Design Thinking 08 PDF

BASICS design 08 DESIGN TH!NKING  Contents Introduction 6 How to get the most out of this book 8 Frost Design NB Studio Studio Myerscough Stages of thinking 10 Res...

BASICS design 08 DESIGN TH!NKING  Contents Introduction 6 How to get the most out of this book 8 Frost Design NB Studio Studio Myerscough Stages of thinking 10 Research 34 Idea generation 48 The design process Identifying drivers 36 Basic design Stage 1 – Define 14 Information gathering 38 directions 50 Stage 2 – Research 18 Target groups 42 Themes of thinking 56 Stage 3 – Ideate 20 Samples and Inspiration and Stage 4 – Prototype 22 feedback 46 references 60 Stage 5 – Select 24 Brainstorming 66 Stage 6 – Implement 26 Value 70 Stage 7 – Learn 28 Inclusion 74 Example project 30 Sketching 76 Presenting ideas 80  45 Futro Studio Output Peter and Paul Refinement 82 Prototyping 134 Implementation 152 Thinking in images 84 Developing designs 136 Format 154 Thinking in signs 86 ‘Types’ of prototype 140 Materials 158 Appropriation 92 Vocabulary 144 Finishing 162 Humour 96 Media 166 Personification 98 Scale 168 Visual metaphors 100 Series/Continuity 172 Modification 102 Thinking in words 108 Words and language 110 Type ‘faces’ 118 Thinking in shapes 120 Thinking in proportions 124 Thinking in colour 130 Design Thinking Contents Glossary 176 Conclusion 188 Acknowledgements 190 Contacts 192 Working with ethics 193  Introduction ‘You cannot hold a design in your hand. It is not a thing. It is a process. A system. A way of thinking.’ Bob Gill, Graphic Design as a Second Language Design is an iterative process and design thinking is present in each stage of the journey from client brief to finished work. Different solutions can be produced for any given brief and these can differ widely in levels of creativity, practicality and budget. This book aims to present an overview of the design thinking involved at each stage of the design process: the methods used by designers to generate and refine creative ideas, the key considerations that help shape them and the feedback and review elements that allow design teams to learn from each job and contribute to future commissions. Through detailed studies of contemporary work and analysis of the basic theories, we examine how a designer can generate and resolve ideas to produce creative solutions that best meet the stated aims of a brief. Stages of thinking Refinement An overview of the different stages of the design This section looks at how a general design concept process and the key considerations of each stage can be refined. We will examine how images, words, to produce a successful design, with a focus on colour and substrates can be used to enhance the idea the design brief and project definition stage. and increase its effectiveness. Research Prototyping This section looks at the stage at which information is Design ideas need to be presented and articulated to collected to help generate design ideas. This includes test target group acceptance and receive client consumer profiles and target group definitions, approval. Here we see how models, dummies and quantitative and qualitative information and storyboards can be used to convey ideas so that they feedback from past projects. can be understood in this context. Idea generation Implementation Design ThinkingIntroduction Here we look at how designers use different methods This section looks at how ideas come to life through and sources of inspiration to generate creative production. Implementation must ensure that design solutions to the brief. These include sketching, details are put into effect and that the client is happy brainstorming and the different paradigms used with the final product. through design history.  How to get the most out of this book This book introduces different aspects of design thinking via dedicated chapters for each topic. Each chapter provides numerous examples from leading contemporary design studios, showing unique and creative design thinking and with a detailed analysis to explain the reasons behind the design choices made. Key design principles are isolated so that the reader can see how they are applied in practice. Clear navigation Introductions Each chapter has a clear strapline, Special section introductions which allows readers to quickly outline basic concepts that will locate areas of interest. be discussed. Samples and feedback 46 47 Samples and feedback Client: London College of Fashion Understanding the motivations, Design: Moving Brands Design thinking: Interactive behaviours and aspirations of a target presentation allows viewers to leave feedback group often involves detailed study of that group. A s it is not possible to quiz every member of the target population, a sample group is typically defined. Samples A sample group is typically a collection of five to ten people who share the characteristics of the target group and who can be used for one-to-one interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. The sample should be as representative as possible of the overall population under study and should be selected by first determining the most important attributes that define the group. These may include age, education level, ethnicity and socio-economic group. Feedback Design is an iterative process, during which internal and external feedback is sought and received at all stages. The main learning opportunity comes at the end of the process when feedback about the performance, acceptance and success of a design is sought and fed back into the design process. The aim of this is to maintain or improve performance or to better control the process. Cluster and vote, deciding which ideas to develop This is a method used to identify patterns in a problem area or in a series of ideas to help the design team select appropriate solutions. This system uses Design Thinking How to get the most out of this book agreed assessment criteria that can take into account the concerns of multiple London College of Fashion stakeholders. These criteria are brainstormed, refined, agreed and structured to The Looking Glass, London College of Fashion’s 2008 graduate exhibition, encourage participants to consider the perspectives of other stakeholders. showcased the work of 600 students to an industry audience looking for future stars. The ingenious design of the exhibition saw each student represented by a Design Thinking Samples and feedback Scoring methods postcard-sized tag which, when placed on a custom-built responsive table, All design ideas are to be scored against the individual selection criteria and would activate an interactive projection of the student’s work on the table then these will be totalled to produce a final score for each idea. surface. The table interface was designed so that the viewer could control whose Design Thinking Research digital portfolio of work was being shown via these tags. As such, through their choice of tags, the viewer provided explicit feedback about what they wanted to see. The dark monochrome palette and mirroring effects underlined the ‘looking glass’ theme that was intended to give a sense of transparency and intrigue. Examples Commercial projects from contemporary studios and designers bring to life the principles under discussion.  