Introducing Design Thinking’s newest term: #PeakSquig

I know what you are thinking: another article about the design thinking process? What more can be said? Well this isn’t introducing anything new to the process, but rather a new way to define and explore a piece of the experience.

We all know our friend the Design Squiggle. There have been countless articles and even a video describing its purpose and meaning.

Here at BIF, and specifically the brain-child of Student Experience Lab Director Sam Seidel, we’d like to add something new to the mix: #PeakSquig.

#PeakSquig /pēk ˈskwiɡ/ noun
The period during the design thinking process in which:

1. everything you know or thought you knew gets challenged
2. you have exhausted brainstorming and the expansion of ideas; you can’t see a clear direction to a solution
3. there is both maximum possibility and boundless uncertainty

#PeakSquig typically occurs when you have zoomed out and explored many ideas related to your design challenge, and possibly (from what you can tell) ideas that are unrelated. Before you scale back, put constraints on your ideas, and get closer to clarity you have to navigate the messiness. #PeakSquig is a time where all involved realize there are more questions than answers and that there is not a clear path to solutions. Navigating through #PeakSquig is frustrating because it hinges upon processes and methods rather than strict formulas.

Participants in or experiencing #PeakSquig may be:

• exhibiting confusion
• looking around the room
• vocalizing misdirection or mistrust in facilitators
• shutting down
• visibly losing energy

This is a period where participants will be made aware of the gaps in their knowledge and realize that there is no easy way of filling them. Participants may want to hurt facilitators or each other, but there are ways to avoid a complete breakdown! Good facilitation through #PeakSquig is necessary to help usher everyone through the confusion.

As facilitators we need to:

• prepare participants for uncertainty
• provide assurance that the end result will be worth the work to get there
• invite questions and challenges to the methods and processes
• work side by side with participants through activities and conversations
• exude confidence in the participants, other facilitators, ourselves, and the process
• be transparent and honest about what you don’t know

If we get comfortable with discomfort and dive in, #PeakSquig is not intimidating at all! In fact, it can become energizing because everyone in the room is able to take true ownership of the process and its outcomes. Embrace #PeakSquig and share your experiences with us on twitter @BIFsxl!

Special thanks to BIF Experience Design Leader Kirtley Fisher and Experience Designers Taylor Halversen and Reid Henkel for talking with me about their experiences with #PeakSquig!