Design Thinking monsters

Design Thinking Monsters by bohemestudio

I recently read a very interesting article about “Design Thinking” from Adam Czarnik that reminded me a lot about how I have often applied his five principles when working on projects.

When you’re asked to solve a problem, the first thing that is expected from you is to suggest a solution. In the UX world you know that a solution is not the first answer to a problem. And then, when that problem is out of your scope of knowledge, your first impression is that you basically have no clue.

Don’t panic! You are facing a big problem, like an giant monster you have to deal with and here is where you can take Adam’s principles and fight that monster with …. five monsters! The design thinking monsters:

Design Thinking Monsters by bohemestudio – Monster EMPATHIZE

EMPATHIZE
In my experience, a UX designer is barely ever related to the field of the problem he is trying to solve. It is fundamental to understand what is the problem your users are facing and more importantly, to find out how that problem makes them feel.

Design Thinking Monsters by bohemestudio – Monster DEFINE

DEFINE
It takes some time not only to understand pain points but also to define what is causing them. Defining the problem might not give you a solution but it will make you think about what valuable insights you need to be aware of to establish a solution.

Design Thinking Monsters by bohemestudio – Monster IDEATE

IDEATE
As you know at this point, there’s no perfect solution for a problem. You already know your users’ pain points and what is causing them. It’s time to think about how to create something that will help them to avoid that pain.

Design Thinking Monsters by bohemestudio – Monster PROTOTYPE

PROTOTYPE
The next step is to build what you think is the best solution for the problem you are facing and to put it out there. Remember you won’t be the final user so you need to test it out!

Design Thinking Monsters by bohemestudio – Monster TEST

TEST
Testing is the end of the loop in the UX design cycle but you are just getting started. You need to analyse all the results and the feedback you have received from your users and to keep iterating in your prototype and designs towards a practically full user satisfaction (before they ask you for new features of course!)

So there’s no better way to fight a monster than with other monsters. Remember that you will get to a good solution iterating and a robust product eventually if you keep using your monsters!