In my design practice, there is a set workflow that guides projects from concept through completion. Like any process, however, there are invariably pain points where things seem to drag along-leading to inefficiency and frustration. Over the last few weeks, I have taken a closer look at my workflow, identified the pain points, and researched tools and techniques that might offer opportunities to streamline my process. Pain Points
Most pain one gets in the workflow is with file management. Once you deal with several design assets like images, fonts, and vector files, it's a challenge to keep everything in order. More often than not, I lose lots of my precious time just in finding the right files, especially when I switch between projects.
It all starts with collaboration: working in a team, after the feedback of clients, it's so confusing and time-wasting to keep track of comments, revisions, and then resubmit updated files; it might be overwhelming.
Last but not least, a source of inefficiency involves repetitions. For example, resizing assets for all other formats and versions, social media posts, and prints is such a pain in the neck and really takes away so much time. Automating this kind of job would provide more time to actually create the stuff.
Research into Solutions
The solution in file management included the use of Google Drive and Dropbox. These tools help in storing, sharing, and accessing files from anywhere, thus making collaboration smooth. Google Drive offers powerful search functionality that lets me quickly find the right file by keyword or metadata.
Other than this, InVision and Figma were some of the most helpful collaboration and feedback tools I used. With both InVision and Figma, a file could be shared with a client and/or other team members, who then could remark directly onto the design file. Real-time collaboration was allowed with Figma: no longer updating and sending along new versions, I was able to work with others right in Figma.
Finally, to automate repetitive tasks, I researched plugins and tools such as Photoshop's "Actions" feature or InDesign's "Data Merge" function. These allow me to batch process tasks like resizing or creating multiple versions of designs with minimal effort. By using these tools, I can save hours on repetitive tasks and focus more on developing my ideas.
Integrating Solutions into My Practice
With these tools and techniques, I can integrate them into my workflow in order to be more effective. First of all, I will make use of Google Drive more regularly in storing and organizing files so that everything accessible and well-labeled. Regarding the collaborative projects, I will be using Figma in order to speed up communication and feedback, reducing the number of emails with different file versions. At last but not least, I would implement automation in both Photoshop Actions and InDesign in order not to waste any more time on that which can be used for being creative.
These three put together will try and make an efficient workflow with almost no friction to take much time from more important things.Below is a draft for your blog on the task and questions provided in this regard: Optimizing My Design Workflow: Finding Pain Points and Solutions
In my design practice, there is a set workflow that guides projects from concept through completion. Like any process, however, there are invariably pain points where things seem to drag along-leading to inefficiency and frustration. Over the last few weeks, I have taken a closer look at my workflow, identified the pain points, and researched tools and techniques that might offer opportunities to streamline my process. Pain Points
Most pain one gets in the workflow is with file management. Once you deal with several design assets like images, fonts, and vector files, it's a challenge to keep everything in order. More often than not, I lose lots of my precious time just in finding the right files, especially when I switch between projects.
It all starts with collaboration: working in a team, after the feedback of clients, it's so confusing and time-wasting to keep track of comments, revisions, and then resubmit updated files; it might be overwhelming.
Last but not least, a source of inefficiency involves repetitions. For example, resizing assets for all other formats and versions, social media posts, and prints is such a pain in the neck and really takes away so much time. Automating this kind of job would provide more time to actually create the stuff.
