Design Thinking- Understand the problem, know the user.
If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes defining it and 5 minutes solving it. — Albert Einstein
One big misconception about design; Design is all about bringing colours, shapes and text to create something beautiful. If that were to be only what design is then the five design process isn’t relevant.
A very common answer you will get when you ask a newly born designer; why did you do this or what is this doing here? you are likely to hear; ‘I feel it is beautiful here…’ Even the fact that design is a process and a never-ending process of solving a problem is what most amateur designers don’t understand.
By Amateur designer; I mean newly born designers. Newly born in terms of knowledge (low information acquired)…
This is because most searches by this set of designers are; ‘how to do?’ and not ‘why’. So they happen to maybe know how to do a trick on a particular software but don’t know why or when to do these tricks.
Know the problem
Design is a process involved in solving a problem. As designers, our only aim is to solve a problem no matter the depth. In solving this problem, processes are to be followed in order to acquire adequate or working solutions.
In other posts, we will be discussing the processes involved in solving a problem.
Good buildings come from good people, and all problems are solved by good design. — Stephen Gardiner
The type of cloth you wear in the morning is a factor of where you’re going right?
You can’t solve a problem you don’t understand, you only create more problems
… Be curious… This doesn’t only apply to UX designers, it does apply to every wing of design; be it graphics or UI. There is no solution without a problem, so if you have a design that isn’t solving a problem; have a Rethink.
Most times you won’t give the right solution simply because you don’t understand what you are meant to do.
Do it right. Follow a Process.
Design’s always been this way…
Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. — Steve Jobs
One major misconception about design;
design what the client wants…
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford
Ford understood that horses were too slow, but that wasn’t the problem to be solved. There was a much deeper need that his customers couldn’t articulate because they couldn’t fathom the solution. Ford understood a problem and solved it by giving a useful solution.
I guess we all know a problem Henry Ford solved right? If not, see this…
The approach to how you solve a problem depends on how well you’ve understood it.
Your discipline determines the questions you will have to ask to understand these problems.
- Who is affected? Who is experiencing the problem and how specific can we describe them?
- What is the problem? What are the struggles and what ultimately needs to be accomplished? Are there pain points that need to be relieved?
- Where does it happen? What context does the user experience this problem?
- Why does it matter? Why is this a problem worth solving and what value does this bring to the user?
I know you might be thinking why waste time understanding a problem after all the skill you have acquired… but if your design doesn’t meet a need then what is the essence… Uhm? If my car moves as fast as I walk, then what is the essence of buying a car when I can walk?
A misconception;
I can download a style I like and follow it entirely… do you understand why the elements in that design are being used?
A good design is surrounded by reasons and the reasons are a result of good understanding… also, the depth of your understanding determines the quality of your design… so copying a design in details isn’t a good step because you’re solving an entirely different problem.
Never again: don’t approach a design without understanding the problem.
You might just replicate the problem in another form…
