Introduction to design thinking - Book Summary!

Manon — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 10:31:25 +0000

I recently finished reading Introduction to design thinking by Uijun Park. So here is a detailed summary!

This book talks about the 5 steps to design thinking, that any UX designer must follow, and also explains some design principles. So let's get to it!

5 steps to design thinking

Step 1. Empathise

UX design is about solving problems that users experience, so you need to understand your users to discover what problems they are experiencing.

User demographic research: to define the target user
In-depth interviews: to learn what problems users are facing with the product
Usability test: to understand which part of the product is difficult to use
Analytics: use user traffic analytics to see which parts of the product need improving

Step 2. Define

"Finding a good problem is more complex than coming up with a good-looking design result." - Uijun Park

Prioritise which problems to solve
Let the whole team participate in choosing which problem to solve first

Step 3. Ideate

"It’s more likely that a better idea comes up when multiple people with different perspectives having a deep discussion, and validation with users and market, and refinement." - Uijun Park

Derive various diverse ideas that could potentially solve the problem
Can be useful to have other departments participate (like developers, sales...)
Brainwriting: writing down ideas on a piece of paper within a set time, then have everyone share their ideas
Sketch workshop: participants sketch ideas in a set time, to come up with creative solutions
Vote to select best ideas

Step 4. Prototype

"Now, you will need to create a prototype of ideas to test with the user or to simulate with an internal team member." - Park, Uijun. Introduction to Design Thinking

Low-fidelity prototype: Sketch
Mid-fidelity prototype: Wireframe
- User-flow: defines a user's steps to complete a task on the web or app.
High-fidelity prototype: UI design

Step 5. Test

"The test in design thinking can be done before and after release. You don’t need to have a fully functioning product to get user feedback." - Park, Uijun. Introduction to Design Thinking

Pre-development test: saves time and money
- Usability test: let users test the prototype
Post release test: measure user traffic, conversion rate, and other metrics to evaluate whether your product has achieved initial goals
- Analytics: compare to the data you gathered in step 1

UX design principles for beginners

PRINCIPLE 1. CONSISTENCY

Creating a consistent and predictable user experience across all aspects of a product, such as the layout, visual design, and interactions.
- Following established design patterns and guidelines,
- Using consistent language and terminology,
- Maintaining a cohesive visual style

PRINCIPLE 2. AFFORDANCE

Making it intuitive for users to know how to use a product just by looking at it.

PRINCIPLE 3. MENTAL MODEL AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Mental model: expectations that users have for a product, based on their experience, training, and knowledge
Conceptual model: the experience or interface that a product provides
Aim to strike a balance between users' mental model and the conceptual model

PRINCIPLE 4. MAPPING

Designing interfaces or displays that make the results of operating the control device predictable for the user

PRINCIPLE 5. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Organizing and structuring digital content to make it easier for users to find what they need
Organising content in a logical and intuitive way.

PRINCIPLE 6. USER INTENT

High user intent: the user knows well what they want to do and can follow a specific procedure to complete their task when they enter a website to buy a product.
Low intent: users have a rough idea of their goal but do not know what specifically they need to do to achieve it.
Important to consider both high and low user intent and design to satisfy both types of users.

Here it is guys! I read this book wanting to improve my design skills, and it did not disappoint. Again this is only a detailed summary, and the book contains so much more, with case studies and lots of tips and examples, so if you liked this post, I really recommend that you get the book!

DEV Community: Manon