Ideation is the third stage in the user experience (UX) design thinking process. At this stage, the design team gets together and uses various techniques to come up with ideas to solve the problems identified in the earlier stages. Ideation usually takes place in collaborative workshops.
How Does Ideation Work?
The important thing about ideation is to generate many ideas without criticism or evaluation. The focus is on quantity rather than quality, and no ideas are rejected at this stage. UX design expert Don Norman stresses that is it important to question the obvious when ideating.
The UX Design Process
The UX design process is based on the questions why, how, and what. The process starts with research to discover why the user experience is what it is. The goal of this phase is to understand what the user wants from the experience. The designer conducts surveys and interviews to discover the motivation and goals of users and build empathy with users.
The definition phase involves using the data collected along with analytics to create a detailed description of the user experience. This phase involves creating user personas, flowcharts, and mapping to uncover patterns and trends.
Once the patterns emerge, design enters the third phase in which team members generate ideas about how to solve problems and improve the experience. A rough sketch of the product is developed, and from that come wireframes and prototypes.
The next phase is testing the product or website to see the user experience is what was expected. Depending upon the test results, the product will be redesigned to address problems found during usability testing. Repeated usability testing can also uncover new problems caused by some of the design fixes.
Workshopping
Ideation usually takes place during a workshop. The design team gets together for the day for creative thinking exercises. Here are some suggestions for planning and conducting an ideation workshop:
Setting the Scene
The first step is to decide as a team what the objectives of the session will be. The next step is to find a suitable space. You will need good lighting and comfortable seating. The ability to play music is an advantage. In general, you want a relaxed environment. Most workshops take place in an office conference room and tend to fill the day.
Create an Agenda
Put together an agenda for the day, but don’t pack the schedule. Leave time for breaks and thinking. Make sure each item on the agenda is based on an activity.
Gather Materials
Gather your materials before the meeting. Here are some items that will be useful:
- Post-it notes
- Markers
- Paper and pens
- Tape
- Colored dots
- watch
- Phone
- Slides on laptop plus clicker
- Whiteboard
- Snacks and drinks
On the Day
On the day of the workshop, prepare an introduction to explain what will the participants will be doing. Get consent for photos and recording. Arrange for someone to take notes on the proceedings.
Prepare an Icebreaker to get everyone’s creative juices flowing. There are any number of examples of icebreakers. The team members will probably know each other, so choose an activity that isn’t as focused on introducing yourselves and choose one that gets team members up and moving.
Possible Activities
Plan for several activities to help the group come up with ideas. A mix of writing, drawing, and moving will give everyone a chance to participate no matter what format they prefer. The point of the activities is to generate ideas without criticism. Any idea is welcome at this time.
- Using information from the first two phases of the design proces, come up with a list of “how might we…” questions.
- Create analogies, which are comparisons between two things.
- Physically act out scenarios. This is a technique called bodystorming.
- Brainstorming is one of the most common ideation activities. While participants call out ideas, the notetaker writes all the ideas down on Post-It Notes or on a whiteboard.
- Brainwriting is an activity where the participants write down ideas on paper, and then pass it on to another person. That person adds to those ideas and passes it on again.
- Brainwalking gives participants the opportunity to get up and move around. Set up ideation stations around the room and the participants walk around to the different areas and add to the ideas at that station.
- Challenging assumptions is useful for getting a stalled session going again. Go through the ideas generated so far and challenge assumptions the participants can identify.
- In mindmapping, participants create a web of relationships. Place a problem in the center and write solutions around it or place Post-It Notes around, then draw lines to connect related ideas.
- Storyboarding is a visual technique where the group creates situations and a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Then the story is illustrated with simple pictures.
- The point of Worst Possible Idea is to come up with the worst ideas instead of the best. This activity can often lift the spirits of tired participants and makes everyone feel more comfortable.
- Sketching and sketchstorming involve making graphic depictions of ideas. Some people feel more comfortable drawing than writing.
Wrapping it Up
Toward the end of the workshop, collect the notes and drawings. Combine the notes into related groups. Schedule a date and time for another session.
Take a Break
Once a number of ideas have been generated, it is important to take a break before moving forward. This gives the group a rest and also resets everyone’s creative capacity. Workshops usually last most of a day, so scheduling another session the next day or several days later would work.
Regroup
When the group meets again, this is the time for critiques and assessment. Go through the ideas that were generated and pick the ones that look like they would be the most successful. Now the team can begin to set the design, create prototypes, and then start testing them with users. Keep in mind that the design process is iterative, so it may be necessary to hold more ideation sessions as new problems come along.
Where to Learn UX Design
If you would like to learn more about UX/UI design in order to switch to a new career, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn design software and other applications. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run from a few weeks to a few months and another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX design bootcamps in your area.