Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming

GRAPHIC DESIGN THINKING: BEYOND BRAINSTORMING

by Ellen Lupton

Graphic design thinking is a book about generating ideas by going through various phases. Allthough it's much about the visual design and about generating ideas, it also goes through the steps of defining problems and how to get ideas with various methods. It also takes up different case studies with every topic

This book is suitable for our project about banking service design as the user experience (visual, easy to use etc.) has to be on a great level to get a customer to use a service. No one will ultimately use a service that is badly designed and structured.

”A problem well-stated is half solved” - John Dewey

The first chapter is about defining problems via different methods. According to the book there are five rules or guidelines on how to brainstorm in a group:

1. Appoint a moderator
This person writes down on a big paper or a whiteboard ALL the ideas that are thrown during brainstorming. He is the leader of the brainstorming process but doesn't necessarily need to be the team leader. The moderator can also start to categorize the ideas along the way

2. State the topic

This part is all about being specific with the topic. It can be good to break down the topic to smaller parts to generate discussion.

3. Write down EVERYTHING

Everyone should tell their ideas without holding back at all. Every idea should be written down, even the silly and the familiar ideas. By writing everything down you can combine different ideas to become even better ideas.

4. Time limit
By establishing a time limit you'll probably increase the produtivity. It's also good to set a minimum amount of ideas for the whole group.

5. Follow up
Rank ideas and try to get some action after the brainstorming. This way the ideas stay fresh in their minds and won't be forgotten.

Tips on how to make mindmaps are also given. Mindmapping is a great way to quickly get a grip and explore a problem. The most essential part is to have ONE central term in the middle of the mindmap.

A big part of the book is still about designing and ways to design different subjects. For me this is an interesting book because of all the case studies and visual designs that it presents.

“Learn to look past your own navel for ideas”

//Mikael H