So I was just dreaming about designing things while I was on the metro today - never throw away ideas that seem temporal, with a little discipline you can transform fleeting moments into eternal reality - when I started to get down to it, I was thinking about what makes a good design or what makes a design good. The eternal question what separates bad design from good?
I hope one of the answers is "A sketch book" ! Ha ha good joke, but as foolish as you may think it, good research and a dash of divine inspiration is probably the best way to make your designs succeed... What do I mean?
Let me explain: since fashion and design objects are applied art, I think that means they have to have a purpose, so let us assume that an object's purpose is to be bought and used. Therefore, whilst expressing creativity maybe our primary goal as a designer (as opposed to an artist), it's no good drawing away, if noone wants to be caught wearing your garments. It is equally important that someone actually buys the garment and takes it home and wears it, rather than merely admiring it whilst window shopping, and perhaps buying it in the sale with 70% off!!!
So what should we do to get those garments flying out of the boutique...? Well the first thing to bear in mind is the customer... It may seem obvious but if we step just a little closer and tune in hard, we can forsee what the customer wants before she has even realised it, just by having a clear vision of who she is. It's not enough to say she's between 20 - 35... We need to think, where does she live, where does she work, is she married, does she have children, does she like to party, how much spending money does she have, where does she shop, does she shop alone???
All these things enable us to tailor our designs to our customers' every whim. Maybe she is looking for a party dress to meet her new date (because she is single) maybe she is looking for formal wear (because she is career minded) maybe she is looking for comfortable but extra stylish homewear (because she is a stay at home mum living in kensington)
Once you have decided on your genre it is easy to follow through. You will see brands evolve as their customers get older and their lifestyle preference shift, so the brand adapts or introduces a new line to accommadate their customers preferences, without losing their original identity.
So what about me... Well my customer certainly has a good stash of spending money. She is probably working in a creative enterprise (fashion, media, music, PR, Marketing, advertising, etc.) Therefore she enjoys being ahead of the game. How she looks is important, as it a representation of her artistic self. In London she may have been living in Clapham or Battersea, but by now has most likely moved to Islington. In Paris she maybe living in the Marais (with it's eternal cool chic) or perhaps she's living along the canal St Martin or in the 11th. At any rate, she knows what she wants in life and isn't worried by the cost, or the stares. She is in her later 20's or early 30's and is enjoying life. Spending money on looking good is just an extension to who she is.
She is looking for innovation, mixing colours, fabrics and form to create garments that will inspire her and her future clients, as well as attracting like minded suitors. She would be happy to buy fair trade or organic as long as there is not a compromise on style. She is also looking for some basic pieces to pair up with her vintage finds.
I hope one of the answers is "A sketch book" ! Ha ha good joke, but as foolish as you may think it, good research and a dash of divine inspiration is probably the best way to make your designs succeed... What do I mean?
Let me explain: since fashion and design objects are applied art, I think that means they have to have a purpose, so let us assume that an object's purpose is to be bought and used. Therefore, whilst expressing creativity maybe our primary goal as a designer (as opposed to an artist), it's no good drawing away, if noone wants to be caught wearing your garments. It is equally important that someone actually buys the garment and takes it home and wears it, rather than merely admiring it whilst window shopping, and perhaps buying it in the sale with 70% off!!!
So what should we do to get those garments flying out of the boutique...? Well the first thing to bear in mind is the customer... It may seem obvious but if we step just a little closer and tune in hard, we can forsee what the customer wants before she has even realised it, just by having a clear vision of who she is. It's not enough to say she's between 20 - 35... We need to think, where does she live, where does she work, is she married, does she have children, does she like to party, how much spending money does she have, where does she shop, does she shop alone???
All these things enable us to tailor our designs to our customers' every whim. Maybe she is looking for a party dress to meet her new date (because she is single) maybe she is looking for formal wear (because she is career minded) maybe she is looking for comfortable but extra stylish homewear (because she is a stay at home mum living in kensington)
Once you have decided on your genre it is easy to follow through. You will see brands evolve as their customers get older and their lifestyle preference shift, so the brand adapts or introduces a new line to accommadate their customers preferences, without losing their original identity.
So what about me... Well my customer certainly has a good stash of spending money. She is probably working in a creative enterprise (fashion, media, music, PR, Marketing, advertising, etc.) Therefore she enjoys being ahead of the game. How she looks is important, as it a representation of her artistic self. In London she may have been living in Clapham or Battersea, but by now has most likely moved to Islington. In Paris she maybe living in the Marais (with it's eternal cool chic) or perhaps she's living along the canal St Martin or in the 11th. At any rate, she knows what she wants in life and isn't worried by the cost, or the stares. She is in her later 20's or early 30's and is enjoying life. Spending money on looking good is just an extension to who she is.
She is looking for innovation, mixing colours, fabrics and form to create garments that will inspire her and her future clients, as well as attracting like minded suitors. She would be happy to buy fair trade or organic as long as there is not a compromise on style. She is also looking for some basic pieces to pair up with her vintage finds.
I hope you will take the time to think about who your customer is because once you do that, your design process will take on a new air. It will suddenly become clearer which designs your customer would select and which of them would be better for her mum, or her younger sister...