Designing with a concept

I recently completed my typography course here at school as I am working on B.S. in Information Systems. The most valuable thing I can remember from my course is the idea of having a concept. Having a concept before you start sketching, before you think the layout, or the colors, or the fonts.

Why a concept?

A concept gives a designer a vision to work with. A theme to follow. A goal to aim towards. It is the subconscious end that will(should) guide all of your decisions. If your concept is “A rainy day”, you will font that expresses that. You might choose blue as your main color. You might choose a layout or certain effects that make you think of sadness and rain. Suddenly you find yourself having ideas based on this concept, and you have a definite direction to go towards. If you have new ideas, you can always compare them to the concept, and see if it fits.

Your concept will guide and inspire the sketching process. You won’t choose blue because you like blue, or a 1 column layout because you like it, but because it fits with your concept. Suddenly, you have a completed piece, with it’s fitting parts that make up that piece. Not just different parts that are trying to fit like puzzle pieces that don’t belong together. The difference is immediately apparent and powerful.

How do you get a concept?

If happen to be designing a page about an artist, you need need to research that artist. Write down words that come to mind. Words like powerful, dressing, provocative, words that are descriptive. I have found time and again, that I will write these words down, until the words cause images to flash in my head. Images of possible designs. I then sketch these images on paper, and explore those options if I like them. If I don’t I keep going on with my concept.

Once I have my concept, I should try to stick with it as much as I can. The finished piece will be better if I do, because each part will have a sense of belonging. It will feel like it is adding to the piece by being there. Not just there as decoration, or as a crutch, but because it helps express the overall theme or emotion of the piece.