89 Basic design directions 50 51 Basic design directions Client: Ian Macleod Distillers Design: Navyblue Starting from a given point (often the Design thinking: A divergence from the typical tradition- design of e xisting or competing products, and heritage-based approach creates an exciting and unique brands or organisations), designers can alternative think in specific ‘directions’ in order to generate new ideas from e xisting d esigns. Divergence Divergence is the expansion or spreading out of something from a central point or theme. This can be clearly seen in fields as diverse as market segmentation and typography. Divergence occurs as both an instigator and a response to divergence in society at large as designers respond to changing demographics, and the increasingly diverse market segmentations of their clients. Convergence Convergence is the contraction of something towards a central, more generalised point. In design, although the overriding tendency is towards Diagrams divergence, convergence can still be found in areas such as generic branding. Brands nowadays often take products back to a more basic state or pre- branding time – when a tin of tomatoes was just a tin of tomatoes, for example. Diagrams add meaning to Transformation Transformation involves a substantial qualitative change, such as the redesign of a visual identity, or a repackage in order to facilitate a new distribution method. theory by showing the basic principles in action. Design ThinkingBasic design directions Design ThinkingIdeageneration Ian Macleod Distillers In its redesign of the packaging for Ian Macleod Distillers’ Smokehead Scotch whisky, Navyblue took a divergent approach. Using the traditional approach to branding for Divergence Convergence Transformation Scotch whisky as a starting point, Navyblue branched out to create an unusual and Moving away in different The coming together of two or A qualitative change in unique design. Thus, instead of taking a history- and tradition-based approach to the directions from a common point. more entities towards a central Also appearance or character. packaging, it produced a young and energetic image, focusing on the inherent called branching out. point or common ground. qualities and flavours found within the product. Thinking in images 84 85 Thinking in images Client: Trafalgar Hotel Design: Social Design Images have the ability to convey an idea Design thinking: Images representing aspects of hotel or a lot of information very quickly, which services are used as icons to create patterns is w h y images are such a prominent part of graphic design. A s we all know, a picture paints a thousand words, so it is worth spending adequate time on image selection and presentation. Images can be used to communicate in many different ways as they are very versatile and their reading can be conditioned by other factors at play during their presentation. Images can have different cultural and social interpretations and these can be shaped by the contexts within which they are used. The cultural groups they are directed towards, the inclusion or exclusion of particular signs and symbols shared by a cultural group, the use or absence of conditioning agents such as wit and humour and appropriation of historical meaning, are all factors that might influence the meaning drawn from an image. The way an image or design is rendered also has an impact; a black-and-white sketch conveys a different feel from a glossy print, for example. Design thinking How to get the most out of this book Trafalgar Hotel Design Thinking Refinement Pictured are print pieces created by Social for a rebrand of the Trafalgar Hotel in London. The designs feature patterns made up of icons that represent different aspects of the hotel’s service. For example, a glass pattern is used for the Receiving and interpreting images drinks menu and a balloon whisk for the food menu. Within the context of a retail What this means in practice is that one cannot just show a picture of a house. The designer must think about environment, the use of patterns softens the dining experience and creates a other design aspects that will condition how the viewer receives or interprets the image of the house. Does the point of interest. house represent an Englishman’s castle, a home, an architectural work, a source of joy or sorrow? Additional information Captions Clients, designers and the design Key points are explained thinking used are included here. within the context of an example project. Stages of thinking  10 11 Stages of thinking Design is a process that turns a brief or requirement into a finished product or design solution. The design process can be said to comprise seven stages: define, research, ideate, prototype, select, implement and learn. Each of these requires design thinking. This chapter will outline each of the seven stages and the design thinking aspects they entail, while subsequent chapters will look at specific stages of the process in more detail. The design process engages a high degree of creativity but in a way that is controlled and directed by the process so that it is channelled towards producing a viable, practical solution to the design problem, meeting or excelling the stated aims of the brief. While creativity in design is important, design is an activity that serves economic as well as creative goals. The design process helps ensure that a design satisfies all such considerations. The process seeks to generate a number of possible solutions and utilises various techniques or mechanisms that encourage participants to think outside the box in the pursuit of creative or innovative solutions.  