Design Thinking

[necessary-disorder]

[severeluminarytaco-blog]

love me some processing

[grchys-blog]

Design Writing: Lateral Thinking

In the book “Lateral Thinking” by Edward De Bono the author argues there is an alternative way of thinking of ideas that is more productive than how people were originally taught. He begins by defining both lateral and vertical thinking, both of which are terms he coined. Vertical thinking is analytical, structured and only includes what is considered relevant. De Bono introduces the new idea that this lethargic way of thinking is merely the baseline most people are taught to function at. He argues that in order to optimize creative thinking you must think laterally. Lateral thinking is a more creative approach to solving problems, it uses reasoning that is not always immediately obvious. The concept of lateral thinking is very useful in design as there are countless problems which we aim to solve that we may find the answers to in some unconventional ways.

Implementing the process of lateral thinking can aide in the design process at almost every point, from beginning to end. During ideation is perhaps the most vital point in solving design challenges in which one should use lateral thinking. De Bono describes an exercise that he calls random stimulation. This is a way of brainstorming in which participants “depart from usual patterns” and instead allow any idea. In this exercise it is noted, there is absolutely no room for evaluating any ideas, the reasoning behind that rule is that the evaluation of rough early ideas will likely lead to discounting some ideas that seem unreasonable at the time of ideation but could play a role later in the process and actually prove very helpful. An example of this is keeping and continuing to revisit preliminary sketches and word lists for a design problem. Just like it is important to take a break from a project periodically, so that you may return to it with fresh eyes and a clear head, it is important to do the same with brainstorming notes and rough sketches. Another example of the exercises De Bono recommends for creative productivity is challenging the problem which you are trying to solve. Not in an aggressive way, rather just asking yourself “why?” when addressing the problem. He even includes ways to challenge concepts that are not necessarily problematic, this way you can accustom yourself to challenging your own solutions to creative problems. By asking “Why?” you are able to understand what is necessary and what is not needed to fix an issue.

Lateral thinking and creative problem solving are very useful to the design process, and if used effectively can yield much better results than problem solving without these tools. Edward De Bono’s methods are catered to creative thinking and solving design problems. This makes them integrate seamlessly with the design process.  

Bono, Edward De. Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step. Perennial Library, 1970.

[brainhearthustle-blog]

IDEO human centered design

[michellelsun]

Think of life as a prototype. We can conduct experiments, make discoveries, and change our perspectives. We can look for opportunities to turn processes into projects that have tangible outcomes. We can learn how to take joy in the things we create whether they take the form of a fleeting experience or an heirloom that will last for generations. We can learn that reward comes in creation and re-creation, not just in the consumption of the world around us. Active participation in the process of creation is our right and our privilege. We can learn to measure the success of our ideas not by our bank accounts but by their impact on the world.

Brown, Tim (2009-09-16). Change by Design (p. 241). HarperBusiness. Kindle Edition.  (via michellelsun)

[shoutsandmumbles-deactivated202]

Research is not about whether people “like” or don’t like something. No business should ever use the word “like.” Like is not a design word and has nothing to do with any business goal. It’s just a reported mental attitude with no necessary connection to behavior. (Same thing with “hate”: I may hate The Newsroom, but I still watch it. Why? The better to hate it.) In market research, this is known as the difference between “declared preference” — the fruit of focus groups — and “revealed preference” or reality. Yet focus groups are not research; they’re research theater. They tell us very little about how real people behave in the real world. The brilliant sociologist and father of focus groups Robert K. Merton later lamented their misuse in replacing research: “Even when the subjects are well selected, focus groups are supposed to be merely the source of ideas that need to be researched.” When the research focuses on what people actually do (watch cat videos) rather than what they wish they did (produce cinema-quality home movies) it actually expands possibilities. But a common concern and excuse for not doing research is that it will limit creative possibilities to only those articulated by the target users, leaving designers devising a faster horse (lame) rather than a flying car (rad).

