Design thinking is a way of approaching challenges and problems from a holistic, human-centered perspective. It starts with empathy, or understanding the needs of users, and moves on through observing, testing possible solutions, and coming up with the best design. This method of approaching problems requires creativity as well as an understanding of the scientific method. Design thinking is a combination of the two.
The Design Process
The process of designing a product or service has five basic stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This process is used by designers of all types, from UX and UI Designers working on websites and apps to people designing consumer products. The design process is part of a broader approach called design thinking. This refers to expanding the principles of design to apply to all kinds of human experiences.
Human-Centered, Not Problem-Centered
An essential part of design thinking is the ability to empathize with the user. What are they feeling or thinking? It is important to identify the problem but also to keep an open mind. The approach is based upon observations of human behavior, of what people actually do, rather than simply asking them what they do.
The Power of Stories
Stories are a powerful way to teach lessons and they are an important part of design thinking, too. Stories involve empathy or an emotional connection to the situation. When you listen to users’ stories, you get a better idea of how the situation affects them on an emotional level and more of an idea of what to do about it. We relate to stories on a human level and that helps to see a problem from a new perspective.
A Fresh Perspective
One famous example of looking at a situation from a fresh perspective is the story of the truck that got stuck under a highway overpass. As the story goes, a father and his young son were in a traffic jam behind the truck. There were police cars and fire trucks, and even a crane trying to figure out how to move the truck, but it was stuck fast. The boy begged to get out and watch and his father agreed to take him since traffic wasn't going anywhere for a while.
As the boy looked at the situation, he got an idea. Let the air out of the tires. That would lower the height of the truck and allow it to drive through. The message was relayed to the emergency workers and it worked. The young boy didn’t have years of experience working with traffic congestion or moving vehicles from the scene of an accident. His was a fresh perspective.
Context is Important
Stories, empathy, and emotion are not the only influences on the problem. Context and culture are important, too. It is important to question assumptions when looking at possible solutions.
Another story tells of a motorcycle and moped manufacturing company that wanted to sell more machines in India. They thought that if they made the motors more powerful, rice farmers would buy them to transport their seed and harvest in a mountainous region and expand the company’s sales there. But after the more powerful motorcycles were produced, they sat on the dealers’ lots and no one bought them. It turned out that the rice farmers couldn’t use motorcycles and mopeds on the mountain roads because heavy rains made the roads impossible for such vehicles to get through. The only way they could get rice up and down the mountain was on the backs of donkeys.
Based on Observation
A common part of the design process is to conduct interviews and give surveys to users to try to find out what they think of a product or experience. Rather than asking for people’s opinions, design thinking is based on observations of their behavior. Designers use the results of these direct observations to further define the problem. This qualitative data helps designers in the brainstorming or ideation phase of the process. Brainstorming involves sharing ideas for possible solutions with a purposeful disregard for constraints. Keeping an open mind is important for design thinking.
Testing Is Key
After you have made and quantified your observations, it is time to create prototypes. The prototypes do not have to be perfect; as a matter of fact, it is better if they are not. Quick prototypes that fail can teach you more than meticulously created examples that take time and money to build. They just need to test your assumptions of how users will interact with the product and what their experience will be. This testing phase is often repeated numerous times to let the design team fine-tune their understanding of how the product or service needs to work.
Design Thinking in UX & UI Design
Design thinking can have a profound effect on UX & UI design. When you look at the user’s experience and interaction with an app or website from a human point of view, you begin to see different ways to tackle a problem. It is important to keep an open mind and not become fixated on a particular way of doing things.
Don Norman, who is generally considered the father of design, recommends treating a problem as a suggestion, rather than an obstruction. He points out that the design process is iterative and expansive, meaning that it is important to repeat the process and make changes based on what you learn.
Where Can You Learn About Design Thinking?
If you would like to learn more about how design thinking works, and possibly switch to a career in UX/UI design, 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 will cover motion graphics and animation in much more depth than tutorials can. Another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality sample video portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
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.