The design process The design process Within the design process, seven steps can be identified: define, research, ideate, prototype, select, implement and learn. First, the design problem and the target audience needs to be defined. A precise understanding of the problem and its constraints allows more exact solutions to be developed. This stage determines what is necessary for the project to be successful. The research stage reviews information such as the history of the design problem, end-user research and opinion-led interviews, and identifies potential obstacles. Ideate is the stage where end-user motivations and needs are identified and ideas are generated to meet these, perhaps through brainstorming. Prototyping sees the resolve or working-up of these ideas, which are presented for user-group and stakeholder review, prior to being presented to the client. Selection sees the proposed solutions reviewed against the design brief objective. Some solutions might be practical but may not be the best ones. Implementation sees design development and its final delivery to the client. Learning helps designers improve their performance and, for this reason, designers should seek client and target audience feedback and determine if the solution met the goals of the brief. This may identify improvements that can be made in the future. While the design process is often linear, as shown below, it frequently involves revisiting earlier segments for reworking as it evolves. Design Thinking Stages of thinking The seven stages of design Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  Stage 1 – Define Stage 1 –Define Establishing what the problem is. This is the first stage in any design process and almost always involves generating or receiving a design brief. The brief A design brief presents the client’s requirements for a job. These may be verbal or written, simple or complex. A brief contains a specific goal that is to be met by the design but it may also be couched in terms that have varying interpretations. A brief may be as basic as ‘we need a brochure that makes us appeal to 20–30-year-olds’ or ‘we need a brochure that makes us appear cool and stylish’. As a working relationship develops between a designer and a client over several jobs, a greater understanding of what key terms mean is obtained. A designer needs to interpret the brief and define what words such as ‘stylish’ and ‘cool’ mean. This ensures that both parties have shared expectations. This may involve questioning the validity of the brief’s elements. For example, a brochure might not be the best way to reach out and appeal to 20–30-year-olds, and perhaps an online campaign would be more effective? Writing and re-writing a brief Clients have varying experiences of design services. For this reason, the quality of the briefs that they provide will also vary. A brief needs to include anything that will allow the design team to initiate the design process. However, if it is not robust enough, it may need to be rewritten and reworked with the client. Checklist: Do you understand what the client is asking for? Does the client understand what they are asking for? Do you agree on the definition of terms? Does the brief have any flaws? Can you manage client expectations? Design Thinking Stages of thinking The first stage is to define the problem accurately Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  14 15 Emótica This design brief was given to design studio Emotica by Continental Gold, a Colombian gold exploration company. Emotica was asked to produce a new visual identity for use on all the client’s external communications. Aim: To p r o du c e a n e w corporate identity that reflects the exciting potential of this junior Who: the activity the client and m i n i n g exploration c om pan y. target audience is active in. To create a n identity that resonates with potential investors a s the c o m p a n y pr epares Why: to create a coherent to raise its profile a h e a d of a n IPO. visual identity/advance aims. To differentiate the c o m p a n y from other m i n i ng companies, other g o ld companies, a n d other co m pan i e s o n the stock market in general. What: a corporate visual identity to attract investors. Usage: The identity will b e us ed o n all external corporate comm unicatio ns including website, printed materials, business ca r ds a n d presentations. Where: on all print G e o g r a p h i c a l locations: The target a u di e nc e and web-based external mainly reside in North Ame ri ca a n d Europe. communications. Target a u d i e n c e : Shareholders, b a n k analysts, m e d i a a n d other interested parties. Who: to attract new and Identity keys that relate to the na ture of the existing business interest. company: Nouns: Colo mbia, gold, mining, exploration, Antioquia, history Descriptors or keys: Adjectives: unique, new, exciting potential, nouns, verbs and attributes impressive, experienced that can be used to Colours: gold, bright forest green, create the unique selling (C olom bian flag colours: red, blue, yellow) proposition the design presents. Design Thinking Stage 1 – Define Resulting identity: the words ‘gold’ and ‘Colombia’ are picked out to highlight the USP of its business: gold in Colombia. The dark green achieves high contrast and reflects Colombia’s climate.  Stage 1 – Define Objectives Objectives are simply what the client hopes to achieve through commissioning a design job, and it is important that these are fully understood and ‘mapped’ to your design thinking. Objectives need to be specified so that the design team knows what it has to achieve. Asking the client simple questions gets to the heart of the matter and focuses on what the client expects, what the project boundaries are and what deliverables are required. ‘The Five Ws’ (borrowed from news writing), refers to five words beginning with ‘w’, which, when asked, elicit factual answers that are necessary to adequately define a design job. They are: who, what, when, where and why (‘how’ is often tacked on to the end too). Asking questions such as these provides detail that the design team can use throughout the design process and identifies key restraints that they have to work to. 1 Who is the client a n d t arg e t audience? (size, n at u r e , characteristics) 2 What design solution is the client t h i n k i n g of? (print, web, video) 3 When will the design be needed a n d for how long? (project timescales) 4 Where will the des ign be used? (media, location, country) 5 Why does the client t h i n k a design solution is required? Design Thinking Stages of thinking + How will the solution be implemented? (budget, distribution, campaign)  16 17 The proposition Definition of the design brief and its objectives should enable the design team to establish the general proposition of a design. The proposition can be used to describe the general ideas and values that a design intends to present to, and be internalised by, the target audience. Once the proposition has been determined it can be more precisely defined and articulated to the audience. For example, an electrical manufacturer produces electrical goods, but so do many other companies. This particular manufacturer’s values include being reliable and giving quality service. Again, this is not unique. The proposition needs to go beyond simply ‘what’ someone does. By spending time thinking about the proposition of a design, subsequent design thinking time will be focused and meaningful. Proposition Product Values Design Thinking Stage 1 – Define The USP, or point of difference Having a clear understanding of the product, values and the proposition will inform your thinking at each stage of the thinking process, and aligning these three facets will ensure a targeted delivery of an idea.  