Thinking + Strategy
Design Thinking Toolbox
A curated collection of processes, tools, and methodologies that shape creative outcomes in digital design, product design, art direction, and creative direction. These tools are applied across each stage of work for clients and projects.
Phase 1
Identifying and Framing a Challenge
Archive of Inspirations
Consolidating research of similar situations happening locally or around the world in relation to an identified challenge.
Challenge Statement
A specific, positive, actionable description consisting of a design space and a desired outcome.
Disagio
A sensation of discomfort, a problematic feeling experienced by people interacting with a specific environment.
Paradigm Shift
A fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions to the design or business framework.
Phase 2
Gathering User Emotions
Empathizing
The first step of the design thinking process — connecting with users and understanding their emotions, feelings, and needs.
Empathy Space
The sample of users identified for the first stage of the design thinking process.
Field of Action
A subdivision of the empathy field with more detailed user observation and analysis.
Interview
A structured conversation with users to gather deep emotional and experiential insights.
Phase 3
Crafting User Narratives
Affinity Diagram
A tool used to visualize groups of data according to how they are related to one another.
Define Phase
Translating user emotions gathered during the Empathy phase into a problem to be solved.
Persona
A fictional character that represents a segment of users, built from empathy research.
User Journey
A visual map of the steps a user takes through a product or experience.
Phase 4
Generating User-Centered Solutions
Brainstorming Session
Conceiving ideas with divergent thinking to generate as many ideas as possible, then convergent thinking to distill the most desirable and feasible solutions.
Crazy 8s
A rapid ideation exercise generating eight distinct concepts in eight minutes.
How Might We
Reframing insight statements into open questions that invite creative solutions.
Phase 5
Prototyping
Block Definition Diagram
A broken-down version of the system where each block represents a component used to refine concepts.
Bodystorming
A hands-on approach to validate a concept and experiment with a prototype prior to user testing.
Design 0
The very first rough prototype, aimed at quick validation before any polish.
Phase 6
Testing and Iteration
Design 1+
Each consecutive iteration incorporating stakeholder and user feedback into the system.
Usability Testing
Observing real users interacting with the prototype to identify friction points.
Rapid Iteration
Short cycles of test → learn → build to converge on the strongest solution.