Design Models are utilised by the UX industry to effectively achieve a successful outcome for a project, utilising clear steps to achieve this goal. Different organisations utilise a variety of methodologies to implement these development steps which I explore below.
(above) Diagram displaying the Double Diamond Method
Launched in 2004, the Double Diamond has become world-renowned with millions of references to it on the web. As well as highlighting the design process, Design Council’s framework for innovation also includes the key principles and design methods that designers and non-designers need to take, and the ideal working culture needed, to achieve significant and long-lasting positive change. The first diamond (Discover) helps people understand, rather than simply assume, what the problem is. It involves speaking to and spending time with people who are affected by the issues. The insight gathered from the discovery phase can help you to (Define) the challenge in a different way. The second diamond encourages people to give different answers (Develop) to the clearly defined problem, seeking inspiration from elsewhere and co-designing with a range of different people. (Delivery) involves testing out different solutions at small-scale, rejecting those that will not work and improving the ones that will. This is not a linear process as the arrows on the diagram show. Many of the organisations we support learn something more about the underlying problems which can send them back to the beginning. Making and testing very early stage ideas can be part of discovery. And in an ever-changing and digital world, no idea is ever ‘finished’. We are constantly getting feedback on how products and services are working and iteratively improving them.
(above) Diagram displaying how Human Centred Design Methodology can be applied by designers
Human centred design is a practical, repeatable approach to arriving at innovative solutions. Think of these Methods as a step-by-step guide to unleashing your creativity, putting the people you serve at the centre of your design process to come up with new answers to difficult problems. This methodology is the backbone to all the work produced by global design giant IDEO, whom the concept is credited to. The company employs several different methods to achieve this process including group interviews, understanding body language and building diverse teams to enhance a projects inclusivity and empathy.
This method can be seen in action through projects completed by IDEO including Conversation Starters by Michaela D’Amico. In Uganda, URCSF is working to provide rural farmers with agricultural training. The challenge that followed is how to bring much needed resources to farmers to help them put trainings into action and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. D’Amico noted that interviewing the farmers themselves was integral to achieving a successful solution during the project: “thinking on the fly and being flexible with these Conversation Starter prompts allowed me to continue sparking new discussion with community members around what components of the loan were most important to them”.
(above) Diagram presents the process which creates the Design Thinking methodology
Design Thinking is a methodology which provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that can have anywhere from three to seven phases, depending on whom you talk to. We focus on the five-stage design thinking model proposed by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (the d.school) because they are world-renowned for the way they teach and apply design thinking. Design thinking is an iterative, non-linear process which focuses on a collaboration between designers and users. It brings innovative solutions to life based on how real users think, feel and behave. Empathy is the centrepiece of a human centred design process. The Empathise mode is the work you do to understand people, within the context of your design challenge. It is your effort to understand the way they do things and why, their physical and emotional needs, how they think about world, and what is meaningful to them.