Stage 2 – Research Stage 2 –Research Collecting background information. Once the brief has been defined and agreed, a designer starts to search for information that can be fed into the creative process at the ideate stage. This research can be either quantitative, with hard statistical numbers about the size and composition of target user groups, or qualitative, with information about what that user group buys or consumes and what their lifestyle is like. It may be pertinent to build a mental model of a typical user in order to enable the design team to obtain a good feel for what would appeal to them. This includes factors such as education, career, holiday destinations, musical tastes, aspirations and so on. Primary research A primary source of research is the feedback generated during the learning phase of projects previously undertaken with the same or similar clients. Such feedback provides a starting point with regard to what worked and what did not work with a specific target group. Secondary research Secondary research is the information obtained from general secondary sources such as consumer market research reports. These provide the demographic breakdown and historic performance of given markets and market segments, and provide a clear view of how a market is structured. Checklist Do you have feedback from previous projects? Do you have a statistical composition of the user group? Do you understand the target market? What is the education level of the user group? What is the typical lifestyle of the user group? What are the aspirations of the user group? Design Thinking Stages of thinking The second stage sees a period of research Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  18 19 Design Thinking Stage 2 – Research Ideas boards These ideas boards were compiled by design studio The Team, for four different projects. Competitor information and references from other sectors and markets are collated, together with material from reference books and magazines, to give a broad background of the projects’ ‘topographies’ or landscapes. All of this information will be fed back into the design process at the ideate stage.  Stage 3 – Ideate Stage 3 –Ideate Creating potential solutions. During the ideate stage, the design team draws on the research gathered and the constraints established during the define stage. This information is used to create ideas with which to tackle the design brief. Designers use different methods to ideate, some of which will be discussed in more detail in chapter 3, ‘Idea generation’. Ideation methods include brainstorming, sketching ideas, adapting a tried-and-tested design that already exists, taking a top-down analytical approach that focuses on the product, service or company or a bottom-up approach that focuses on the customer or user (both are further explained on page 56). Each method involves a varying degree of creativity and choosing which method to use will depend on factors such as how much money is available and how original the design needs to be. At this stage, a design team might also choose to harness one of the multitude of art and design movements or paradigms. A design brief can be given a modernist, abstract, constructivist or a deconstructivist interpretation, for example. As the ideate stage progresses, it will become clear whether there are any misunderstandings or shortcomings in the definition stage and whether sufficient levels of research were carried out. Feedback can be sought throughout the design process to clarify points of doubt with the client and to address aspects that were ill-defined during the definition stage. Checklist: Do you understand the brief? Do you have sufficient research information? Which methods will be used for idea generation? Design Thinking Stages of thinking During the ideate stage, design ideas are developed Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  Stage 4 – Prototype Stage 4 – Prototype Resolving solutions. The ideate stage generates a variety of potential solutions to the design brief. Prior to selection, it may be necessary to further work up the most promising of these solutions. This will allow particular aspects to be tested and will provide a better basis for comparison at the selection stage. In such cases a prototype can be created. A prototype can be used to test the technical feasibility of a design idea to see if it works as a physical object. Novel packaging or presentation ideas normally require the development of a prototype. A prototype can also test the visual aspects of the design by presenting them as they would be produced. This also provides the opportunity to test, where pertinent, a design in three dimensions. A prototype gives the design team and client the ability to visualise and handle a design concept, to get an idea of its physical presence and tactile qualities. As a prototype aims to test particular aspects of a design solution, it must be made so that those aspects are present and can be effectively evaluated. To convey the idea of what it will look like, a prototype does not need to be made with the final materials. For example, architectural models are often made from whiteboard and aim to give a three-dimensional visualisation of a building design. However, if a particular print finish is stipulated, it may be pertinent to present this via a prototype. Checklist: Do all potential solutions require prototyping? What elements will the prototype test? What functionality will the prototype have? Design Thinking Stages of thinking Prototyping designs adds detail and resolution, and allows for testing Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  Stage 5 – Select Stage 5 –Select Making choices. The select stage is the point at which one of the proposed design solutions is chosen for development. The key decision criterion is fitness for purpose: does the design meet the needs and goals of the brief, and will it effectively communicate to the target audience to achieve those aims? The winning design is typically that which most closely meets the design brief, or a significant part of it. It may not be possible or desirable to meet all the requirements of a brief within a single design. For example, market segmentation increasingly calls for different marketing and design solutions for different segments. Other factors, such as cost and time, are relevant in the selection process, but these may change as the process develops. The budget available may not provide for the preferred solution and so a more humble option may be selected. However, budget and time constraints should be identified during the definition stage and must be considered throughout the design process. A studio may advance what it thinks are the best design solutions to the client, and while its opinion and advice are important, the client knows its business, market and clients best and will make the final choice. This could well be different to the designer’s preferred choice. At the end of the selection process, the client will sign off the choice, thus initiating the next stage in the design process. Checklist: Does the design meet the defined needs of the brief? Does the design resonate with the target audience? Can the design be