Improve your designs with ITERATION

In this video I demonstrate the iteration/design process with a graphic to advertise a workshop, but I go through this same iteration process when I design websites. I hope this video answers questions about why you should 'bother' to design first before you code, and I hope it encourages you to really push your ideas further. Don't settle for the first thing you create! You can always find small ways to improve it.

A side note that i didn't cover in the video, is you also need to know when to end the iteration process. I could have kept going for days trying different things with this graphic, but there was other work to do! So another part of iterating is learning when to stop; when to call it 'done' and move on to the next project!

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Hello there! I'm Charli and I'm a web and graphic designer from New Zealand currently living in London and posting design videos every Saturday about tools, projects, and concepts and vlogs every Tuesday about my life as a designer. Please subscribe and say hi in the comments so we can be friends :)

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[HannaCreative]

I totally agree with you, iterations are so important!
It’s good to get an idea on “paper” and work it out but no matter how much u thought about it beforehand, there’s usually always sth that u couldn’t see until u actually do see it designed and then u can reevaluate your decisions and make changes. That’s usually how I go about it.
Although I try to get the basic layout or hierarchy doing simple sketches on paper just because I’m much faster that way and don’t spend hours doing and redoing a design but still, there’s always sth to improve once it’s actually designed ☺️

I really like that u put the pic on the right side in the end! It feels so much more balanced and that way reading from left to right u start with all the necessary infos and “end” on a friendly face. Best way to do it in my opinion ☺️ although I would’ve positioned the shapes a bit differently to frame her face a bit better but maybe that’a just personal preference^^

Either way, great video!

[amydrawss]

I’m so glad this is an actual thing, in college I was always making multiple different ideas for my projects and always thought I was just indecisive

[jaz]

Great video. I'm constantly iterating on my designs. Unfortunately i just never get to a point where I'm happy with it 😂

[gabrielcameron]

It's SO valuable to see process documented in this way. It's like the cliff notes from your brain ad your worked toward the solution.

This process also reminds me of the writing process of just getting your idea down on paper, and then edit, edit, edit, refine, make concise, edit, etc.

[GrandpaCrafter]

Best video on iteration that I've found. I teach design (including graphic design and coding) and spent quite a while watching various videos about iteration in order to find one that really illustrated the concept well, would be appealing and approachable for my students (middle school age) and was a reasonable length (around 3-5 minutes). You've nailed it. Thank you!

[webbado]

I am not alone! This was a great video Charli. I always measured the success of my design projects on that first idea, that first layout. But 98% of the time that first idea needs to be changed 10 times until I am happy. After the whole move this to the left, that to the right, export, enlarge etc. I feel drained and a bit like a failure as a designer. In the meantime, this whole process had a name: Iteration. You just smashed one of my "design blockers". Thanks, Charli.

[michaeljoshua]

I teach 9th graders 3D modeling, and I'm going to show them your video today. I'll use some of your language around the thinking process you shared. This is helpful! Thanks.

[Jonesrful]

Y E S

So many more ideas can be produced, and the refinement becomes a lot stronger when you are in the mindset of doing a lot of iterations to explore a stronger concept.

[debadipti]

Randomly I was searching for design inspiration, and I landed on this video. And, I agree that iteration makes everything better. I will continue watching your channel, I hope will learn a lot of things. Best of luck BDW!

[Ritermann]

The Problem I have with the design is, that the Photo looks like a stock Photography of a "beautiful smiling Women". And because people, not only designers but the every day joe as well, is so used to be tricked in advertisement, They don't trust Ads like these anymore. So this kind of composition works better if you would let the arrow and tell the viewer that yes, this women is actually the speaker. Of course, the Context is important here. If you'd have more of these "cards" with other speakers, viewers would get the whole photo thing without having to keep the arrow to point from the name to the photo.

What we also still don't know is the context this "card" is being placed in. The choice of Color scheme and Sizes of elements would be of real importance.

Nice to see the process ;)

[jalabi]

I'm not a designer but I often work with them so I find the process of iterating on a design very interesting.

[twinklej]

Holy guacamole! I loved this...can you make a series where you show how to critique a design piece as you design it...(maybe a livestream where people bounce of ideas and you choose one to create and have people watch it) because just looking at your iteration process was so enlightening...

[njeri_jk]

loved how you took us through your thinking process

[mcbair]

i spend sooo much time on iteration. I've gone through about 10 for our website now. thanks for sharing your process!

[shumrozebhat]

not just you, but it also made me look at things differently a little better now, thanks for sharing your process. keep us posted!

[krishbrand]

1.4 K likes and 10 dislikes tells the story. I generally don't comment on the videos I watch, but the stuff you have shared is exceptional. +1 subscriber :)

[Holax]

have not seen your videos in a while. and this video came across just at the right time. I do this all time, and sometimes I think I do this too much. loving you showing the process you took to show the end results. awesome, thanks for these videos.

[kristaaoki]

Wow!! I love how you showed your iteration process. I don't iterate every design I do, but after watch this, I'm inspired to experiment more.

[helloemilymills]

Great video! I’m also forever duplicating artboards 😂 so thanks for that bit of validation. Iteration is so important hey! You nailed that design 🎉

[SophieThomasTV]

Amazing video, I love how much thought and refinement you put into your design work! 👌