Pre-Design Process

Scope

Purpose: The Pre-Design Process prepares a season before range work starts. The Design Director (DD) sets the seasonal calendar against each customer buying calendar, and designers collect trend, colour, and fabric input. Without this preparation, designers build ranges that arrive after the customer critical buy dates.

Owner: DD.

Applies to: DD, designers, the fabric sourcing team, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the Turkey Office (TRO) and UK Office (UKO) teams.

Process

1. DD — Build the seasonal design calendar. List every key deadline and design activity for the season in one calendar.

   • Keep a single seasonal calendar. Designers plan sampling and travel against it.
   • Publish the calendar before trend research starts, so every department works to the same dates.

2. DD — Align the calendar with the customer buying calendar. Obtain the buying calendar from each customer and compare it against the SpringNE dates.

   • Work from the published workbooks for the two largest accounts: the Tesco Buying Calendar and the Sainsbury's Buying Calendar, both listed under Forms to be used.
   • Check that each range reaches the customer before the critical buy date.
   • When a design deadline falls after a buy date, move the design deadline forward and reissue the calendar.

3. Designer — Produce the seasonal catwalk report. One designer per department writes the report and shares it with the whole design team.

   • Assign the report to a named designer per department. A single owner prevents two designers reporting the same catwalk season.

4. Designer — Compile the trend and colour report. Draw the seasonal insight from WGSN, fabric fairs, and other seasonal sources.

   • Name the source behind each trend and colour direction, so the range review can trace it.

5. Designer — Brief the fabric sourcing team. State the key fabric needs for the season, by department.

   • Align sourcing activity with the scheduled Turkey trips where the calendar allows.
   • Prepare the sourcing pack and send it to the TRO team before each Turkey visit.

6. Designer — Plan the inspirational shopping trips. Book London trips monthly, plus ad hoc trips ahead of a customer meeting.

   • Plan the overseas trips seasonally: March and April, then September and October, for the United States and Korea.
   • Plan six Turkey trips and four Europe trips a year.

7. CFO — Confirm the travel budget before booking. Approve each trip budget in advance of any booking.

   • When the CFO has not confirmed the budget, the trip stays unbooked until the confirmation arrives.

Workflow

DD — Build the seasonal design calendar

DD — Align the calendar with the customer buying calendar

Designer — Produce the seasonal catwalk report

Designer — Compile the trend and colour report

Designer — Brief the fabric sourcing team

Forms to be used

• Tesco Buying Calendar
• Sainsbury's Buying Calendar

Tutorial

This training video supports the Pre-Design Process process. It does not replace the numbered steps.

Pending

Training video not linked yet

Admins will add a Microsoft Stream or SharePoint watch URL when the tutorial for Pre-Design Process is ready.

Exam

Pass mark	Expected duration	Attempts
80%	Admin will provide this soon	Admin will provide this soon

Pending

The exam is not published yet. Admins will add it here when the assessment is ready.

Changelog

Changelog

Date	Changed by	What changed
2026-09-21	Design Team	Added the Tesco and Sainsbury's buying calendars under Forms to be used.
2026-09-21	Design Team	Article Added from SOP 3.0 Design Process, section 1.