There are several points in our Designer’s Code that relate to starting a task:
The designer understands what he’s doing and what he’s doing it for, and he doesn’t just do the job because he’s told to.The designer is responsible for everything in the mock-up. He understands what each element is responsible for, why this particular arrangement and these colors are used.Design is a solution from the beginning to the end. This solution is based on an infinite number of inputs. As the inputs increase, there are fewer maneuvers in colors, placement of elements, stylistics, and so on. In the end, the designer comes to the only right solution. Variations in solutions — the lack of inputs.
Specifically, these three points are about the same thing — understanding the task. 
The more understanding of the subject area, the more inputs, the more accurate and better the result.
Briefly
The list below is a minimal list of what you need to know before starting work on any design task.
What you need to know before starting a task:
Who is the clientFor whom it is being doneHas anyone done this task beforeWhat are the constraintsIs there a client’s vision for solving this task
And now for more details.
Who is the client
It is important to understand who is giving the order. It is important what kind of company and what kind of person is giving the order. And even more important — who will accept the work. In fact, the person who accepts it is the client.
If the person accepting the work will not know how the task was set, will not be familiar with the executor, will not be aware of all the arrangements — all this can cause problems when the receiver sees the result. He will not have all the same knowledge as the task setter and the executor. He may have a completely different picture and different expectations.
For whom
Here it is no longer about the client, but about the end user of the results of the work. You can call him or them the target audience. I used to think that it is not worth paying attention to the specified target audience and should be done for all at once: for any office worker, single mother or elderly gamer. But it’s hard to please everyone, no matter how hard you try.
Target audience helps to focus all efforts on meeting the needs of the most important customers for the company. Ideally, such an audience should be represented by characters. Describing a group of people and describing a single person gives a different level of insight into the end user. To put a picture next to a particular person and understand how much it suits him will be much easier than with the description of the group.
Has anyone done this task before?
It is not rare that someone has already worked on the task and there are some hints, results, even if not final. And for all these works there may already be some feedback from the client. Feedback on the done work will tell you where to go next. Coming up with something from scratch is much more difficult than improving what has already been done.
Wasn’t the task already done at least partially?
It happens. There’s a clause 4 in the code:
The designer doubts everything that has been done before him. There is no guarantee that this was done in the only correct way.
In fact, this applies to everyone working on a task. Everyone can make mistakes, everyone can miss something, and certainly no one knows everything. If it suddenly turns out that the task has already been done, even if only partially, it will save a lot of time for everyone.
What are the constraints
Every task has constraints. Otherwise, it would be art, which has nothing to do with design. The more constraints there are, the easier the task is to solve. If you know them all, there will be no room for maneuvering in the layout and the result will be perfect.
The target audience is also related to constraints.
What are some constraints in interfaces:
Screen
Number of colorsResolutionOrientation (landscape, portrait, if at all applicable)Input device (mouse, finger or whatever)
Technical side
FrameworkConnection speed (although, this is closer to the target audience)Operating systemBrowserAvailability of a microphone or headphones (there are such tasks)
System design
ColorsFontsComponents and their states
Brand
Ideally, everything should be covered in the design system, but not every one is so complete that you can ignore the brandbook.
ColorsFontsIcons and the rules for their designLogo and the rules of usageOther visual communications (interfaces, ads, videos) need to be taken into attention too
I am Sasha Tikhonov, co-founder and art director at Flyphant.
We are Flyphant. Mobile applications and web development, graphic design, motion graphics — this is all that we are not only able of but also love doing.
flyphant.com · twitter · facebook · instagram
How to get started on a task and not screw it up was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
