The process was a bit tricky because I don't have photo editing or illustration software that would allow me to play around with layout and experiment with different elements. When I used to have the right software, I was able to test out different designs and quickly get a feel for how a change might look, without committing much time to the effort. If I didn't like the way something looked, I just reverted back to the original. No harm done.
Unfortunately, I don't have that software now so I had to work with paper and pencil/pen. I went through a few rounds because sometimes I would like one aspect from one design and another aspect from another design, and had to combine the two elements into a third design by tracing. Wasn't the most efficient process, but I most definitely got some practice time in as a result.