There are 4 steps to the Design Process:

  1. RESEARCH - Understand objectives, ask questions!

  2. CONCEPT and DESIGN - IDEAS FIRST via thumbnail (rough) sketches

  3. REVISE - Multiple rounds

  4. FINAL ART!​
As the great designer Jacqueline S. Casey explained about her process:
"​In the beginning, I collect information from clients, libraries, museums, laboratories, and so on. Before I start designing, I research the subject so that my work will be representative of it. I always try to use colors and materials that relate to my subject, and then the typeface must fit in the whole design. Then I decide what I will use from the collected material. I sketch for all of my ideas and sift through them for the strongest solution. I often work through more than one solution, compare, and then discard. Quite simply, my objective is to design a product with an accurate visual and verbal message that can be understood by my audience. It has to make sense to me and my client.”