You won’t be able to create a high-quality website if you leave the design decision to just one person. Even if you hire someone else, you must still choose a design.
So, brainstorming a website design is crucial. Your site might work, but the design might not be excellent if you’re in a hurry or don’t give it much thought. The design of your website shouldn’t be changed every week or two. In the middle to long term, you should be ready to live with your choice.
For effective website design brainstorming, read on for some tips.
Disclose the Design Brief in Full
Before the first brainstorming session, share the full project brief with all stakeholders to avoid wasting time on unused ideas. Send it via email at least a week before the first brainstorming session so that everyone knows what is expected of them and what they can’t do.
This info will help people discard any design ideas that don’t fit the project brief. Ultimately, the faster you can find the best idea, the fewer ideas the team comes up with.
Don’t Limit Brainstorming to Formal Meetings
Occasionally a meeting to come up with new ideas feels like being asked to tell a joke in front of a big group of people without enough time to prepare. While you may effortlessly craft jokes in other contexts, the stress may hinder your ability to regain your humor.
There may need to be meetings to debate ideas and choose a final design, but you should also make sure that stakeholders can share their thoughts with the rest of the team through email, talks around the water cooler, and anywhere else someone might have a thought.
The Right Timing
People like to call themselves “morning people” or “afternoon people.” We are discussing the time when they feel most useful and successful. But managing the design team would be difficult since they may have different “peak times.” It would be best to go back to what science has found in this case.
The most common time for people to be creative is between early morning and late morning. In the afternoon, staff are often less busy and more worn out. Working on Mondays is often not ideal because some workers may still be preoccupied with thoughts of the weekend. This is also not a good time, because some people are already looking forward to having fun on Friday nights. That means Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days.
Seek External Inspiration
People who write sometimes get “writer’s block,” which makes them unable to produce new work or put ideas on paper. The same kinds of problems often happen to other creative people, like web designers. In that case, getting ideas from outside sources is a wonderful way to get the brainstorming process going.
However, you don’t have to begin from zero. Participants should be able to share links to websites they really like. After getting this information, you can use tools like gochyu.com to find out what design theme was used on that site.
Embrace Physical Tools
Since you are brainstorming web design ideas, it makes sense that digital tools like computers and projectors will be used a lot to show off the different designs the team comes up with. Still, digital tools can sometimes make things seem like they can’t be touched.
Use whiteboards, paperboards, brushes, paints, and felt-tip pens to bring the talk to life. It’s also faster to question and analyze ideas with these real tools, since anyone with a different perspective can just walk over to the whiteboard and quickly explain why they are different. On a projector screen, that’s tougher to do.
Your website is where people can find you on the internet. You have a better chance of making a site that will help you reach your online goals if you pay attention to the design.
