As some of you may know, I have been involved almost exclusively in Interactive Design for the past two and half years. In that time, I have unavoidably run across some very useful tips that have affected how I approach designing everything I touch — whether print or interactive. I believe these little nuggets of knowledge have made me a better designer, so hopefully you will find something that might help you in the future. So, in no particular order - here they are:

1. Plan ahead
In interactive design, this would involve putting a lot of attention to information architecture, although it also applies heavily to print design. You should always research what it is you’re designing for - who your target audience is, what the ultimate communication objective of the piece will be, and what’s the most efficient way of displaying that message.

I strongly suggest going back to pen and paper when you’re going through this process. Sketch things out. Make brain-maps, get together with colleagues and see what they have to say. Try to find someone who’s as close to your target audience as possible and ask them their opinions.

The planning stage is easily the most important, and most overlooked phase in any project. The advent of computers has made it way to easy to take 10 minutes for planning and jump directly to whatever flavor of design program you prefer and hammer something out. And while you may come up with something “cool,” chances of it solving the design problem will be slim to none (that kind of thing only happens once or twice in a designer’s lifetime).

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The good folks at A List Apart are conducting a web design survey for 2007. This kind of thing is good to do often so everyone can get a good idea of where the industry is at and more importantly, where it might be going. So take a minute and fill it out!

I have just had the opportunity to review some student portfolios at the Twin Cities AIGA Portfolio One-on-One event. In doing so, I was inspired to come up with a list of tips for anyone presenting their portfolio. As you can well imagine, everyone has their own preferences, but perhaps these can give you some ideas:

Look Sharp
This doesn’t mean go out and buy a suit. It simply means comb your hair, tuck your shirt, shine your shoes, put on a tie - maybe a sports jacket. It never hurts if you do, but it CAN hurt you if you don’t. As designers we tend to want to be “comfortable,” and “screw you if you don’t like it.” Well, with that kind of attitude you’ll probably land a job with people that treat their clients the same way, and you’ll most likely be out looking for a job soon after because the company folded.

Enunciate!
Make sure you speak intelligibly about yourself and your work. Be articulate, speak with a loud and clear voice so you don’t find yourself repeating things over and over. Can you hold a conversation without swearing up a storm? You’d be surprised how many people can’t these days - and it only makes them look dumber than a brick.

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