Design
THINKING
STUDIO
Today:
Taking disparate insights and developing them into a perspective
on a chosen topic
Tools:
How to test if you have an Insight
Meaning Making Frameworks
Example perspectives
Perspective phrasing
Storytelling
You might have an insight if . . .
you can phrase it in a way that shows that disruption:
Conventional wisdom says X, but really Y
[at least in this case, or for these people]
The status quo assumption is X, but really Y
[at least in this case, or for these people]
We thought it was about X, but really it's Y
[at least in this case, or for these people]
The act of reasoning
from evidence or factual knowledge
(“Why?”)
Observation + Inference = INSIGHT
An act or instance of noticing or perceiving
(“What?”)
From Bill Moggridge
Founder, IDEO
Director, Cooper-Hewitt Nat’l Design Museum
Meaning Making Frameworks
KOLKO:
Build a model of something, anything.
Looking at the data and talking about the data doesn't count. If it
isn't modeled, written, drawn, and otherwise solidified in an
artifact, it never happened.
Text
Saturate & Group
Current Majority
Immaculate
Organic Culture - Future Trend
Bottled
Water
Safeway
Apples
Bagged
Greens
Bagged
Greens
Dove Soap
Method
Text
Bernie’s Organic
Apples
Lettuce with
hail holes
“Apples
with issues”
2x2
Safeway
Apples
Spring
Water
Dove Soap
Method
Tap Water
Tap Water
Contaminated
(Unnatural)
(Unhealthy)
Bottled
Water
Vinegar
Organic
Greens
Organic
Greens
(Healthy)
(Natural)
Pure
Vinegar
Well Water
Well Water
Bernie’s Organic
Apples
Audry’s Organic
Oranges
Lettuce with
hail holes
Audry’s Organic
Oranges
Soil (organic)
Soil (organic)
“Apples
with issues”
Imperfect
FRAMEWORKS
selecting the frame is a process of trial and error
»help you see how disparate elements relate (synthesis!)
»lead to deeper conversations, new questions, and insights
»help you think about how people think
FRAMEWORK TIPS
»try a number of labels
»if something doesn’t fit, think about why
»if things are clustered try getting more specific
»the value of a framework is not just the completed plot
FRAMEWORKS
»2x2
»continuum
»amorphous venn
»spaceship
»the band
»downtown
»arrested development
»your choice
Meaning Making Frameworks
test it out
»choose the framework that resonates with you
»use post-its to try and try again
»if you can’t get it to work, try a different framework
Perspective Phrasing
A good perspective will:
»be fresh to your audience
»demonstrate a finding that rings true on an emotional level
»allow us to infer something about you, the designer
When phrasing a perspective, consider:
»naming the user group
»highlighting the revelation / disruption
»allowing us to infer something about you, the designer
Organic Farmers
OUR INSIGHT:
Imperfections and variations are visual indicators of purity
(as opposed to the classic perfection-purity construct)
OUR INSIGHT:
Imperfections and variations are visual indicators of purity
(as opposed to the classic perfection-purity construct)
OUR PERSPECTIVE:
For those closest to growing and loving food, imperfections and
variations are in fact visual indicators of purity.
»naming the user group
»highlighting the revelation / disruption
»allowing us to infer something about you, the designer
OUR PERSPECTIVE:
»For those closest to growing and loving food,
»imperfections and variations are in fact visual indicators of purity,
»which never occurred to me as someone who buys pristine organics
from Safeway grocery store
OUR INSIGHT:
At 100 hours spent learning a skill, a person will move from struggle
and investment to ease and payoff
OUR INSIGHT:
At 100 hours spent learning a skill, a person will move from struggle
and investment to ease and payoff
OUR PERSPECTIVE:
For those intimated by investing 10,000 hours to become an expert,
they would be surprised to know that after just 100 hours they will
begin to feel the payoff.
Patient Care Experience
THEIR INSIGHT:
Kids’ first reaction when they get hurt is fear of parents’ reactions.
THEIR INSIGHT:
Kids’ first reaction when they get hurt is fear of parents’ reactions.
THEIR PERSPECTIVE:
For injured kids, the fear of parents’ reactions far outweighs the pain
of an injury
Perspective Phrasing
test it out
»name the user group
»highlight the revelation / disruption
»allow us to infer something about you, the designer
nom
nom
nom
For Monday
1. sign up for a dress rehearsal slot
2. continue to refine your perspective
3. prototype the story of your project
4. create draft presentation
Presentations
3-4 minutes of content (more may not be better)
2-3 minutes of feedback
6 minutes per person
»be visual
»narrate
»focus on your perspective over your process