Week 11 - Case Study
Fig 1.Title page of Walkease case study.
“It’s not just about using words with a frequency or persistence; it’s about using them in a way that is compelling and convincing. It’s about being articulate” (Greever, 2015).
This week we look at how to articulate design decisions, which is something I have had a lot of experience in throughout my life. I’d like to firstly talk a bit about these experiences, as although it is a slightly different context, the processes are very similar.
After designing a new collection, I would always be required to present my work to different groups of people, from garment technicians, creative directors, sales agents and even stakeholders. Each audience requires their own tailored presentation, depending on the context of their own work, however all audiences require the designer to articulate design decisions. Designing a range of garments takes many factors into consideration; fabric, colour, price point, silhouette trends and best selling carry over styles. From a range of 100 pieces per season, a certain percentage consists of carry over styles updated in new colours, which is easy to justify as they are proven best-selling styles that simply have to keep existing in the collection.
The largest percentage of a new collection compromises new silhouettes that sit fairly comfortably within the brand DNA, but offer varying fabric and detail choices, that relates to trend direction. By creating user personas that represent the brands consumer, we can easily articulate our reasonings behind these design decisions.
A smaller, but very important percentage is dedicated to innovative designs that push the brand forwards. These tend to be fashion-forward pieces, and often higher value. They might not be big sellers, but they are crucial in propelling the brand forwards.
When presenting our ranges to production teams, we would focus more on technical detail and fabric. Understanding the role of the garment technicians allows us to tailor our presentations with the necessary information they need to hear.
Stakeholders and sales teams want to understand the finances, to understand the impact that design decisions have on costings. As an example, I may design a cap but include a reflective print for the logo. This would cost more than a regular flat colour print, and has an impact on the profit margin. My role is to articulate why I made this design decision, and so I would highlight how this cap now has a built in user safety feature that allows the wearer to be seen at night.
Creative Directors and department managers like to understand the range as a whole, so the designer needs to be able to articulate every single design and production decision. These presentations happen periodically throughout the design and production stage, with later presentations allowing the designer to present actual prototypes also.
Walkease Case Study
I decided to style my case study with the same aesthetic as my prototype work. I wanted the story to carry over throughout the presentation, to take the user on a journey from the first to last page. By using graphic elements, colour and imagery from my prototype, the case study reinforces the design decisions, and depending on which way the end user views my work, can offer an introduction to the prototype, so that by the time they are viewing my prototype, it already feels familiar.
Please check out my case study by clicking on the below image:
References
Greever, T., 2015. Articulating design decisions: Communicate with stakeholders, keep your sanity, and deliver the best user experience. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.".