There are many ways to work through a design project. I thought it would be beneficial to research a few to find which one works best for me. It would be useful to try out some of these methods with my own projects.

The Double Diamond

This method was produced by the Design Council to help designers tackle and solve problems.

The actual shape of the diamonds has a meaning behind it. The diamonds represent divergent thinking and looking into issues widely and in more detail. The area where the two diamonds meet represents convergent thinking and taking “focused action”. Even before looking further into this, I really like it as it allows you to visualise the design process.

Here are the 4 main areas of this method:

• Discover: The discover phase involves lots of research and talking to people you are designing for to figure out the issue.
• Define: After researching, you can define the issue in a new way.
• Develop: At this stage you will gain inspiration while working with a range of people. I think this stage would involve quite a lot of trial and error until you find something that works.
• Deliver: This involves testing the solutions you have come up with and working on the ones that work.

 

My thoughts

A lot of the phases in this method are things I do in my own design process. I think they are all equally important and help you achieve the best solution possible for your users. One thing I could take away from this and add to my process is working more with others. I think this is beneficial as you can see the issue from different perspectives and become inspired. This is something I will be doing a lot more in a working environment. The design process isn’t linear like the diamonds may portray. There are many times when you may have to repeat a step or move back a step. I think that is important to remember.

I also really like their design principles as they emphasise putting people first. I think that if you don’t put time into knowing your user and empathise with them, you can’t solve their problem effectively. They also emphasise the importance of multiple iterations. This is essential so you can find errors in your designs and work on them early on.

 

IDEO – Human-Centred Design

This requires involving real users in the design process. It helps you understand user needs better to create solutions for them.

Phases:

• Inspiration: You can get inspiration from everywhere. At this stage, your mind should be open to all possibilities.
• Ideation: This is when you get all possible ideas out there, even if they don’t work. You can then refine these, test, and work on what works well.
• Implementation: The last step is to get your idea out there.

 

My thoughts

I think there are many benefits to this method. When researching and interviewing users, there is a high chance you will find unexpected answers. This is because, as a designer, you can often assume things about users that aren’t true which is why it’s important to get to know them. This way, you will come up with ideas that your users will want to take on and that they will enjoy using. Working with real users throughout the process will make sure you are on track and designing for them.