Summary
Early in projects, big or small, resist the urge to go with your first idea, and instead work to explore all kinds of possible solutions. This will allow you to better understand the problem you’re trying to solve, and help you avoid potential pitfalls later in the design process. In this session we’ll explore commonly used design thinking techniques to help you push past the obvious ideas, generate many ideas, and find the right solution.
Key Insights
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Clear problem definition is essential for effective ideation.
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Using 'how might we' statements can guide teams in framing problems constructively.
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Avoid solutioning too early in the design process to allow for exploration.
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Collaboration and communication within teams enhance the ideation process.
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Employing diverse prompts can lead to innovative solutions.
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Designing for edge cases can lead to more accessible and user-friendly products.
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Creating a visual collage can facilitate idea generation.
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Iterating on existing solutions can inspire new designs without starting from scratch.
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Maintaining anonymity in idea sharing can reduce bias and encourage openness.
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Flexibility in ideation methods fosters creativity and can lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
Notable Quotes
"A great design solution for a poorly defined problem is infinitely worse than an average solution applied to a well-defined problem."
"If you have really good ideation techniques built into your design process, you can save a lot of time later on and a lot of headaches."
"Don't get stuck in the refinement stage too early."
"When you explore lots of different ideas, you're going to understand the context better."
"It's really important to create educational content for an audience like yours."
"Starting with an edge case can lead to mainstream innovation."
"Throw away the rule book—just try to get as many ideas as you can out as fast as possible."
"Don't limit yourself to creating everything yourself—take screenshots, combine them, and really explain what you're going for visually."
"If you can get all of the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry."
"Designing for an edge case can benefit everyone."
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