AEIOU
- Activities
- Environment
- Interactions
- Objects
- Users
This framework is credited to Rick Robinson, Ilya Prokopoff, John Cain and Julie Pokorny and the Doblin Group in Chicago.
Artifact Analysis
What do objects say about people, culture, time and place?Think about the material, aesthetic and interactive qualities..Behavioral Mapping
The documenting of observable characteristics, movements, and activitives, including ages, gender, whether they are alone or with others, what they are doing, time spent doing it and at a fixed location or in transit, and the details of the environment.The Love Letter and the Breakup Letter
These letters present two methods in which users can express their feeling about a product or service.Personify the product and write the letter to the product or service.Sometimes this process will reveal unexpected feelings and attachments.The love letter should address what delights, what the user is infatuated with, the first encounter, and insights to why the user sticks by this product or service.
The breakup letter should articulate when, where and how the relationship went south. Share what product or service replaced the original and explain why.
Each letter should be written in under 10 minutes.
Have the writers read the letters outloud and pay attention to facial and physical cues.
The Breakup Letter is a design research tool that Smart Design uses to understand the emotional connection between people and their products, services, and experiences.
Mindmapping
This is a visual thinking tool that can help you generate ideas and develp concepts when the relationships among many pieces of related information are unclear. Mindmaps are nonlinear, visual and digrammatic.- Identify a focus question
- Draw the subject in the center of a sheet of paper and circle it
- Start drawing extentions outward from the center of the map, label them with verb-noun pairs and noun clusters. The closer the word is to the center, the greater its importance.
- Connect primary and secondary information with lines.
- Continue this process making free associations until all relevant pieces are represented.
- Strengthen concepts and interconnections
Image from mindmapinspiration
Evolution
How does the idea evolveThe Ideal Wallet
Instead of just telling you about design thinking, you are going to immediately jump right in and experience it for yourself.You are going to do a design project: The Ideal Wallet
Step 1
3 minutes
Sketch out an idea for a better wallet.
Sketch out an idea for a better wallet.
Step 2
What you just did is one kind of problem-solving approach, using your own opinions and experience to guide you, its what most of you have been doing for your projects so far��� having a solution in mind to be designed, but we can approach this problem a different way:
Now what we are going to do is before you define the problem you are going to do, and then reflect: Pair up with someone. Your challenge is now, not to design the ideal wallet, but to design something useful and meaningful to your partner.
Step 3 (part 1)
4 minutes
Partner B should walk partner A and C through the contents of their wallet.
Now forget about the wallet, What���s important to A?
Are there pictures in the wallet. What of? how many? When was a time he carried a lot of cash? How often is tee cash in the wallet?
Partner B should walk partner A and C through the contents of their wallet.
- When do they carry their wallet?
- 2. Why do they have a particular card in there?
- 3. What do the things in their wallet tell you them, their values, interest, etc?
Now forget about the wallet, What���s important to A?
Are there pictures in the wallet. What of? how many? When was a time he carried a lot of cash? How often is tee cash in the wallet?
Step 3 (part 2)
8 minutes (4 minutes 2X)
Switch Partner A should walk partner B and C through the contents of their wallet.
Make note of any unexpected discoveries along the way, capture quotes!
Switch Partner C should walk partner A and B through the contents of their wallet.
Any surprises?
Switch Partner A should walk partner B and C through the contents of their wallet.
Make note of any unexpected discoveries along the way, capture quotes!
Switch Partner C should walk partner A and B through the contents of their wallet.
Any surprises?
Step 4
4 minutes
Identify the things you found interesting. Put each item on a post-it note.
Identify the things you found interesting. Put each item on a post-it note.
Step 5
3 minutes
Catalog and inventory
Divide your notes into needs and insights
Needs are things that user is trying to accomplish (needs are usually verbs).
Examples of needs:
Catalog and inventory
Divide your notes into needs and insights
Needs are things that user is trying to accomplish (needs are usually verbs).
Examples of needs:
- Organize belongings
- Hold ID cards
- Keep track of change
- Express oneself
- Style reflects personality
- More about how someone is perceived
- Portable facebook
Step 6
10 minutes (Each group gets 2-3 minutes)
Share findings with the class
Share findings with the class
Step 7
3 minutes
Divide everyone's findings between
Services
Experiences
Systems
Divide everyone's findings between
Services
Experiences
Systems
Step 8
4 minutes
Pick a framework. Groups should be between 2-5. If you end up in a group of 6, divide the group.
With your group begin to articulate the problem statement
How might we ...
Pick a framework. Groups should be between 2-5. If you end up in a group of 6, divide the group.
With your group begin to articulate the problem statement
How might we ...
Step 9
5 minutes
Brainstorm ways that might address your problem statement.
Defer judgement, go for quantity not quality.
Get outside of the box
You can come up with wild, impractical ideas at this point.
Brainstorm ways that might address your problem statement.
Defer judgement, go for quantity not quality.
Get outside of the box
You can come up with wild, impractical ideas at this point.
Step 10
3 minutes
Voting
Each member of the group selects 2 or 3 of the ideas that they are intrigued by.
Then find the most popular idea.
Can you combine ideas?
Fold your best ideas into one unique solution
Voting
Each member of the group selects 2 or 3 of the ideas that they are intrigued by.
Then find the most popular idea.
Can you combine ideas?
Fold your best ideas into one unique solution
Step 11
25 minutes
Prototype
Build prototype of your solution This prototype will not be perfect, but build something
Prototype
Build prototype of your solution This prototype will not be perfect, but build something
Step 12
5 minutes max per presentation
Present
Introduce team, problem statement, solution.
Present
Introduce team, problem statement, solution.
Step 13
4 minutes per group
Feedback grid
Complete feedback grid
Feedback grid
Complete feedback grid
Homework
- "How did talking to your partner inform your design?"
- "How did testing and getting feedback impact your final design?"
- "What was the most challenging part of the process for you?"
Redesign the Gift Giving Experience
- Divide into groups of 3-4
- (8 minutes)
Interview members of the group about the last gift they gave:
- Who was it given to?
- Why was it meaningful?
- How did they come up with the idea for the gift?
- What was difficult about finding and giving this gift?
- (8 minutes)
Ask more questions. Identify the bug list, the positives, the constraints, the surprising elements. Put each idea on a post it and organize the post its on a wall. find patterns. - (3 minutes)
Identify what the gift giver is trying to acheive. Is there something you can identify about the other's feelings and motivations that they don't see. divide ideas into goals, wishes, and insights.
Use verbs to express wishes. - Take a stand
(4 minutes)
This will be the statement that you are going to address with your design.
Example: X needs a way to celebrate holidays in a way right for her family , because she wants to hold on to traditions but be unique.
_______ needs a way to _______ because (or but) _______________ - (8 minutes)
Each group shares findings and stand the group is taking - (5 minutes)
Generate ideas to test. Sketch at least 5 radical ways to meet your user's needs - (4 minute per partner)
Share solutions with your partners and capture feedback.
Fight the urge to explain or defend your ideas. - (3 minutes)
Vote on ideas you like. - (15 minutes)
Come up with a new solution and prototype.
Create an experience that others can react to. If your solution is a service or system, create a scenario that allows a user to experience the innovation.
Be scrappy. - (4 minutes per team)
Share your solutions. Don't defend your prototype, instead watch how people use or misuse it - Get feedback
- What worked?
- What could be improved?
- What questions did it raise?
- Other ideas?
