At the beginning of 2010 I introduced a new step to my work process, and I think it’s helped me grow a lot as a designer. It’s really simple — it’s basically a variation of hard copy proofing, only it’s cheaper (free, as long as you have a smart phone), faster, less wasteful and more portable.
Before I leave the office, whether it’s for lunch or for the day, I snap an iPhone shot of my monitor, so that I can review whatever I’m working on anytime the mood strikes me.
I got hooked on this technique immediately, and throughout the year I’d flip through my screen shots on the bus, at restaurants, bookstores, the DMV … Anywhere that I had my iPhone handy and a little free time. I’m finding that if I reflect on my work a little when I’m away from the computer, I’m much more decisive when I return to the computer.
Here are some of my screen shots from the year, with their published counterparts.
When I’m at the close of the production stage and want a better quality proof, I’ll email myself a PDF to open in iBooks. But that takes much longer, and creates new emails to delete. The point and shoot screen capture’s my current favorite way to proof.
