Design Thinking: Divergence and Convergence Cycles
In design thinking the number of possible ideas are created (‘divergent thinking’) before refining and narrowing down to the best idea (‘convergent thinking’), and this can be represented by a diamond shape — the Double Diamond is a simple visual map of the design process.
But the Double Diamond indicates that this happens twice — once to confirm the problem definition and once to create the solution. The creative process is iterative.
Divided into four distinct phases –
Discover — look in a fresh way, notice new things and gather insights.
Define –make sense of all the possibilities. Which matters most? Which should we act on first? What is feasible? The goal here is to develop a clear creative brief that frames the fundamental design challenge.
Develop –solutions or concepts are created, prototyped, tested and iterated. This process of trial and error helps designers to improve and refine their ideas.
Delivery — resulting project a is finalised, produced and launched.
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The Design Thinking Process
The Design Thinking process first defines the problem and then implements the solutions, always with the needs of the user. The desi
gn thinking process consists of these 5 steps:
EMPATHIZE: Work to fully understand the experience of the user for whom you are designing. Do this through observation, interaction, and immersing yourself in their experiences.
DEFINE: Process and synthesise the findings to form a user point of view that you will address with your design.
IDEATE: Explore a wide variety of possible solutions through generating a large quantity of diverse possible solutions, allowing you to step beyond the obvious and explore a range of ideas. creating
PROTOTYPE: Transform your ideas into a physical form so that you can experience and interact with them and, in the process, learn and develop more empathy.
TEST: Try out and use observations and feedback to refine prototypes, learn more about the user, and refine your original point of view.
