How to do the designer's knowledge management?

　　When talk about designing, one will be naturally associated with the originality, thoughts, and ideas. As a designer, as if our brain will be full of all kinds of ideas, however, these ideas are already exists in the brain? Apparently not. Some people say that originality from meditation, I don't deny that some talented superman design content of the man of god can be generated through meditation, but for the designers, god meditation is only a will recombine in mind, the old content and presented a method. So the creative content is not come from meditation, but from the designer of the accumulation of at ordinary times, accumulate, the more the rich design knowledge, ideas and thoughts. Often hear such words: as a designer to improve the level, will see more think more practice. So many people in your spare time to endless gallery, trying to improve themselves, but at the same time of attracted to all kinds of excellent design work, often ignored the more important knowledge management.

Do you often come across such a situation?

　　 Think of a good effect when doing things, but don't remember the specific appearance, want to look at but how also can not find where; Every day to see a lot of work, but scattered without order, finally feeling having no accumulations; Often come up to a few ideas, but soon forget, can't recall any longer.

　　 If there is one of the above situation, then learn and improve their own personal knowledge management is worthwhile for you.

What is the design knowledge?

　　 In a broad sense, design knowledge include: resources, common sense, method of thinking.

　　 Resources and common sense are the basic knowledges. General is a few design conclusion (finished product) and conclusion, the method of this knowledge is relatively fixed, don't expand. For example: one poster, golden section theorem, etc. And the method and thinking is living knowledge, can be adapted or modified, according to their own requirements, can even produce another kind of new design thinking. Such as: grid design, minimalist, user-centered design, etc.

Then, how to manage so much design knowledge?

　　 I divided the management of design knowledge into four steps:
1. Browse

　　 Browsing is all the time,a blink may call a day. If the picture in your eyes are fluent, that at least 20 frames per second,16 hours a day at least 1152000 picture... So many pictures will surely exist some that let people pleasing, such as the beautiful dress collocation, delicate window combined with the background, sunset glow, beauty... And so on, these are all can use a camera or hand-painted recorded.

　　 The era of knowledge explosion, the information on the Internet, they are no longer hard to come by, has become difficult to choose, to achieve effective information into important link in the acquisition of knowledge, I have information from these places:

2. Collect

　　 Then, how to deal with the information after seeing? We must learn to collect and organize information, this link determines your efficiency of the known information you looked for, I did this:

At ordinary times, I'll use petals (or Pinterest) collection like the picture, and then recorded in the company, if you use Chrome, that'16 hours a day,s too convenient, collection of plugin lets you only need one click, can then be a simple classification.

3. The digestion

　　 All needed information were set up and seen by you, these information will belong to you? Obviously not, you have a snapshot for each message, no annotations for information, when want to use the information you are unable to retrieve them in the mind.

　　 This requires us to digest existing information, such as open the petals of flowers that look at the collection of images, from the composition, layout, color, light and shadow some latitude to analyze the image, and then according to the design with the purpose of the author's point of view to think about why to do so, with what method? In images, for example:

　　 Through your own digestion, collected information will be more clear, a lot of content can be refined as the design methods, can use at any time when need in the future.

4. Review, thinking, and innovation

　　 This is the most important and most difficult step. By step 3, you have already accumulated a part of the design method, when doing a design to apply these methods, through a variety of combinations to complete the work. In the process, pay more attention to the application circumstances of each method, suitable theme, the expression of emotion and so on, at the same time more communication and more sharing, verbal communication and output PPT, it can be very good review memory accumulated design method. When accumulated to a certain extent, various design thinking you will slowly forms, and gradually perfect, generate the original understanding and awareness, to make your own creative designs. The formation of design thinking is like a tree growth, under all sorts of nutrition moist, methods and thinking are interdependent, grow up together.

　　About plagiarism and innovation:

　　 As shown in figure 4 layer management, if you do a good job in the first layer that you can do it well with other people's works design, if to do the second that you can take someone else's method to do design! If you do the third layer that you can do it with other people's thinking design! If you can do the fourth layer that you can make design through meditation.

　　 I wonder if you found that, this four layers respectively called: copying, learning, small innovation, innovation.

　　 Knowledge management can help you build your own design ideas, and form a set of effective design problem processing method. Design resources can be accumulated, and convenient search, call, analysis, problem-solving ability and efficiency. Especially in the system and in-depth understanding of knowledge management, then you will somehow find yourselves with the new ideas of solving the problem, all kinds of ideas in the mind constantly, all kinds of design requirements at this time is a wonderful thing, because the demand for the carrier of creative designs.

　　 Finally, the designer is a career that produces creative designs, convey information, he needs not only the composition of a picture, color, sketch, software using, need other knowledge to enrich their own field of vision, the understanding of all walks of life all kinds of knowledge at the same time to realize their own design ideas, while clearly convey information, to make better and more meaningful emotional work.