If you are working on adding design collections to your portfolio, chances are you’ve come across many ways in which to build a collection. It’s something we cover a lot across our online courses here at Make it in Design.
It’s also one of the most frequently asked questions our co-founder Rachael Taylor gets asked about so today we break it down for you.
Rachael says: “Sometimes these steps are interchangeable or not needed if I were working for a client, but this is the typical process for me”.
1. Identify your audience and customer – you should put time into researching this,otherwise you are designing in a void.
2. Identify your market – interiors, gift, fashion, etc.
3. Identify your buyer – spend time researching your ideal buyer, visit their website and check out collections they’ve previously created with other designers.
4. Identify the mood, trend, theme or subject matter and choose your colour palette
5. Create your motifs – Rachael likes to draw everything by hand on loose sheets of paper or in a sketchbook. She then scan them in and manipulates them in Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop.
6. Decide on the size of your collection: mini collection = 6, full collection = up to 12 designs.
7. Create your ‘hero’ designs. These are the designs that will stand out the most in the collection and are what will initially entice a buyer.
8. Create your ‘coordinate’ designs. (We believe our US friends call them ‘blender’ designs).These are key as they help fill out the collection and provide more value to a client. The more your designs work together, the better opportunities you have for selling or licensing the collection!
9. Add your designs to professional
presentation sheets. Catch a buyers eye by making it simple but creative.
10. Add your designs to mock-ups or photograph them on products. These really help sell the collection and show how they can actually be used.
We hope that helps demystify the process a little! Flourish creatively with our variety of online design courses and course bundles and grab a great deal. Get upto 50% off right now for a limited time only in our SUNSHINE SALE.
