In my first undergraduate design course, Drawing, with Vasa Mihich our first assignment was to share what the most important part of our work at the time was. I was into using the computer to draw and share my work online. Without knowing too much about the history behind, I declared how I enjoyed the process of making. The journey is often more valuable and satisfying than the destination.
I continue to honor the process of making. As I make, I take screenshots, notes, and logs of my progress. I believe recording the process informs how I work and gives me ideas of how to improve. I do not always consolidate or share the recordings, but this month’s newsletter is an exception. I recently spent a couple of weeks documenting my process for an iOS app that was released a couple of months ago. And now, I am sharing that with you in the form of a retrospective document.
EZPZ is a music app born out of a simple idea. Drawing can have a sound and that sound can be modulated by how you draw. How this idea came to be an app was based on: 50+ prototype explorations, branding iterations, and numerous technical hurdles to overcome. All that gets lost in the release of a single product. Which is why I am excited to share this retrospective. It details, in a modified IMRaD format, the winding road to get to a product release, an assessment of the creative output, and what next steps could be.
In addition to it including a few working prototypes to try out and video samples of previous builds, I think this exemplifies my creative process today. Graphic design and computer programming are my left and right hands. In this project, I was happily able to flex both.
As always, I would love your feedback. Does your creative process look familiar or different? And if you are looking to work with someone to develop your own product, project, software, or website, I remain at your disposal.
—Jono