Tasarım Odaklı Düşünme ile Çözümü Merkeze Almak

Design Thinking: Putting the Solution at the Center

“Design Thinking” is a proven approach for designers today. Regardless of the field, design is created for the user or audience of that product or design. To achieve this goal, the more the user is involved in the design process, the more successful the outcome will be. This concept began to gradually gain prominence in the 1950s.

Introduction

There is a concept that has evolved since the 1950s and is now more widely recognized: Design Thinking. Also known as Design-Focused Thinking, it holds meaning for many different professions. Of course, at the forefront of these professions are engineering, management systems, product design, and visual design. However, in this article, we will mainly take a look at design thinking through the lens of visual and graphic design.

What is Design Thinking?

Many people interested in design, product development, and graphic or visual actions, whether amateur or professional, have heard of the concept of design thinking. Among these concepts, there is a system with its unique principles that can truly bring a product to life. In other words, design thinking is a guide on the path to the thought system for designers. It is also a methodology within the design process. Throughout the process, all methods are tested, discussed, and the best, most flawless design is achieved. Naturally, the main element in this system is the user. In design thinking, the focus is always on the user and their ideas. The principles of design thinking are derived from these ideas.

Benefits of Design Thinking

The benefits of design thinking are, of course, a topic of interest. What matters is applying the system’s principles with the right steps. Then, all the benefits will be reflected in the designer’s product. With the design thinking system, a designer’s normal thought process meets the design process. This is because, at stages like empathy, idea generation, and prototyping, the designer can create the best possible product for the user. The closer the designer can get mentally to the product and its user, the more perfection is achieved. This is the greatest benefit of design thinking. Designing the right product for the right user is critical. Additionally, always generating extra ideas is important. By thinking outside the box, the most suitable design can be presented from all perspectives, which is another benefit.

Importance of Design Thinking

Why should we think with design thinking? Why does this concept, which has existed for a long time, still need to be a functional system today? Because, in the design process, steps should be taken from the most basic, simple idea to the most perfect one. This emerges through a particular thinking style. Thus, design thinking allows us to create a design without becoming complex whenever we want. The more familiar we become with this system, the more fundamental ideas we can develop and create a perfect user-friendly design. Moreover, each principle in the system, each step, will help us think in the right way, bringing creative details to light that we might not have seen in our own thinking system. The more solution-focused, user-benefit-oriented, and brave enough to go back to basics when needed, the better we can achieve with design thinking.

Stages of Design Thinking

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Source: freshworks.io

The design thinking system has its own principles. Starting with these principles will provide the solution of translating thought into reality in a visual design process. The stages of design thinking are: empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

Empathy:

Empathy is the most crucial step for a designer in the Design Thinking process. The reason for this is that we are not designing for ourselves, but for the benefit, pleasure, and dreams of the user. Why do they need to use this product or design? Why will this design be important to them? To answer these questions, we must establish empathy. When establishing empathy, we must also get to the core. During the empathy phase, the designer places themselves in the user’s shoes. By listening without judgment, focusing on the critical moments in their lives, and having conversations, we can communicate that we truly listened and designed for them. If this step is done correctly, all the pieces of the process will fall into place.

Definition:

The definition phase is another crucial step in the design thinking system. In this phase, the designer works diligently to define the user’s feelings and needs as accurately as possible. The correct definition in a product’s design will trigger the other steps. A well-defined concept will provide the designer with the correct perspective. In light of this perspective, the design team focuses on the issue, draws inspiration, and generates valuable ideas during the ideation phase.

Ideation:

In the design thinking system, the ideation phase is where the foundations for the actual product are laid. This phase is especially useful for creating a prototype. We’re talking about a phase where every idea is evaluated and worked on. Every team member’s opinion matters. Ideas are listened to without labeling them as good or bad. The ideas generated from a user-centric perspective will shape the design in the following steps.

Prototyping:

This phase is perhaps where all the creativity of the design thinking system is fully revealed. It is also the most enjoyable part. In this phase, it’s easy to see any errors in the design idea from previous steps. Prototyping is essential for testing the execution of ideas at a simple, quick, and low-cost level. A single prototype is not sufficient, nor is it necessary. More prototypes can always be created, and new ideas may lead to new prototypes. These pieces are not permanent products, they are not the designer’s final work, so it’s easy to move on to the next iteration. This process continues until the best solution is found during the testing phase, until the most necessary part for the user is reached.

Testing:

Testing is the final step of design thinking. In this phase, feedback is collected from users through the prototypes created. This allows the errors that occurred during the entire design process to be clearly identified. Testing is one of the fundamental steps in solution-focused work. Regardless of the product, the user can pinpoint the design’s deficiencies and gaps with their real opinions. This will help the designer bring out the design in its most flawless form. It can be thought of as the visual design version of the validation step in mathematics. Taking a step back during testing is a natural process. Therefore, it should not be seen negatively by any designer. All the processes and phases that could emerge in the design later will have been eliminated.

Successful Examples of Design Thinking

Tasarım Odaklı Düşünme ile İlgili Apple Örneği
Source:bootcamp.uxdesign.cc

Among the successful examples of design thinking, there are many globally recognized brands and designs. These are designs that have emerged from the past to the present or within the last few years. For example, Apple and AirBnb.

Apple: A well-established company, Apple is one of the world’s most important and high-revenue companies today. Apple is easily one of the brands that comes up in design thinking. Apple’s designs have always been user-centered. By carefully approaching the user’s daily life and social and business needs, they release the best product and design year after year. Evaluations, tests, and the ideation phase are always user-centered. The empathy established with the user is still the reason Apple remains the number one name in many products today.

AirBnb: This brand, as is known, is a newer design. It has been in operation for about 15 years. It offers an interesting service for people to meet their accommodation needs in their home countries or abroad. Initially, a brand on the brink of bankruptcy, it has become one of the most successful examples of design thinking. By focusing on people’s needs, desires, and ideas, they’ve advanced more consciously. With better photos, more conscious listings, and a more reliable service approach, AirBnb is now one of the most brilliant examples of design.

Conclusion

In the design thinking process, the most important thing is always to create a user-centered design. It’s essential to empathize, research thoroughly, generate many ideas, and approach from various perspectives. It’s not about thinking with a single idea, but always capturing different perspectives. By doing so, we can capture the right product the user needs in design. Brands such as Apple, AirBnb, Netflix, Starbucks, and many others that we encounter in visual design continue to grow and succeed through the design thinking system. The user’s needs should always be prioritized.

Also, if you liked this article, you may want to check out my article titled “Balance in Graphic Design.“

1 comments
  • Büşra
    Apr 15, 2024

    Oldukça faydalı bir içerik. Teşekkürler…

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