produced on time and on budget? Are there other factors to take into account? Has the client signed off the design? Design Thinking Stages of thinking The select stage allows only possible designs to be fully developed Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  Stage 6 – Implement Stage 6 –Implement Delivering the solution to the design brief. During this stage, the designer passes the design artwork and format specifications to those who will be supplying the final product. This might be a printer, web builder or fabricator. This moment provides a good opportunity to confirm the production specifications such as print quantity and what you expect to receive. For example, a printer is usually given some leeway to account for set-up in the different steps of the the print process. This means an order for 100 flyers may not result in the receipt of 100. It may be more or may be less. By double-checking, everyone is clear about the level of expectation, and what the client expectations are. The design team typically provides project management during this stage, in order to ensure that the end results meet design expectations, and to keep the project on budget and on time. Proofing may be necessary during implementation if a print job is involved. This will ensure that what is printed is an accurate reflection of the artwork supplied. For websites and other electronic media, proofing means testing functionality as well as the visual appearance. This stage ends with the final delivery to the client of the finished job. Checklist: Has the client signed off the designs? Have printers or other production professionals been booked? Has the artwork been delivered to production professionals? Has the job been proofed against the design? Has the finished job been delivered? Design Thinking Stages of thinking The implement stage of the design process sees the design put into production Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  Stage 7 – Learn Stage 7 –Learn Obtaining feedback. The final stage in the process involves learning from what has happened throughout the design process. This is a feedback stage during which the client and design agency might seek to identify what worked well and where there is room for improvement. Following the implementation, the client may begin to look for or receive feedback on how the product has been received by the target audience and how beneficial its effects on the target audience have been. Thus, a design firm can find out how the audience responded to the design. The feedback generated at the end of the process becomes a learning opportunity for future projects. It forms one of the sources of information for the define and research stages. Any problems with the design may have been because of inadequacies in the brief or lack of understanding of key points. Through the feedback process, designers and clients build up a shared understanding over time. This serves to facilitate the production of increasingly optimal solutions in the future. Although the learn stage appears to be the last of the seven that we’ve identified, it actually occurs throughout the design process. At each stage you should take stock of where you are, where you are heading, what’s working and what’s not. The ability to learn from each stage will enhance the development of design thinking, and will help to generate radical and successful designs. Checklist: Has dialogue with the client about the success of implementation taken place? How successful was the implementation? What feedback has the client received or commissioned? What aspects can be improved? Design Thinking Stages of thinking The learn stage is a valuable chance to refine and learn from the design thinking process Define Research Ideate Prototype Select Implement Learn Brief Background Solutions Resolve Rationale Delivery Feedback  Example project These pages show the various different stages of the design process within the context of an actual design job. The sequence shows the design thinking at each step of the process. Stage 1 – Define Sovereign is the parent organisation to a number of housing associations in England and as such, over time, has acquired a number of identities and brands. Design studio The Team was tasked with creating a new visual identity to bring all the different aspects of Sovereign’s business under one overall umbrella design. The Team’s brief was to create a strong brand identity using the Sovereign name. This would then need to be paired with a description to clearly identify the sub-brand, and would require a unique idea at its core in order to help the associations stand out from their competitors. Stage 2 – Research The Team undertook research to find out what made Sovereign different from other housing associations. This research included interviews and workshops with the client and consultation with the regional associations it had acquired in order to get a feel for the values and vision they had for the brand. An audit of competitors was undertaken to better understand the visual world that housing associations work in. The research showed that many felt that Sovereign’s ability to balance the needs of current customers, while planning and developing for future customers, was its strongest asset. A web-based search for imagery and icons to represent the concepts of continuity and growth was also carried out to help generate ideas for the visual stimulus for the identity. Research included a web-based search for images using a circle or loop, representing continuity and growth. This would form the central part of the visual identity. Design Thinking Stages of thinking  30 31 The design team made a series of initial sketches (above) exploring and developing ideas for a symbol. Different symbol ideas were worked up and given different treatments to develop and test them (right). Stage 3 – Ideate The initial ideas of the design team had the central concept of planning for today as well as tomorrow. The team wanted to create a shape or expression that could be used for the group logo as well as all its sub-brands. Initial sketches looked to create an abstract shape to represent the core idea of continuity and growth, which could be used to create larger graphics or expressions across printed materials to support the logo and brand concept. The initial ideas that went forward all carried a strong sense of this and appeared intricate and made up of many parts or sides. This helped reflect the different elements and areas of the client’s business. Design Thinking Exampleproject  Example project Stage 4 – Select Three different design ideas were advanced to the select stage. The first was a Möbius strip idea, rendered in a 3D form to give a dynamic, sculptural and organic feel. There are many possible permutations for this logo shape, but the more angular shape used adds a feeling of energy and movement. The second route evolved from a two-sided yin-yang balance into a constantly moving and