The way I attend to a project and start my work process is never the same, yet it has similar principles that I can try to define and break into a few stages.
1. Hi
I place myself by the task and become inspired by its goals and by what it's intended to be. This way, I “become one with the project” (as corny as it may sound) and I KNOW I’m loyal to it and direct my best knowledge, experience and hard work to its benefit and success.
2. Nice to meet you
Once “I’m in”, I start doing my research, sometimes it's wide and sometimes it’s relatively short. When I feel comfortable enough with the needed background, I start to plan and imaging the structure / wireframes according to the goal we have set with the customer.
3. Okay then
As I begin to craft, I set basic ground rules and design assets, in order to maintain a defined design system that will fluently communicate the entire project. Whether it is branding, typography, colors, buttons, user behavior, UX, UI - U name it - it all needs to work well together.
4. Let's go
Whenever I feel I've made good progress I'm eager to share it with the client. I believe feedback is an important stage of the process, mainly because it allows new ideas to arise while brainstorming.
Driven by the Design Thinking method I like get insights about the concepts' portrayal in different ways, including reaching out to an audience, users or just plain folks with opinions and ideas.
5. Cheers
Processing and reflecting on the responses are an important part for me, in order to apply the needed adjustments to finalize and refine the project.
Worth mentioning -
I love working with people, I appreciate the company!
I am always proud to be a part of a good team :)