3.3 Design Preparation

Pre-Production is an important part of the design process. If you jump right into designing without organizing your thoughts, the materials, or the content, the design process can be a frustrating or overwhelmingly challenging experience. 

The following activities can help you prepare for your design project:

• Organize the content using post-it notes (or the post-it note app), PowerPoint, Google Slides, or a Mind Mapping tools.
• Draw your design on paper, sketch it online (e.g., Google Drawing), or create a Storyboard.
• If you are recording audio or video, write a script for the narration (see “How to Write a Good Script” to learn more) and read the Video Best Practices handout.
• For script and storyboard templates, see KQED’s Media Making Toolkit.

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Show your initial design to one or more students, or colleagues, to solicit feedback. Or, better yet, share your plans on Twitter using the #digmediacourse hashtag.