The Four D’s of Design or the Double Diamond Design Process Model
The above model was developed by IDEO and propagated by Tim Brown. The model provides a graphic representation of a design process. The model provides a lightweight framework for thinking about the focal points and transitions in an organization that’s effectively practicing continuous improvement. In order to discover which ideas are best, the ideas are developed, tested and refined a number of times, with weak ideas dropped in the process. This cycle is an essential part of good design.
Discover
The best way to discover a problem is to interact with people in their natural environment, look at the world in a fresh way, notice new things and gather insights. This acts as a sample to understand how a larger population will react to what you have for them.
Define
When the problem is discovered, answer the following questions to develop a clear brief that frames the fundamental design challenge:
🔦 Which matters most?
🔦 Which should we act on first?
🔦 What is feasible?
While defining a problem one need to take care as a designer that you’re designing a product around a user not trying to program a user around a product (Concept: The design of everyday things by Don Norman).
Design thinking has to do with increasing your empathy towards users’ problems and creativity in solving them.
Develop
In this stage, the concepts are created, prototyped, tested and iterated at this stage. This process of trial and error helps designers to refine their ideas by reducing risk. Also int his step, different departments (enginners, developers, designers) are put together that helps in speeding up problem-solving.
Microsoft calls this “Implement” while Virgin Atlantic Airways called it “Design”. Microsoft’s philosophy is that designers should “eat their own dog food” which means designers are to use their own creations in their work, so they can be in the user’s shoes.
Some methods used in developing ideas are:
🔦 Brainstorming
🔦 Mind mapping
🔦 Visualization
🔦 Laddering technique
🔦 Making of different scenarios
Deliver
This stage is equally important to be addressed. Many excellent product flounder because of poor delivery.At this stage, the resulting project (a product, service or environment) is finalized, produced and launched.
Double Diamond design process model
The Double Diamond design process model developed by the British Design Council in 2005. Its development was based on case studies gathered from the design departments at 11 global firms. The Council wanted to learn more about how people process information in order to create solutions. They were surprised to find that in search of innovation some steps were common among them. These stages within the creative process were better divided by the Council, coming to what we now know as the Double Diamond design model. In this model, each of the above mentioned stages are characterized by either convergent or divergent thinking as shown below.
Point to be noted:
Both the above mentioned diagram are not linear but cyclic.
It is very important for us as designers to take the responsibility of creating feedback loops very seriously as working on the feedback is what enables us to come up with an ideal design. Even after deliver, there might be serious problems associated with the product which is comparatively easier for the consumer to identify. This problem = DISCOVERY. Now we can follow the same steps, i.e. DEFINE — DEVELOP — DELIVER.
There are several other design process models which I shall discuss in comming posts. Every designer has their own way of doing things but having a 🛣roadmap allows you to focus on the situation at hand, and saves your time in the long run.
One more D… What??🤨
Stanford has recently added one more D in this design process model. This D stands for Documentation. But why do we need to document our process?
Refer this link: https://link.medium.com/0yLSDOEzdU
Resources:
http://dstudio.ubc.ca/research/toolkit/processes/
https://innovationenglish.sites.ku.dk/models/
https://www.justinmind.com/blog/double-diamond-model-what-is-should-you-use/Contact:
📧 sakshi.kumari.1@nift.ac.in
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