intertwined form. The third unites two interdependent shapes with a feeling of continuity and strength. These ideas were presented to the client on boards to facilitate discussion of each option. Presentations of the three design ideas for selection. Stage 5 – Prototype The chosen design was refined using different treatments. The symbol is derived from a Möbius strip (a surface with only one side and only one boundary component), a never-ending shape that flows back into itself as its contours are followed by the eye. This reflects the relationship between addressing the changing needs of current customers while planning and developing to satisfy those of tomorrow. The sculptural and contoured form gives a feeling of strength and stability while the fluid triangular shape and dynamic, translucent shading Design Thinking Stages of thinking captures an energetic and forward-looking spirit that is reinforced by the orange colour. The symbol is complemented by an uncomplicated yet powerful logotype that provides a strong and balanced relationship between the two elements. Lowercase lettering creates a professional, streamlined appearance.  32 33 Different forms of the resolved logo. Stage 6 – Implement The final design was rolled out across Sovereign’s brands and sub-brands. This included all printed materials, such as stationery, ID cards, report covers, brochures and newsletters, as well as signage for vehicle livery and clothing. The logo also featured on signage around its corporate and local offices, as well as on building sites where Sovereign works to develop land and build new homes. The final design was rolled out across Sovereign’s brands and sub-brands. Design Thinking Exampleproject Stage 7 – Learn Learning occurred throughout the design process. The select process gave the design team a clear idea of what solutions resonated with the client, while client feedback following implementation would indicate which aspects were well received by its customers and which were not. Research Client: BOAI Design: unthink Design thinking: Product usage identified and incorporated in design  34 35 Research Once a brief has been defined and agreed the research stage can begin. The research stage is when the design team investigates the subject matter of the brief in order to accumulate relevant information that will be used to inform design decisions. Various data gathering methods exist to generate quantitative and qualitative information. This information will, in turn, provide different ways of identifying, determining and dissecting the attitudes and behaviours of the target audience. It will also help to provide an understanding of the design approach taken by competing products, brands and organisations. Research into the target group is necessary in order for the design to contain the information hooks or drivers required for effective communication with that group. It also enables the design to avoid containing information hooks or drivers that might alienate or disenfranchise the target group. Obtaining a clear understanding of the target audience feeds information into the ideate stage. This is then used to generate ideas for a design solution. This section outlines some of the research techniques that design teams use to obtain a better understanding of the business of the client and the composition of the target group.  Identifying drivers Identifying drivers The research stage aims to identify the drivers that stimulate the target group to act on a design and the barriers that could impede the success of a design. Drivers Drivers are the knowledge and conditions that initiate and support activities for which the design was created. Knowledge and conditions can include such terms of reference as market forces, fashions and musical trends of the day. By identifying these drivers, the design team will have an appreciation of the stimuli that people are receptive to. For example, market forces in the newspaper sector are moving towards online publication and away from print publication. Someone intending to launch a new communication product would need to be aware of such a driver. Barriers Barriers need to be identified during the research stage in order to prevent work from being undertaken in a direction that has little chance of being implemented for technical, legal or market reasons. Barriers can be rules and laws about what product packaging can and cannot show, for example. Technical barriers might include systems of standards that exist in different countries. The size of envelopes that postal companies prefer to use, for example, might affect the format of mass mailers. Market barriers include the purchasing and distribution power of key competitors, is something that might restrict access to outlets. Drivers can also act as barriers. By not following the driver, for example, the designer could be creating an obstacle that reduces the chance of success for a design. For example, launching a new newspaper at a time when consumers are moving to online content sources appears to be counter-intuitive. Stimulation The action of agents (stimuli) on our physical or emotional condition. The presence of stimuli produces a response; for example, participation in adventure sports may produce the response of a feeling of exhilaration or elation.  Information gathering Information gathering When conducting research, information can be classified into two categories: quantitative and qualitative. These help define the size of a target market and its characteristics. Quantitative Quantitative information is numerical or statistical information that enables a design team to put physical dimensions to a target market. Total market sales value, annual sales volume and the number of consumers in the 25–30-year-old age group are all examples of quantitative information. Qualitative Qualitative information allows the design team to understand why things are as they are; the reasons that people respond to certain stimuli or not. Qualitative information is typically obtained via face-to-face interviews where participants talk about their experience and preferences for a given topic. This is usually undertaken via a group discussion or focus group, or an in-depth interview with carefully selected individuals. Types of survey Qualitative and quantitative information can be obtained from reference libraries, but if the information required is not available, different surveys can be commissioned to obtain it. These might include: Statistical surveys – these collect quantitative information from numerical data Sampling – this collects information from a population sample in order to represent the whole Opinion polls – these assess public opinion using sampling Quantitative market research – this collects data for marketing purposes Paid statistical surveys – these reward participants for providing information about consumption habits Questionnaires – these contain a set of questions Design Thinking Research Omnibus surveys – these ask questions in a regular shared monthly survey  Information gathering Diagram techniques Diagrams can provide an excellent means of organising the relationships between different pieces of information and ideas. By creating diagrams, a design team can quickly obtain an understanding of how a target group is structured and what some of the key relationships within that group may be. Diagrams also provide a means to help communicate the results of the research stage. They might be used, for example, to present the design team’s understanding of the composition of the market to the client. Various diagrammatic methods can be used to express the different kinds of relationships that will inform the ideate stage. These include sample scatter plots (opposite above) and Venn diagrams (opposite below). Venn diagrams are a common diagrammatic technique for presenting information about a group. Venn diagrams were created by John Venn in 1880 to show the logical relations between a defined group of sets. The entire population of each set is represented by a circle and the relationship between sets, and the populations they contain, is shown by how the circles interact or overlap with each other. These interactions show all the possible logical relations between the sets and allow the viewer to visualise the relationships between them. For example, the entire population of men is a subset of the entire population of humans. Pictured here are basic two-set Venn diagrams, showing various relationships between two finite groups. Using diagrams Diagrams are used to show the results of quantitative or qualitative information in a readily accessible, visual way to aid comprehension and understanding. A range of different diagrams with increasing levels of complexity have been developed to be able to present detailed information in such a way that key trends or elements of interest can be identified. The diagrammatic methods used need to be appropriate for the data set under investigation and several methods that present other related data are often used in order to construct a model of the subject being analysed.  40 41 Product A Cost Product C Product B Performance A sample scatter plot Any two or more criteria can be plotted on a scatter plot. This can help the reader to draw meaning from the relationship between the variables. Within design these can be used to articulate to a client where you perceive their product or service to be in relation to others. Venn diagrams Design Thinking Information gathering Inclusion Union Intersection The large circle could be A union is everything in both The large circle could ‘humans’ and the small circle circles. For example, the be ‘women’ and the small circle ‘women’. Thus ‘women’ is a population could be sexes that ‘people who play football’. The subset of ‘human’. watch TV, with the larger circle shaded area where the two being ‘men’ and the smaller circles overlap represents circle being ‘women’. ‘women who play football’.  Target groups Target groups The research stage identifies and provides rudimentary classification to the different groups of consumers or users in a sector and their characteristics. Once target groups have been identified, they can be further researched to acquire a greater level of detail about their composition and habits, providing both qualitative and quantitative information. For example, the sex, education and income level profile (quantitative information) and the motivations, likes, dislikes and aspirations (qualitative information) of the groups. This may involve putting oneself in scenarios typical of that group and recording thoughts and observations. Other effects can also be used to simulate the experiences of younger or older users or users with disabilities. Detailed research allows the design team to construct a target user profile and create a fictional ‘typical user’ to add colour to the profile. This provides a basis for creating design solutions at the ideate stage. Checklist: What are the sex, age and socio-economic demographics for the group? What education and income level do they have? What are the lifestyle aspirations of the group? What media do they buy/consume? Where do they shop, eat out and take holidays? Royal Mail (facing page) Pictured is a presentation pack for an issue of stamps celebrating British cinema. Due to recent closures of many Post Offices in the UK, the new packaging was designed to help expand the market for commemorative stamps. The pack Design Thinking Research redesign separates the stamps from the pack, thus facilitating their sale in supermarkets and other retail outlets (such collections would traditionally only have been available at Post Office branches). The stamps feature original poster artwork from films such as the Carry On and Hammer House of Horror series. These required text to be redrawn at small scale as simply reducing a large poster to stamp size would result in the text filling in.  Target groups Character profiles A character profile is a tool developed during the research stage, containing written and graphic information about a particular group of people. It is used in the design process to stimulate idea formation and help with decision making. A character profile is built by looking for key words and characteristics that define the target group. These can then be augmented with visual clues such as magazine cuttings and may be used to construct an image of the life led by a fictional representative character of the group. This might include the cars they drive, where they take holidays, the technology they use, their aspirations and any peculiarities. This is a mental model construction, put together through research of the group’s habits and buying patterns, brainstorming and other processes to identify and define the key characteristics of the group. Remembering that it is dangerous to make assumptions, character profiles should also be made for the outliers of the group; the more extreme people that may not exhibit typical behaviour, yet share many of the same qualities. By keeping these storyboards in view while working, a designer has a continual point of reference and the ability to repeatedly ask, ‘What would x think of this?’ at decision points. Secondary research Secondary research sees the collection and use of existing published information about customers, competitors and relevant trends of interest such as social and economic trends. Secondary research can be used to feed general information about the target group, the market and underlying trends into the design process. Resources Various secondary data resources are available at public reference libraries and online. These may allow you to automatically repeat a search every day or to subscribe to web feeds. Secondary data sources include newspapers and trade periodicals, blogs, conference papers, market research reports, trade association and official statistics, commercial business reports (KeyNote, Euromonitor, Mintel, Datamonitor and EIU), university research papers and think tanks. Checklist: Do we have information at hand to build a character profile? What key information do we lack? Do surveys and opinion polls exist that can fill these gaps?  