“How Startup Culture is Killing Innovation”

It is a misconception that research is geared towards future and potential behaviors. Those are not useful when it comes to design, business strategy and so on. What is the most important thing to understand first and foremost is what they do currently. I have said it before, in order to create the right solution, you need to know what currently exists. How do people behave now? What are the norms of action, interaction, use, etc? What can you, as an outsider learn from that in the context of a certain product? 

It is not about coming to research with a specific problem and solution in mind, then you are prone to confirmation bias and research is ultimately pointless. Put the problem aside. Know who are looking to learn about and a specific setting they are in, around a certain set of behaviors. Understand, analyze those patterns and learn what their problems are and how a possible product, service or business could help that.

This is not about solving ridiculous problems like how to talk to a cat with your smartphone. This is how you create truly valuable experiences and social change, research. 

(via shoutsandmumbles)

[jakesvanart]

My favorite artist plays a pivotal role with my favorite band Black Flag. Raymond Pettibon is an artist based out of the L.A. and Venice beach area.  The work he is most known for are designs such as flyers, posters, t-shirts, album art, and logos for bands such as Black Flag and Sonic Youth, as well as many others.  He is credited with creating the Iconic Black Flag logo as well as Sonic Youth’s Goo album cover.  His style has always leaned towards the darker side of life; wether it be from his specific sketch like style of drawing and painting involving frequently picking up the pen or brush creating a very rigid piece, or his art ideas like a specific flyer he did of Charles Manson naked pretending to be Jesus on a cross for a black flag concert.  When looking solely at his art, you can almost feel as if the image itself is physically shoving you because of how much your being provoked by it.  I truly admire the dark sense of humor his art brings to the world.      

[utwo]

Cafe BMW

© k speed

[profit-purpose]

Human Centered Design in Action

[dearprufrock-blog]

A Method to Our Madness

The IDEO methodology: 

1. Understand…

the market, the client, the technology, and the perceived constraints on the problem. Later in a project, we often challenge those constraints, but it’s important to understand current perceptions.

2. Observe and research…

real people in real-life situations to find out what makes them tick: what confuses them, and what they like, what they hate, where they have latent needs not addressed by current products and services. 

3. Visualize…

new-to-the-world concepts and the customers who will use them. Some people think of this step as predicting the future, and it is probably the most brainstorming-intensive phase of the process. 

4) Evaluate and refine…

the prototypes in series of quick iterations. 

5) Implement…

the new concept for commercialization.

[bidesigneducation]

Design Thinking Primer

We previously posted about Idea Couture’s Design Thinking Primer—below is the summary of the principles it brings up.

From Design Thinking Primer: Design Thinking for Creativity and Business Innovation Series 1) Design Thinking is Action-Oriented.

learning-by doing approach to problem solving

getting your hands dirty and trying things instead of being an armchair strategist.

2) Design Thinking is Comfortable with Change.

disruptive and provocative by nature

promotes new ways of looking at problems, often through new lenses

step out of conventional roles and escape from existing dogmas.

3) Design Thinking is Human-Centric.

focused on understanding the customer’s needs, including unarticulated, unmet and latent needs, using various observational research techniques and design tools, such as journey mapping.

4) Design Thinking is Integrates Elements of Foresight and Anticipatory Imagination into the Strategic Planning Process.

opens up the future and invites us to explore uncertainties.

be comfortable with working with many unknowns

Design Thinking expects us to cope with inadequate information multiple unknowns

5) Design Thinking is a Dynamic Constructive Process that is Iterative in Nature

ongoing definition, redefinition, representation, assessment, and visualization.

goals may change as you acquire more in-depth knowledge of the problem.

prototyping and the creation of tangible “sharable” artifacts becomes an important piece of the Design Thinking tool kit.

6) Design Thinking Promotes Empathy

puts users at the very core of everything

communicate with people in order to better understand their behaviors and expectations, the values, motivations and needs that surround and drive them.

7) Design Thinking can Greatly Reduce Risk for Developing New Products or Services.

design thinking practices should help reduce risks, including technology, market, and customer risks.

