How I work is how I rambo with people
Design is a human sport; with users, stakeholders and collaborating talents.
Being OKAY with not knowing anything at all;
Going places is best done slow.
I grew up a straight A student so education didn't really teach me how to fail. For a long period of time my fear of failure hindered my confidence in delving into the unknown, something that is so crucial in the design process.
I needed to appreciate the real value of discovery. In spite of how uncomfortable the process, it is the creative breakthroughs that come with it that made the investing energy worth. Like any new muscle being used, it takes practice before it becomes second nature. Today, I've made this process fun for team members to partake.
This picture of me in a giraffe onesie was an experiment we did, doing guerrilla interviews with potential users and how they would be receptive to local recommendations from such a character.
Believing in the power of sketchy designs
It’s not just about pretty design, it has to actually work.
The hard truth is that Design Thinking can’t be learnt from books and lectures, you have to experience it. I first believed prototyping was creating end-state clickable prototypes on Sketch/FIGMA, until I truly understood the purpose of it which is to test the IDEA and evaluate.
With experience, I discovered that I can prototype at many phases - concept prototype, content prototype, interaction prototype, service (wizard-of-oz) prototype, and finally the screen-flow prototype. Most people overlook the "V" in MVP (Minimum Viable Product), because they don't test early and iterate enough to reach viability within the afforded runway.
This is a photo of me sharing whiteboard sketches to the development team to get their input, before designing a prototype to bring to a user. A sketch can be as powerful as the thinking you put into it, and the collective knowledge attained to bring it to the next level.
Keep in sight, Keep in mind
One working method I use to keep in a state of creative flow is to map out all design research data and synthesis frameworks that I am concurrently brewing.
In a hybrid work setting, it is important to know how to separate what's synthesised in physical boards vs Miro boards vs my personal sketch pad (plus what I share on a company level in a slide deck). Keeping ideas concepts and frameworks within sight is important keep checking how all the different puzzles pieces fit together.
The different puzzle pieces can be anything that helps, for me:
- Theoretical frameworks i.e. BJ Fogg's BMAT equation & John Boyd's OODA loop
- End-to-End structure i.e. Content pillars > Article format
- Mapping i.e. Taxonomy & Search return logic
- Design features hashing & UI component ideas
- Personas & co-creation prototypesIf you like what you've read, I'd love to connect!
