Creativity, Research and Design Thinking: Describe how design thinking is different from traditional notions of design. Demonstrate how it might be applied in your creative field. (Dam, R., & Siang, T. (2018, December 29). What is Design Thinking and Why Is It So Popular?
Design is a critical process in which is used everyday by almost everyone. When you wake up you begin designing almost instantly. You design your day, your outfit, your meal plans, your route, almost anything that needs to be crafted and decided by you is a form of design (Magnuson, 2018). When designing you take into consideration your likes, what will best work, what is most cost or time effective and even the surroundings of the design. Although design is everywhere, the traditional notions of design, which are seen and explored in every day life, are very different and far less extensive then design thinking. Design thinking is a process in which designer’s use in work. This is most commonly referred to as the Stanford Design Thinking method (Stevens, 2019). The Design Thinking method is broken up into five phases, empathise, define, Ideate, prototype and test (Dam & Siang, 2019). During the empathise stage the designer will consult experts, observe and engage within the environment or area of the design. This will allow the designer to understand the motivations of the design. The define stage is all about identifying the problem, this is a crucial phase as the accuracy of this will determine the success of the design in later phases. In the ideate phase, designers will begin to brainstorm possible ideas. They will not stop at one or two ideas, they will create hundreds of possibilities some which may not even be able to work, however putting more ideas out there will allow them to become more creative and push themselves to work outside of the box. Prototyping is the next phase, here designers will produce low fidelity prototypes. They will experiment with colour, size, shapes, sound and all minor or major aspects of the design. Testing is the final phase of the design thinking process. Here designer’s will produce high fidelity prototypes, representing and portraying the final product as precisely and realistically as possible. Once all phases have been complete it is possible for the designer’s and client’s to jump back to a previous phase and rework it (Dam & Siang, 2019). Design is an ongoing process in which may never be concluded, however the design thinking method is most effective when designing as it will assist in producing a design that is as close to a perfect finished product as possible.
As a Spatial Designer the design thinking process is a huge aspect of my creative work. I use this process whilst working closely with the client to produce the best design possible for them. Within the empathise stage I will go on site with the client and look at the space first hand. Here I will take photos and measurements, I will ask questions and take note the of the environment, surroundings and existing design. In the define phase I will do research to pin point any possible existing problems or potential problems. The ideating stage is all about gathering materials, sketching up the site and ideas. The ideation stage is when I will put forward all possible options. The prototyping stage is when I will develop on my ideas and put it all together. I will see what works well in the space, identity what colours go well together and what materials would suit the space. To do this I will develop low fidelity floorpans, 3D renders, perspective drawings, elevations and models. The final testing phase I will take all my knowledge from the previous phases and create high fidelity prototypes of my existing created in the prototyping phase. I will include physical material samples and colour swatches to reveal to the client the most realistic design result as possible. In the spatial design field anyone can put forward ideas to create a space, however through the use of the design thinking method the space can be created to tackle any obstacle, achieve all hopes and possibilities and be a great success.
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