According to the the reading contents of Module 3 " Instructor's Commentary", Information design projects require brainstorming, collaboration and planning; specifically, information designers are presented with a problem of how to best present and convey information to a particular audience.
The first step of any information design process should consist of asking preliminary questions to determine the scope of the problem, the target audience, and the content of the information to be presented. A good way to do this is by asking the basic questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How? These questions are important. Only by understanding the answers to this question will you be able to adequately develop a strategy for the rest of the process.
The second step is organizing the information and data into a creative brief. This will allow you to take the data you have gathered above and organized it in a creative way that inspires brainstorming and thinking.
The third step is to determine personas and scenarios for presenting the data. A persona is an imaginary user. This step is where your previous knowledge and questions concerning the target audience come into play. Almost all of information design is targeted at a desired audience, because it is the user that you are designing the information for (so it is easy to read, understand, and process). These personas outline attributes, desires, needs, habits, and capabilities of a typical user. Once you have the persona in hand you will be able to refine your project needs and goals and determine the holes that still need to be filled in the design process. Once you have completed the personas, you can also have them act out various scenarios.
The last general step involves the process of developing prototypes of your information design product and testing in on practice audiences. A prototype is a model of what the final product of your information design process will look like. This could come in a number of forms (presentation, website, storyboard, actual product, commercial, etc.).
For an example I have uploaded a real-life blog that I presently use at my current job, I am the gatekeeping of a blog that my department utilizes to give out information in regards to our Advocacy work that we do.
Please click aarpca.onehub.com/california-advocacy-hub to view. To develop the website all of the steps were implemented to successfully meet our needs.
Although, I do not believe that in developing the process to complete a blog that one step is less important than the other - they all matter. However, to even reach an audience you will first need to determine your target audience, to share whatever your (e.g. product, information) will be and how it is relevant to that audience and why.
References:
M03 – Instructor’s Commentary/Contents
