Design Thinking and the Human-Centered Process
Design is the art of seeing something existing and determining how it will be used or formed. A design is really just a description or a blueprint for the creation of an item, a structure or an organizational process or for the execution of such an act or procedure, or the product of such a description. The verb to design normally indicates the process of creating a design. It does not necessarily indicate the designing itself. A person who is trained in this art may be called a designer or a sculptor.
How we use our brains and how we come up with ideas is largely dependent on how we are taught in the design process. If we are taught from an early age the rules of design then it is difficult to change those rules once we are grown up. So, what happens when a design process is changed? Most often it leads to more complex designs. If a single rule is changed it may be possible to achieve the same result but the resulting design will most likely be more complicated. This means that only those individuals who have learned the entire process of how things work in reality will be able to design things effectively and so they will only have one “rational model” as opposed to a collection of rationally designed solutions.
It is important to note that some designers adopt a more action-oriented perspective which is also known as an architect’s perspective. The architect uses design theories such as the balanced approach in order to determine the overall impact of the building on the surrounding area. Designers working within an architect’s office tend to follow more of an action-oriented perspective in which they can measure the surrounding environment, take into consideration the regulations governing the area in which they wish to build and make changes where necessary. By following this line of thinking, the design process will become much more streamlined and less expensive. However, architects working with an action-centric perspective will still need to use a rational model in order to determine their actions that will have the desired effect on the environment.
Designers who adopt the third way are more likely to find that their products or services will meet the needs of their customers. The problem with this group is that they are more likely to use a more stylistic approach rather than a rational one. Designers who adhere to the third way of thinking are more likely to develop overly complex designs that offer nothing to their users. They will simply create products that do not solve any of the user’s problems and will not improve their usability. This is why so many people believe that the process of product design thinking is a haphazard one that leads to poor quality products.
Product design goals should be specific, measurable and attainable. This will ensure that both product design solutions and the problem solving required for their development are of a high quality. Having clearly defined design goals allows the designer to focus on problem solving while simultaneously planning the production process. This way they can ensure that the resources available for product design are used to their maximum potential.
These are just some of the ways that design thinking can help us in the development of our products. In the next article we will take a look at a couple of other important design thinking strategies. We will also explore how these ideas have helped change the way that human-centered design teams communicate about and create their work processes.