Browse
Membership
Why Join? Membership and Benefits Member Portal Join Us
Events & Training
What's On CPD and Training Bespoke Training NSEAD Events Code of Conduct
Resources
Curriculum Guidance The Big Landscape Anti-Racist Art Education Primary Education Teaching Inspiration Research, Reports and Reviews Health and Safety Films and Videos
Publications
AD Magazine iJADE The Art Educator Blog NSEAD Shop
News
Community
NSEAD Awards Advocacy Policy and Research Groups NSEAD Directories United NSEAD Black Art Educators (UBAE) Network Regional Networks Groups Oak Curriculum Partnership NSEAD Art Activists
Trade Union
About the Union How to Seek Help Legal Advice and Aid Careers Advice Trade Union FAQs Useful Links COVID-19 Advice and Guidance Toolkit: Introducing Sensitive Topics into the Art, Craft and Design Curriculum
About
About NSEAD Governance: Get Involved Our Constitution The Council for Subject Associations
Join Us

A Creative Design Process

7 areas of design activity

 

A fully flexible Design Process for Creativity, that broadly follows a circular process flow, but enables movement between specific stages/actions

  • Define - the identification of a Design Brief, setting out a creative opportunity or specification of outcome, including a customer need or commissioner profile.
  • Research - identifying all salient information needed to complete the design including customer/user/commissioner profiles, markets, purpose, need, previous similar products, stylistic influences, preferences and cost effectiveness, but also early investigation and media experimentation.
  • Imagine/Invent/Ideate – Ideas development generation (key to innovation/creative development). Returning to Research (investigation & experimentation) as needed.
  • Refine & Iterate - the development of the idea, through stages that clarify and improve the outcome, with more Research (investigation & experimentation) as needed.
  • Prototype/visualise - the modelling and creation/manufacture of versions to enable definitive testing or consideration against the brief/intention.
  • Implement - the selection and move to final creation/production, realisation or manufacture.
  • Evaluate - a Quality Assurance process that seeks to confirm the effectiveness of the outcome/s measured against the project brief/specification or success criteria.

 

Reclaiming the D-word in art and design, G. Gast, AD magazine, issue 3, p 2011, NSEAD

www.nsead.org/publications/ad-magazine/issue-03

 

Back
When
12th February 2020
Share
Learn More
About T&Cs Support us Teaching vacancies website Legal / Privacy News Letter - Invest in arts subjects to protect our children’s futures
Company
Support our work
Support
01225 810134 Contact Us
Advertise with us
Learn more
Follow Us
© 2025 NSEAD | All Rights Reserved
Site by Grandad Digital