8) Design Thinking can Create Meanings.

creating meaning = hardest part of the design process

communication tools employed by Design Thinking (maps, models, sketches, and stories) help to capture and express the information required to form and socilaize meaning.

9) Design Thinking as Organizational Culture Can Bring Enterprise Creativity and Knowledge Management to the Next Level.

embraces questioning, challenge and discovery including frequent reflection-in-action, celebrating creativity, embracing ambiguity and visual sense-making

strong “inspirationalization” and “sensibility” to give tangibility to the emotional contract that employees can have with organizations.

10) Design Thinking as the new “Competitive Logic of Business Strategy.”

allows companies to create new products, experiences, processes and business models beyond simply what works and turns them into something people desire—a truly sustainable competitive advantage through innocation.

In short, Design Thinking can…

increase an organization’s “sensitivity”

improve communication between all stakeholders (internal and external)

enhnce an organization’s ability to process, synthesize and act upon the potential that is real, latent, and inherent allowing for the constant extraction of economic and social value.

[evieeducationart-blog]

[learntocodewithme]

[shapethings]

[icykorovabez-blog]

Creative thinking

Creativity is important in any kind of profession, whether it is some art profession or programming, medicine, biology….Creativity is important to help you solve any kind of a problem. Creativity is considered as a lateral thinking which is different than logical. Lateral thinking was discovered by Edward De Bono. It is also called horizontal thinking while logical thinking is called vertical thinking. Vertical thinking as the word is saying is moving vertical, it has a start point and is moving straight to the solution of the problem. On the other side, lateral thinking has a bit more complex path, moving in different directions, because it makes people think in all possible directions. Everyone can be creative, it is just a matter of practice and how to approach and make your brain work in that direction. There are five steps in a creative process that are going to be discussed in this essay, and those are preparation, incubation, illumination, evaluation, and implementation.

In the first phase, preparation, we are preparing materials that could help us “to wake up” our creativity. Of course, it depends on what kind of creativity we are looking for. If you are a musician, you are going to listen to a different kind of inspirational music to create the new one on your own. If you are an artist, you will look at some artist’s photos, paintings or whatever can wake up your idea. If you are a writer, you will look for some of your favorite books and what you learned from there and what you can use in your own writing. Even doing this assignment, we passed through this step. We were reading different materials and watching videos in order to develop our thinking about creativity and to write this essay.

The next step is incubation. This is maybe the most difficult phase because it is just the beginning, so you need to find the right point from where you will start. You need to organize your thoughts and ideas from everything that you found in the previous step. It can be a chaos in your mind and you do not know how to use all that great material that you found in the previous phase, so this step can sometimes be very long.

The next stage is illumination. This is like a eureka phase. It can just happen anytime, it can just bump into your head in some unexpected time and you can think about how it did not come to your mind earlier. So, this means that the idea was born.

The next step is the evaluation. This can mean having a critique, whether it is a self-critique, or it is done by your customer or your peers. This will help you to improve your idea and move to the next phase.

The last step is elaboration. This is the stage where you actually start working on your own piece, start writing, or making your art, or composing your music…

Kevin Ashton wrote in his book that “Thinking is finding a way to achieve a goal that cannot be attained by an obvious action.” (How to Fly a Horse, pg.31). This is why you need to go through all these stages because thinking is a process, which means it needs some time to develop. Drew Boyd in his video explained what it means having creative thoughts. It means that they are new to you, that they are useful and innovative, and that they are surprising. Also, he stated that you need to ask yourself two important questions: the first one is should you do it? Is it something that is going to help people? And the second question is can you do it? Is it something that is possible for you to make it? These are very helpful questions that you need to ask yourself through your process of creating.

