Playlists to design to

Over at 9rules notes there was a recent post about what music do you design to. I have been thinking a lot about my design process as I’ve started to train someone again. A big part of my process involves getting the ‘zone’ using music. I have this odd habit of listening to a type of music depending on my project – actually it seems from that thread I’m not alone in this.

The way I work is often to create a playlist during the ‘thinking’ phase of a project. This is where the brief, colour scheme, example sites they throw at me and other inspiration is all collated ready to actually get down to the design work. I like to take my time during this if possible as it lays a good foundation which results in designs coming out easier. Playlists are usually a part of this. I pick music whilst having colour schemes and inspiration open on my screens. This is my way of getting into the core of the project and determining how I am going to tackle it.

Let me take you through one playlist I recently made for a project. The brief used words like ‘simple, clean, bright, vibrant’ and the palette wanted was also fairly upbeat. They used example sites like the fabled web 2.0 ones and emphasized on icons leading through the site. A selection from the playlist I created includes (now be nice about my musical taste):

Beck: The New Pollution
Fatboy Slim (various Fatboy slim as this just fitted the project): The Rockafeller Skank / Weapon of Choice / Praise You / Your Mama
Marlena Shaw: California Soul
Pop Will Eat Itself: Karmadrome
Jurassic 5: Action Satisfaction
The Go! Team: Feelgood by Numbers
The Just Brothers: Sliced Tomatoes
The Roots: Pass the Popcorn
Fun Lovin’ Criminals: City Boy
Jay-z: Trouble
Audio Bullys: Real Life
Credit to the Nation: One by One
The Dixie Cups: Iko Iko

As you can see it’s a fair mixed bag but it’s what fitted as I was thinking about this project.

Often blocks in design come when we don’t put in place as a designer a process to create that design. Over the years I have found the more I work on my process to get ready to design, the less I am likely to hit a block. Using music and playlists geared to the project is just one way you can do this. If you’ve never done it before it’s one thing you could try on your next project. I am thinking I may even release some of my playlists for you over time as it could be a good insight into my working – if not prove embarrassing due to be often dubious musical taste.