Introduction to Design Thinking
In this article, we will first learn the five phases of design thinking. Design Thinking would be a problem-solving method that is both realistic and innovative. It is highly influenced by the methods and processes used by designers (hence the name), but it has roots in a variety of fields, including architecture, engineering, and industry. Design Thinking can be extended to any area; it is not limited to the field of design.
The focus of Design Thinking would be on the consumer. Its primary emphasis is on humans, intending to understand people’s needs and develop innovative ways to meet such needs. A methodical technique to problem-solving is what we term it.
What exactly does this imply? Let’s take a closer look.
Design Thinking’s Five Phases
According to the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (also known as d.school), the Design Thinking process consists of five phases: 1st empathize, 2nd define, 3rd ideate, 4th prototype, and 5th test. Let’s take a closer look at each of these.
First, empathize.
Empathy is an important initial step for Design Thinking. The first phase of the process begins with understanding the consumer and learning about their desires, needs, and goals. This entails studying and conversing with people to gain an emotional and psychological understanding of them. During this stage, the designer tries to put their preconceptions aside and gather real information about the user.
Tips to empathize:
- You need to understand people’s behavior, motivation, and needs
- Get yourself in the other people interaction to know how they’re feeling and what action they’re going to take
- It’s never about what you think is best but it’s always about what they think is best.
Interview is the common task to implement empathize
How to Interview
Don’t: Ask people what they want. People are experts in their own problems, not in the solutions.
Do: Ask about a specific past experience. e.g. the best time, the worst time, the most recent time
Use Active Listening Techniques
- Ask open-ended questions to uncover stories & feelings. Don’t ask yes or no questions.
- Ask people to summarize their thoughts and focus on the most important points.
- Ask “Why?” to get to the heart of the matter.
- Listen, don’t push for something specific. You don’t know why they’re answering that way.
- Use silence as a way to get people to continue on. People are compelled to fill in awkward silences; you may wind up with an unexpected discovery.
Second, Define
You’ll compile all of your empathize results and begin to make sense of them: what challenges and obstacles are your users encountering? What trends have you noticed? What is the major user issue that your team must address? You should have a simple problem statement by the completion of the defined process. The trick is to approach the issue from a user’s perspective.
Third, Ideate
It’s time to start thinking about possible ideas that you have a clear grasp of your customers and a straightforward issue statement. The imagination happens in the third step of the Design Thinking process, and it’s important to note that the ideation stage is not a moral judgment zone! Ideation sessions will be held by designers to generate as many different approaches and concepts as possible.
Designers can employ a variety of ideation techniques, ranging from brainstorming and mind mapping to role-playing and provocation, an intense lateral-thinking technique that encourages the designer to question existing beliefs and consider new options and alternatives. You’ll cut that down to a few ideas to move forward with after the ideation process.
Fourth, Prototype
Experimentation and translating concepts into concrete goods are the focus of the fourth phase in the Design Thinking process. A prototype is a rendered version of the product that incorporates the possible solutions found in earlier stages. This phase is critical for testing each solution and identifying any constraints or flaws. Depending on how well the proposed solutions perform in prototype form, they can be adopted, changed, redesigned, or rejected during the prototype stage.
Fifth, Test
User testing follows prototyping, but it’s important to remember that this isn’t always the culmination of the Design Thinking process. In fact, the testing phase’s findings will frequently lead you back to the previous phase, giving you the information you need to rephrase the initial problem statement or generate new ideas you hadn’t considered before.
In Conclusion, the focus of Design Thinking would be on the consumer. Its primary emphasis is on humans, intending to understand people’s needs and develop innovative ways to meet such needs.