References:

Book – How to fly a Horse by Ashton Kevin,

Internet - https://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-steps-creative-process-model-10338.html

https://www.edwddebono.com/lateral-thinking

Video - https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/What-creativity/548712/603270-4.html?org=txstate.edu

[ccattqueen]

I totally agree that creativity is important in any profession. When I was a respiratory therapist, no two patients were the same, and even though they could have the same disease process, it manifests itself in different ways every time, and you have to think of new ways to treat a patient that aren’t exactly by the book. I also did critical patient care on military aircraft, and you don’t always have the fancy hospital equipment 20,000 ft in the air, you have to get crafty! It definitely requires a lot of lateral thinking, and I’ve personally seen myself go through each step and back.

[a-gardunoblog]

Design Thinking

Design thinking is a systematic process of thinking that allows the designer to develop innovative solutions by exploring various concepts. It allows the designer to approach the solution more creatively and broadly than to focus on just one idea, which may not be the best option for the client. There are different approaches and methods that can be used to achieve this conceptual result. The three most common across all studies are the “key strategic aspects of systems approach, framing, and firsts principles.” This allows the designer to develop a solution concept that meets the framework and meets the criteria leading to more originality.

In the book ‘Design Thinking” by Nigel Cross, he mentions how “everyone can be creative and design”. Design is all around us and we use design to do a lot of things in our everyday life. So how is it that design is still complex? Well because we can design something that has been done before but the goal is how can we create something that hasn’t been made before, that communicates the message and satisfies the fundamental criteria that the client has set. As a designer starts on a new project it may be an unconscious habit to immediately jump right into our first idea. Yet, Cross states how “designing is difficult to conduct by the purely internal mental process, there is a cognitive limit as it is best to interact with an external representation.”

In order to successfully reach the design’s full potential, it is important to put different responses down on paper than working from your head. One should “develop ideas through sketches, drawings, and models in order to explore and understand around the building up of ideas.” Even a completely new design can be achieved through this process by taking different details from each piece to create a new solution together. With this purpose in mind, the three strategic approaches allow the designer’s final concept reach its full potential. First, it is the systems approach which was implemented by innovative designers themselves. It is important to think about the solution as a system and “how they relate to one another.” If not so, there will be a spotlight in a certain piece that may create an unbalanced presentation. I agree the challenge is finding a visual relationship between the components. This unity can be achieved through a similar style, fonts, interaction and so on. Next, the framing approach is how the concept can be explored from a certain perspective. Cross mentions how in this situation the problem arises from the design requirements but influenced by their personal motivations. A great example he gave was how “creativity is often stimulated when there is a conflict to solve” and I couldn’t agree more. I feel as if I am best at designing when I have been given or gave myself a task to meet than when just doing it for fun. Lastly the approach of first principles. Where you create a solution out of the functionality of the ideas you have and have created in the past. What, how and would it work at all are questions you can ask beforehand. With this being said, everybody can reach their creative potential by following these approaches good designers undertake.

Soures: 

img: wig.bapala.org

Design Thinking: Undertanding HOw Designers Think and Work by Nigel Cross

[wittything-blog]

Good Design is invisible. Are we?

As a designer in the realm of broadcast media and a lifelong learner in the field of graphic design I have been tasked with communicating messages that are clear, impactful and meet the needs of the client. Throughout the realm of design is the quote that “Good Design is Invisible.” Having come to adopt this philosophy of fully integrated design there leaves the question of where the designer fits into the bigger picture. I agree it is the designer’s job to more or less fade into the background. However, I’m starting to wonder about the emotional impact on the designer as the invisible component. While good design is invisible–how do we not feel invisible as the designer?

In order to create meaningful work, it is important to be personally invested in it. While I’m not suggesting that we have to live for work, as not all jobs are the dream jobs we want them to be, I am suggesting that we search for those things, which feed our passions and provide us with personal motivation to do better and to be better. Everything we do is a reflection of who we are and design is no different. Our digital culture speaks volumes about the ways in which we communicate, how we receive information and the relationships we cultivate.   

