Steps In The Creative Process

How many steps are in the creative and conceptual process?

I always have a hard time agreeing with statements that say, “ this is how it’s done every time”. I do agree that, “sometimes” there are four steps in a creative and conceptual process, but sometimes there are also five or even nine. Sometimes the process is going back and repeating a few steps a few times. I think of how sometimes I think of a great concept right off the bat. Even after a little research and exploring other possibilities I come back to the initial idea, execute it and it is great. I think of other times, however, I really struggle with finding a creative idea. I prepare, I think about it, I may even have and “Aha!” moment, but I find myself going back to the beginning and doing more research. This is especially true when working on logos. A great article on thedesigncubicle.com, talks about the 11 steps taken in a successful logo design process. A few more steps than four…

So I conclude, sometimes there are four steps possibly;
Research, Incubation, Illumination and Implementation. But other times the best creative solution is not achieved so simply, and more steps are necessary to achieve an ideal solution.

Resources:
Graphic Design School 3rd edition pages148,149, Module 4
http://www.creativity-portal.com/bc/four.steps.of.creativity.html
http://www.maxvalue.com/tip027.htm
http://www.bnicolorado.com/cgi-bin/viewnlcontent.cgi?nlarticle_id=213
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/creativity/creativity.html
http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2009/05/11-steps-of-a-successful-logo-design-process/