What is Design Thinking?

6 Steps of the Design thinking process.

Design Thinking Definition 

Design thinking is a very popular term these days in the design world. It refers to an iterative method where designers challenge themselves to understand and interpret the user, combine different practices and theories and solve complex problems. 

Designers are always trying to create alternative practices and solutions for better knowledge of regular life such as thinking, working and several human behaviors that could be improved in the digital sphere of life.

Vizual 1.png

The biggest part of it is the awareness of users for whom we design products and services. Design thinking helps User experience designers to recognize and generate empathy with the user persona (target user) and to solve problems and questions the user may have or have assumptions of. The challenging task of UX designers here is to reshape current solutions into a human-centred ones. 

When we talk about the ways designers usually plan their ideas we talk about brainstorming sessions and concepts by using prototyping and testing as their methods. It includes experimentation, sketching, workshops, user interviewing… 

Design Thinking Process 

Design Thinking is a very much adaptable method for UI/UX designers to use within ideation, testing and user definition in their project process. 

Today we have numerous variants of usage for the design thinking process. Variants usually come with 3 to 7 phases of this thinking model. Most of the principles in the design thinking process are coming from the doctrines of Herbert Simon. 

The model that we will use today is a six-stage design thinking model made by the Hasso - Plattner Institute of Design. 

Vizual 2.png

Six steps of the Hasso - Plattner thinking model are: 

• Empathize 

• Define 

• Ideate 

• Prototype 

• Test 

• Implement 

1. Empathize 

The first stage of this method is to look at the problem from all corners, to create empathy with the problem itself. This stage includes engaging with users, interviewing and searching for their state of interest. Through empathy, we are able to put ourselves in other people's shoes and connect with how they might be feeling about their problem, circumstance, or situation.  

Empathy is essential in a human-centred design, enabling design thinkers to analyse and understand the user's needs. In this part, it is important for UX designers to accumulate sufficient information for the next stage. This discovery reveals the perfect opinion of the users, their requirements, and issues that will determine the project journey, goals and needs. 

2. Define 

When we are in the project Define stage we set all the information that is previously generated in the Empathize phase. UI/UX designer then creates experiences and stories that will be integrated in the perfect solution for the product needs. It is important that all issues were explained and recorded to collect further ideas in problem - solving part. 

Problem-solving part consists of documenting sets of features, functions and other factors that can solve problems for the user. It is also important that minimal complexity need to be included for the user in this process. 

Vizual 3.png

3. Ideate 

Ideate is the third stage of the process in this design thinking process that regularly consists of generating ideas for the problems that were previously defined. As every stage is connected in the process this stage needs to be synchronized with the requirements of Empathize stage of research. We need to conclude an explanation for the ideas that are human-oriented. 

All of this helps designers in their creative journey of idea discovery. Finding and analyzing unique solutions that can be well accepted by their user.  

There are several Ideation methods, such as Brainwrite, Brainstorm, Worst Possible Idea, and SCAMPER. Brainstorm & Worst Possible Idea concourses are used for exciting free-thinking to extend the problem space. 

It is important to generate multiple ideas or solutions for the problem in the first run. Ideation methods from above help to examine and analyze ideas.  

4. Prototype 

UX Designers share the low-fi or high-fi designs that can be formed into a story with functional modules that can be used in the testing stage of the process. The prototype can explain the best viable solution for all the problems detected in the first three stages. 

The prototype can create questions and answers for further investigation, users can interact with it and they can be accepted, updated, re-examined or rejected based on the user experience. It is important that the whole system is clear to interact with. 

5. Test 

Designers spend a lot of time testing the product itself for the best solutions to come through the prototyping phase. Testing can solve a lot of various problems that can generate results in the future.  

They are defined by the user’s knowledge, circumstances when and how it is used in real life, we can understand what the user thinks when is using the product and how he reacts. In this stage, we create clarifications, and modifications of the product and reject solutions that aren’t considered as good for the user. 

Again it is important that all of these six stages aren’t regularly following any specific order. They are all usually similar in their goal and that is creating a solution for our user to fulfil his needs and wants.  

The surprising thing about the six-stage design thinking process is that it includes both information, conclusion and the solution to redefine the problems for the product development. 

It helps designers to set up a constant mind to gain advanced insights. They generate modern ways of viewing uses of the product & set up a deep understanding of the users. 

6. Implement 

The most exciting and important part is the implementation of all steps above. In this stage, we clarify and ensure that solutions are strengthened and that they influence the lives of our users. Design Thinking isn’t the same as the actual design of the product. 

The progress of design thinking converts the view of the end user’s life. In this step, it is most important that all of the steps before are finished and clarified. 

Conclusion - Think Out Of The Box  

We refer to the thinking process as outside-the-box thinking. Designers are striving to advance ways of thinking through direct, simple problem-solving methods. 

Vizual 4.png

The plan is to enhance products by analyzing how users connect with products by reviewing the conditions. Thinking outside the box can save you and your team headaches of pursuing a perceived problem and ending up developing not inventive and inefficient solutions.  

The crucial factor of creative thinking is to delete our past assumptions to make it probable to prove whether they are valid and if we can create better solutions.