1. You’re Not Alone
I think it’s best to get in a good mindset and not go down the self-deprecating route that you’ll never get through this. You believed in Santa for years when you were younger, you can believe in yourself now. (For the record, you can still believe in Santa. I’m not going to Santa-shame anyone.)
2. Set up a Folder Organization System
3. Break Down Your Process for a Design Project
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it’s important to add gathering assets to your process. Have a look at typical the design process at my job.
Where I find the best place to add this to your process is at the end or close to the end of a project. If I’m working on a web project, I like to start laying out my exports while the project is in dev. In regards to the timeline, I give myself a personal deadline. When the first dev link is due, I goal to have a few assets of the project created. I finish creating all the assets by the launch date of the site.
4. Create Assets Along the Way
Lastly, you should have a checklist for all the assets you need for each project. You’ll need a hero image for the project page, a thumbnail for the homepage, full-bleed images, or even a carousel. Whatever you think you’ll need, make sure you check all the boxes.
5. Write out a First Draft
At this stage, you’re supposed to write an ugly first draft. As designers we want everything to be beautiful, but this is not the time to be a hero. Get to writing some ideas and thoughts down and it will come together.
If you’re going the case study route, start writing down your process for the project and highlights. It’s fine to have a template or two on how you explain each project. Here are some ideas: