The define stage gives structure to the task, without it, many people would miss the mark when trying to solve an issue. Defining is about asking all the questions, how will the problem in front of the person or group be fixed? To get an answer, the topic needs to be unpacked and looked at deeply to move forward. Fast Company quoted Albert Einstein in their article stating, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” Albert Einstein expresses how an individual becomes satisfied in the work produced after a true defining stage is completed.

In the defining phase, time and space is necessary because without it then there is not enough focus on the problem, meaning the solution produced will be incorrect. The research collected and absorbed is taken under extreme unpacking to understand the topic fully. Solution generation is the goal with this process so, analyzing every piece of insight helps work towards the goal. Focusing on the systems in front of us can lead to a solution that works the best. Verification and validation are independent tools used together to indicate if the system, product, or service satisfies the needs. Problem statements should contain questions because that’s how inspiration occurs, and people are encouraged to create a purpose. Asking questions always leads to success because it either opens up the mind to new ideas or, clarifies what is already done. Most realize that there is more to the problem than they originally thought which causes people to start over and dig deeper into their defining process. The Interaction Design stated: “Instead, your POV should provide a wide enough scope for you and your team to start thinking about solutions which go beyond status quo.” Basically, they’re explaining how every aspect of the topic should be explored because of the possibility of it being important to the defining process.

Empathy continues to be used in this stage because feelings and needs are apparent when trying to create a solution. Working on the emotions necessary even in this stage of design thinking is crucial to keep in mind. The Interaction Design Foundation stated: “More than simply defining the problem to work on, your point of view is your unique design vision that you crafted based on your discoveries during your empathy work.” Empathy becomes the reason someone can define the problem because that is how the research was gained. Without empathy, defining wouldn’t be able to occur, and the problem solving wouldn’t be produced. It is essential to continue to use empathy in all stages, defining needs to incorporate empathy to create ideas that work. Understanding the insights and the meaning behind the different aspects of the problem-solving process is so important and generates a purpose through the stages.

Defining the problem is used effectively in the real world, in many different places and ways. Without figuring out what the problem is the solution will not be produced correctly. Design Sprint Academy on YouTube generated a video and Blaize Hite a Global Product Manager from Nike stated: “This one allows to evaluate potential ideas that call them a lot sooner and actually have more confidence in the solution.” Confidence is key in the design thinking process, because of creating ideas that could be out of the comfort zone for the person or group. Redefining the issue to build the solution is essential and if it is not done properly like in many cases, the creation can miss the mark. Defining can be a long process so, many people try to speed up or skip this step but, that often leads to the solution not being correct.

Defining in the design thinking process is so significant that when this stage is in motion everyone should be as focused as possible to unpack the topic. When part of design thinking the person or group has to keep it human-centered which is something many forget to do, design thinking is to frame the interest on the people. Fast Company stated: “Mastering the ability to reframe problems is an important tool for increasing your imagination because it unlocks a vast array of solutions.” Expressed through this quote is the evidence of how crucial the ability to define a problem truly is. The define stage is a process that takes time but, it is necessary to gain great results.

Empathizing is a valuable tool for any person or group, it can be used in any conversation. After learning about empathy in class for the last two weeks I can say I know much more than I did when I first approached this topic. Still, I am no expert, because this skill takes practice, it’s not a tool that can just be switched on. But, with time, a people can become so engaged that they use it in their everyday lives.

Empathy is, of course, a huge part of the design world but, what people have learned in recent years and still are currently learning, is that this skill can be added to any career. People have reflected on why humans can feel intimidated or scared of a certain situation, and that is because they’re not receiving enough empathy to make them feel comfortable and safe. So, this has been a big conversation for many causing the design world to expand to different outlets. Leaders have been a frequent topic here, because they require empathy in order to have people follow and trust them. Nobody wants to join something and feel misunderstood. Therefore, empathy has been expanding to places designers didn’t even know it would spread to. The Interaction Design Foundation stated: “If we develop solutions in isolation, without essential insights about our users, we may create solutions that completely miss the mark and thus be ignored by the market.” Empathy here was used for a business-related task, my point is that anyone can use empathy and should do so to create a better foundation. With this skill, a task can be exactly what the person or group wanted because of the form of better communication. This skill is so important to any career, it has brought people to do things that are typically uncomfortable or scary, just because someone was empathetic towards them.

Being empathetic isn’t about being nice, which is the assumption people often make; it’s about absorbing every detail about the problem to develop the knowledge necessary. The process of working empathy into our everyday lives takes time but, to create a tool that can provide opportunities makes it worth it. Empathizing provides insight into the problem to create ideas to work towards the solution. A Medium Corporation stated: “In order to solve a problem, we have to find the sweet spot between understanding from the person’s perspective and an objective outsider’s perspective.” Empathy is much more than just listening to a person, to get the full experience the designer or empathizer has to observe every aspect of the problem. Point identification is a continuous goal through the whole empathizing process.

Connection is necessary during this process to let the speaker feel comfortable, because of how vulnerable they have to be sharing their true feelings. So, for example, like a doctor, where sometimes it can be difficult for a patient to open up to possibly a complete stranger, the empathizer has to provide them with the feeling of being in a secure environment. With the feeling of comfort then the person will allow themselves to share what they’re feeling which will provide the listener a chance to absorb everything in order to build that connection further. Having the connection will make the process run smoother because the empathizer can be fully immersed. Journal of Ethics stated: “When a patient feels that a physician understands his condition and apprehensions, he may feel more comfortable confiding in the physician.” When the patient feels more comfortable the doctor who is the empathizer can absorb all the knowledge necessary.

Empathy can be used in any career with any type of person, something I did not know before two weeks ago. This skill goes beyond just listening to someone speak, it’s about immersing ourselves in the problem that is being given to us to understand to then find a solution.

I first approached this task underestimating the depth of this process. Design is much more than just what is seen on the surface. These steps break down a concept and allow for strategic thinking and learning. Design is all about in my opinion putting yourself out there for people to judge you, which can be hard in the beginning stages. Tim Brown states in his 2009 Tim Brown ted talk “Instead of defaulting to our normal convergent approach where we make the best choice out of available alternatives, it encourages us to take a divergent approach.” Expressing creative different ideas can be scary, but that’s how new ideas are seen and heard by others. Even if putting our thoughts out there means failing a few times before succeeding, that’s what needs to happen to create great things.

EMPATHIZE

Empathizing is for the designer to immerse themselves to understand the problem. Learning what is important to that person or group is what it is all about. Good designing is based on an understanding of values and beliefs. Observation is necessary, noticing the difference between what someone says and does is crucial. Engaging in deeper meaning will make the designing process more unique. Empathizing provides insight into the problem and the needs to work towards a solution. The writers from The Interaction Design Foundation stated: “As well as immersing yourself in the physical environment so you can gain a deeper personal understanding of the issues involved.” They’re telling the reader here, that this stage allows the designer to learn and reflect on what they’ve absorbed, from the issue that was exposed to them. Collecting all the information necessary to work towards the solution is truly the empathizing stage.

DEFINE

Defining is all about using insight that the designer has gained to bring clarity to the process. Expressing the details of the observations is major while working on the empathy and research that was already collected. The needs will begin to be unpacked, and the designer will start to think of solutions. Writers from Web design spoke about it saying “We generate a variety of questions, which in turn give us different options and ways of thinking about the problem.” This stage gives the person or group a chance to analyze the issue, and how to reveal every part of it to try and restructure the design.

IDEATE

Ideation is for after the designer understands the problem fully, and begins to generate ideas to provide a solution, that’ll please the person or group. It’s all about the imagination stage, pushing the mind to where it hasn’t been before. Ideation is not about the obvious solutions, it’s far beyond that; brainstorming and bouncing around with ideas is perfect. Writers from The Interaction Design stated: “Ideation provides both the fuel and also the source material for building prototypes and getting innovative solutions into the hands of your users.” Throughout this stage, is a push towards getting the unique ways of designing out into the world.

PROTOTYPE

Prototyping is where the questions from the beginning stages are being answered. Interaction with anything that could lead to a solution, creating something that will put together the answers to the questions for the designer. It doesn’t all need to be planned, once the process of prototyping begins it’ll get whoever is working on it somewhere. Prototyping brings in a set of tools to provide the foundation, to be able to fully explore for the designer’s benefit. Writers from The Interaction Design stated “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a prototype is worth a thousand meetings. -Saying at IDEO.” They’re trying to express how crucial the prototyping stage is, allows the designer to interact with others and extend their knowledge. Interacting can bring conversation and inspire ideas for the designer.

TESTING

Testing is the last stage in the design thinking process, but testing technically should be used throughout all the steps to get great feedback. The designer can pull together everything they’ve learned to use towards building that solution. That prototype will be used with people to see how it plays out, then improvements can be made; feedback is major that’s why testing is necessary to this process. People from Stanford spoke about testing and stated: “Sometimes testing reveals that not only did you not get the solution right, but also that you failed to frame the problem correctly.” They’re expressing here that in design, sometimes people fail and have to start over, but that only leads to growth which is important.

Design thinking is based on putting yourself in a place that will have you judged, which scares people. Opening the mind creatively can be difficult for individuals, not because they can’t accomplish it, but because most don’t want people to critique something they did or made. David Kelly states in his 2012 ted talk “So I’ve been looking at this fear of judgment that we have, that you don’t do things, you’re afraid you’re going to be judged; if you don’t say the right creative thing, you’re going to be judged.” He is making a point that nobody wants to be judged, but to improve it’s necessary. Design thinking is all about trying new ideas out and seeing what the result could be.

Continue reading “Emma Kogel | What’s In My Bag”

My name is Emma and i’m a Graphic and Interactive Design major at Quinnipiac University. I am in my first year and, i’m excited to do this blog to actively put my thoughts out there in a creative way!

I wanted to make this blog because of how much control I have on what I am putting on here, I can experience so many new aspects while producing creative posts.

My theme for this blog would have to be colorful and creative, I personally love looking at things that ease my mind, that are peaceful and make me think. So, thats what I aim to do here, produce things that make my audience think about whats in front of them, and make their own idea of that means in their own mind.