One of my major failings is planning a project. From time to time I have ideas for things I’d like to do, but because I can’t plan them out I tend to leave the idea at nothing more than that.
So what I wanted to know was how do you design your ideas?
Let’s say you have an idea for a new web app, game, etc, You have a rough idea of direction and functionality but you need to iron out the details.
Let’s assume you are no artist, and you are not a coder - you will be passing your thoughts onto a team of specialists to do the work for you.
So how do you get what’s in your head onto paper? How do you organise and present the information?
I usually start with a brainstorm of ideas but then things start to get messy after that - help?
Well, it’s pretty obvious that a lot of designers and developers struggle with the same issues, because the work they produce is unintelligible to others.
So, you have to take a step back and use your intelligence with this. Don’t rush in and make a mess, but take careful, logical steps. A strategy I find helpful is to imagine someone who has no idea what you are thinking about. How can you explain to them what your idea is in a way that is not confusing? Start with the big picture, perhaps—such as what need this idea meets. Then describe how this solution will meet that need, step by step, so that people can picture what you are thinking of and can imaging using it themselves. If you can’t make the idea clear to someone else, it means you haven’t thought it out properly, so this is a really good discipline to start with. And actually test it on people—friends, or family, or whatever. If they don’t understand, you need to lay out the information more clearly and logically.
Once you can clearly articulate what your idea is, you are in a good position to do a formal writeup of it so that others can join the project or use the product.
That totally makes sense - I think with everything you’ve said it’s that part “think about it properly” that I’m struggling with.
I want to be able to sit down with my thoughts and get my ideas on paper, but I don’t know how to do that in a way that is clear and understandable for me.
What tools/structures/methods do people use? I’m a big fan of paper as a tool but where do I go from a price of paper with ideas jotted down to something with a little organisation? How do I expand on ideas in detail, how do I group ideas and data?
I’m sort of talking on a physical sense - like post-it notes and whiteboards. (except I don’t have post it notes or whiteboards!)
Are there any tried and tested methods used in planning and “thinking about stuff”?
Nah, I think you just need a bit of practice and to think it out logically. Every project is different. The fact that you are having difficulty with this suggests to me that the project is not fully thought out. Go through scenarios with yourself, ask yourself questions, and work out where the missing connections are. Start from a simple overview and then fill in the details gradually.
You’re right - its not totally thought out.
I think I’m lacking in organisation more than anything. Going to have to figure out a way to keep my ideas tidy.
