Define your approach to design: Trend Forecasting Tips

I am assuming some interest in building a brand or fashion start-up brought you here.

The first part of building an apparel product comes with an idea. We all have ideas, but how we convey, or map the thought out can effect the outcome of the actual product. Great ideas and organization help processes from textile selection to marketing and image production.

Step 1: Word Association: Relationship between season, emotion, and message.

I asked my friends to share 5 words of Spring. Several people responded. I will be using inspiration from a creative writer. She fits my market, customer pyschology, and is also creative in her approach to creation.

Our first creative is Caitlin Foyt:

Caitlin describes what she does as watching. She believes that writing is the outcome of watching the world around her. She writes about many aspects of everyday life on her blog. Her 5 words for spring came from her thinking about everyday life as spring approaches. The image below is her pick for 5 words that I will use to be my creative direction for line development.

Once I have the words I usually work with a trusty old-fashioned thesaurus. I begin to map my words to gain more depth to the overall concept.  I believe a professional creative is constantly brainstorming and always plugged into the thoughts of others. The following is a map of these words.

Now the verbal map is created, we can begin to define what images and ideas we will use to begin the design process.

Stay tuned for part II: How to create trends and mood boards for the product line!