they can’t tell you.  

Things like emerging trends, what customer needs are being overlooked and what opportunities are not being taken advantage of are all examples of common gaps independent research could fill.  

But How Exactly do Designers Fill Those Gaps?  

By looking into it. To better understand and predict emerging trends, designers should have a good understanding of current trends. They should also stay up to date on what is and isn’t doing well with the general market. Pushing it further, they may explore the greater field or the target audiences they’re designing for.

Staying up to date on current events, market trends and economic happenings that affect both their target audience and the greater population can also provide valuable insight.  

At the end of the day, a well rounded and well informed designer can make more informed and intentional choices than one who isn’t. 

Searching Beyond the Big Three 

Pinterest, social media and Google are any young designer’s immediate first thoughts when looking to start the research step of the design process. But stopping there often leaves so much information on the table.  Collaborating with colleagues, fellow designers, and reading all give deeper and more diverse avenues to success.  

As Graphic Designers there is one key thing to remember when tackling research. “A design can only be as good as the information that backs it up”.  

If we break down the field of Graphic Design into its two main goals, they would be a. Solve a Problem and b. Communicate a Message. Both of which require a Target Audience. I briefly went over the Target Audience in my previous post; The Creative Brief. But let’s explore that a little more.  

What is the Target Audience? 

I like to think of the Target Audience like the “true clients” of a design. To best illustrate this thought, lets use an example.

Say I am creating a promotional ad for Porter Airlines. I may be communicating with and being paid by Porter, but who I’m actually designing for is their target audience. The success of my design hinges on whether or not I am able to effectively communicate to their target audience. As a designer I am illustrating how choosing to fly with Porter will solve make travel more desirable.

The Art of Field Research

In my previous post; The Creative Brief, I outlined what information I personally look for when examining the target audience. One of the main themes I kept references was the idea of “go deeper”. Which is the exact same message I bring to the research phase.  

The best research does not always happen in an office, boardroom, or behind a screen. Sometimes, the best way to research is to get immersive. Field research is becoming more and more of a lost art as the internet and tailored algorithms grow. But it is such a vital tool for designers.  

Say for example we have been hired to create the brand identity for a brand-new yogurt company. Sites like Pinterest are great for showing off what other artists and AI have done with that challenge. But that’s not where the yogurt actually lives. It lives in the real world, on the yogurt shelf, squished between dozens of other flavors and brands. So why would we waste the opportunity to physically go to the grocery store and research from there.  

If we have the mindset of the target market, we can physically interact with the competition from that lens. We can see what kinds of colors/textures/imagery stand out and what gaps exist. More than that, we can get a good understanding of what lighting and display would look like for our design. In the case of the yogurt company, we may want something eye catching and bright so we can see it down the aisle. Alternatively the target market and the brand’s competitors may have exhausted the brights but lack another design element we can include to make the yogurt stand out.  

Final Thoughts on Researching

Knowing how to research effectively can take a project to the next level. And the more informed a designer is, the more valuable and intentional their work becomes. 

What is a Creative Brief

A good creative brief should achieve two things. It should inspire the designer to create and it should clearly communicate the goals and desires of the brand.  Deeper than that, what is a creative brief at its core? To put it simply the creative brief is the collaboration between client and designer. It’s the document that clearly defines a project’s parameters and the creative direction of said project. 

While its easy to fall into the trap of treating a creative brief as a sort of check list or set of instructions, I’d argue that its much less rigid. I like to think of the creative brief as the core story of the brand/client. Its also a starting block for creating. While the creative brief needs to define parameters and limitations, it equally needs to define the brand/client’s vision. 

The Creative Brief in Action

So how exactly do I put that in action? By expanding on “The 5 W’s”. 

The first day of designing 101 we’re taught to design for a client based on their answers to the 5Ws; who, what, where, when, why, how. But I like to use those to break it down further and really dig into the follow-ups of those questions. 

1. Who

The who can be broken down into three sections;

Who is the Client?

When exploring the client, figuring out their values, mission, tone and style is a great starting point. But it goes much deeper than than. Learning the history of the client. Questions like why this business was started? what drives them? their goals are as a business? where they see themselves in both current and future markets? who motivates and inspires them and how they want to be perceived? 

Before even opening my sketchbook I like to have a true understanding of what the clients tone and vision is. Because my role as a designer is to use my creations to communicate for them. 

Who is the Target Market?

Understanding the target market is so much more than just the demographics . It’s understanding what they care about, what their problems are, what their motivations and perceptions are. 

But further than exploring the clients current target market, the creative brief can open opportunities to explore gaps in the target audience. Are there any other opportunities to expand or elevate? Is the client missing potential demographics and what can we do to bridge those gaps? 

Who are the competitors?

Personally I like to focus on scoping out the competition in detail in the second stage of the design process; Research and Direction. However, getting a general idea of what the client thinks of their competitors is valuable. At the end of the day, the client typically has more insight on their specific field than the designer. Seeing what they see as either threatening or a weakness etc. in their competitor can really shape the design direction.

2. What

In the what section, the creative brief should be describing two things; 

The Vision

In short this is what the client wants. Not every client will have the exact idea in their head, nor will having that idea always translate to the final product. But having something more concrete than simply “make it fun” or “make it informative” allows for a more creative approach to the design. 

Despite being a visual artist, I find my inspiration from more than just the things I see. Bringing all five senses to the table is a great way to better understand the direction of the vision. 

The Deliverables

A pretty straightforward concept. What exactly does the client need? And on the flip side what do you need from the client in order to be successful. The creative brief is a collaborative effort; both designer and client are working together to bring the vision to life. 

3. Where

Understanding where the design is being placed is crucial to creating tone and attitude. For example a billboard or subway ad needs to be punchy and eye catching. A label on the other hand can have more detail and information.

But if we were to take it a step further, having a clear sense of where the design is being placed is a great avenue for the second step – research.

4. When & How

The specifics of When & How are the Budget and Timeline. This is not something that needs a lot of digging and deepening. It’s simply making sure both parties understand the parameters of what the budget and timeline look like.

5. Why

Understanding why is the easiest way for a designer to get inside the head of their client in the messaging. Here we’re tackling the big picture – why is this design being made? Why should the target audience care – and more importantly trust this brand? Why is this message necessary? Why is this the solution? And the motivation doesn’t always have to be deep, philosophical and world changing . But if I as a designer can’t see the why – I can’t properly bring my client’s vision to life.  

Key Takeaways about the Creative Brief

If I were to summarize this entire post in four main points, I’d choose the following

• The point of a creative brief is not to box in, its to inspire and lead a designer
• Getting a deeper understanding of not just the project but the client will lead to more thoughtful and stronger design choices
• Helping a client come up with a vision and emotion will create better visuals and messaging rather than “make it pretty”
• At its core the Creative brief is where creativity and clarity intersect