Design Process

When I set out on any complex project, I make sure I know where I'm going first, I make sure I have a map of the route I'm going to take and I know what I plan to accomplish. In detail. Say my mom just landed at LAX, and wanted to get to my house in Westwood, I could tell her to take the 405 freeway and she'd get right here... almost. There is still the matter of getting to the freeway from LAX then getting from the freeway to my apartment. The start, goal and major route are there, but there are many more details that need to be fleshed out before you have a complete set of directions. Further, if my mom were to just start driving from LAX in hopes of finding the freeway it could take her hours to find it. and hours again to find my apartment after leaving the freeway. Similarly, if I start building a website without knowing each piece that need to fit, my design is going to take far longer than if I had built a map. For this reason, I try to build websites in a somewhat backward fashion. I start with the tiniest piece, like a login form, then I build more and more modules that will be a part of the site.