Samples and feedback Samples and feedback Understanding the motivations, behaviours and aspirations of a target group often involves detailed study of that group. As it is not possible to quiz every member of the target population, a sample group is typically defined. Samples A sample group is typically a collection of five to ten people who share the characteristics of the target group and who can be used for one-to-one interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. The sample should be as representative as possible of the overall population under study and should be selected by first determining the most important attributes that define the group. These may include age, education level, ethnicity and socio-economic group. Feedback Design is an iterative process, during which internal and external feedback is sought and received at all stages. The main learning opportunity comes at the end of the process when feedback about the performance, acceptance and success of a design is sought and fed back into the design process. The aim of this is to maintain or improve performance or to better control the process. Cluster and vote, deciding which ideas to develop This is a method used to identify patterns in a problem area or in a series of ideas to help the design team select appropriate solutions. This system uses agreed assessment criteria that can take into account the concerns of multiple stakeholders. These criteria are brainstormed, refined, agreed and structured to encourage participants to consider the perspectives of other stakeholders. Scoring methods All design ideas are to be scored against the individual selection criteria and then these will be totalled to produce a final score for each idea. Design Thinking Research  48 49 Idea generation Once a design brief has been defined and researched, the idea generation or ideate stage sees concepts created that may solve the design problem. This is the part of the design process where creativity is unleashed. Ideation seeks to generate concepts that will be worked up and resolved in subsequent process stages, and therefore concerns ideas rather than the vocabulary of the design. Creativity conveys a sense of pure inventiveness and knowing no bounds, yet graphic design requires applied creativity directed towards a specific end. This is informed or controlled by the requirements of the design brief and the qualitative and quantitative information produced during the research stage. Despite channelling the creative effort in this way, the scope for inventiveness and novelty is not diminished. Design ideas can be generated using various methods and reference points that allow creativity to flourish and produce results in a consistent way as part of an economic activity. This chapter will introduce some of the methods and techniques that designers use to generate design ideas. Tourism NT (facing page) This microsite was created to help promote tourism to Australia’s Northern Territory. Inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s film, Australia, set in the Northern Territory, the design solution features a cinema advert (top), other cinema collateral and an interactive microsite to promote destinations within the territory using the themes of the movie (middle). Site visitors enter their name (bottom) and then a one-minute movie is shown starring the various Northern Territory destinations. Promoting the destination in this way provided the client with an opportunity to reach a broader audience.  Basic design directions Basic design directions Starting from a given point (often the design of existing or competing products, brands or organisations), designers can think in specific ‘directions’ in order to generate new ideas from existing designs. Divergence Divergence is the expansion or spreading out of something from a central point or theme. This can be clearly seen in fields as diverse as market segmentation and typography. Divergence occurs as both an instigator and a response to divergence in society at large as designers respond to changing demographics, and the increasingly diverse market segmentations of their clients. Convergence Convergence is the contraction of something towards a central, more generalised point. In design, although the overriding tendency is towards divergence, convergence can still be found in areas such as generic branding. Brands nowadays often take products back to a more basic state or pre- branding time – when a tin of tomatoes was just a tin of tomatoes, for example. Transformation Transformation involves a substantial qualitative change, such as the redesign of a visual identity, or a repackage in order to facilitate a new distribution method. Design Thinking Idea generation Divergence Convergence Transformation Moving away in different The coming together of two or A qualitative change in directions from a common point. more entities towards a central appearance or character. Also called branching out. point or common ground.  Basic design directions Once the overall design direction has been chosen, the design team needs to think about how this will relate to the design direction of competing products, brands and organisations. Will the design solution be different or similar, will it stand out or blend in with competitors? Point of difference or unique selling point (USP) The point of difference or unique selling point (USP) is the combination of values and attributes that differentiates a company or product from all other similar companies or products. As such, it is a form of divergence as it involves moving away from the designs used by similar companies or brands. Clustering Clustering can be found in any town. For example, the presence of many restaurants in one area draws people to that area to eat, although they may not know which restaurant they’ll be eating at until they get there. Designs can be created to blend in (converge) with the visual image presented by others in the peer group or can be created to stand out (diverge) from them. Inclusive design Inclusive design aims to increase social equality and ensure that products, services and environments are accessible to all people. Given the estimations of some research that by 2020 half the UK adult population will be aged over 50, while 20 per cent of Americans and 25 per cent of Japanese will be over 65, this is becoming an increasingly important factor for consideration. MTV (facing page) Pictured here are two MySpace web pages created for MTV. Both feature transformation in content delivery and content presentation. The page on the left is taken from the new MTV UK MySpace site, developed so that the MySpace Chart Application could be shared over the MySpace network while allowing