In studying the adoption of emotional intelligence in interactive design there is a great deal to learn about the user. While it is our job to find the motivations of the target market I have begun to think about the lack of writing there is on the psychological components of the designer. What would make us as the design community better? While we are all accustomed to the critiquing of our work there is just as much room for the advancement of a positive designer identity. I encourage all to take a brief moment to tap into their soft side and explore the notion that designers have feelings too.

When we finish a design we give it life and let it go out into the world around us. The design life is something that is difficult to predict the longevity of and because of the nature of our environment we are always looking for the next wave, the next trend and the next product to follow. It is important to know ourselves just as we know our consumers. We also consume and feed our own hunger with new ideas.

Being a designer is a challenging job. It is a field where creativity catches up with the bottom line. With expectations for constant innovation and improvement, many young designers too often get caught up in the spin cycle of creative burnout. Taking the time to step back, look at the bigger picture and assess our goals is crucial.

So how to we keep creating the work that we are proud of along with maintaining the mindset feeling valued in situations where we are the invisible creator?

Here are a few that I find to be key.  

1.     Maintain a positive attitude in yourself and your work.

2.     Feed your passions. If you are not doing what you want now, start doing it on your own.

3.     Read. Read anything and everything. Find connections in places where you thought there were none.

4.     Create a strong social network.

5.     Set short-term and long-term goals.

6.     Accept your present and challenge your future.

7.     Do not submit to failure.

What else do you find important in navigating through a creative career?

[ra-res]

The Importance of Reflective Practice in Design Thinking

In the realm of learning design, it is often common for a student to learn by doing project based assignments in order to grasp the concepts. Many students learn differently and sometimes focusing so heavily on a project can hinder a student from successfully learning the design process. It is easy to get caught up in the “why” you are completing a project and forgetting about the “how” such as design principles, and reasoning for making decisions.

In a study done by Grant Ellmers, University of Wollongong, research found that “designers and and students benefit from a structured approach to reflection… a structured approach to reflection supports the practitioner to identify important elements of their process” (71). This process allows for a student to have time to reflect during and after a project on choices made, how they were successful and what could be used in the next project.

Having an allotted time for a student to understand what principles take place in the designing process prove to be a major step in cognitively retaining information. “Students engage in a deliberate process of pausing to think back over their process and final artefacts to explore the understandings that they have brought to the handling of their project” (73). Having to reflect on what you have done allows you to step back and see the bigger picture of things, calculate the reason for difficulties, and to learn from mistakes for upcoming projects.

Results of using “reflective assessments tasks” indicate that adding the steps of reflecting during and after a project positively affects the cognitive thinking of students. According to Ellmers’ studies, students identified problems from their projects that could inform how they approach future projects and following best practices in these situations. “The results indicate across all reflective tasks, most participants (85% for the minor RT, and 91% for the concluding RT) reflected in a manner that had parallels with the cognition level of interpretation” (76).

I would like to see the ability to reflect on projects implemented into the design program somehow. I believe having an allotted time to understand and give reasoning to why things are done a certain way can greatly affect the mind of an upcoming designer. When first starting to design it is easy to just go through the motions and not fully understand why you did something due to time constraints or a quick turnaround time, but allowing the student a moment to reflect on why certain things were successful are important. Learning to reflect on one’s work is important to the learning process because you can prevent future mishaps by understanding your current faults. “Considering a modification to their design process by deciding in the future that they would make a deliberate decision to consider alternative concepts throughout the development of the project, or create more prototypes to their artefacts to test their ideas further”  (78).

Reflecting on self progress, and faults is an important tool for a designer. It is important for a designer to slow down and consider all the actions one has taken and decide whether to continue those actions or to implement a device to prevent wrongdoings from happening. As a learning designer, I plan to take the time to reflect on why certain choices are successful moving forward.

References:

Ellmers, Grant. Connecting Learning from the Graphic Design Project with Thinking about Approaches to Design Practice. Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 1 Apr. 2017, eds.b.ebscohost.com.libproxy.txstate.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=83211ea1-d300-4db2-ba41-e90c0f49568b@sessionmgr120.