Problem solving with design
It’s not just about creating new solutions, it’s about creating new approaches to tackling problem situations.
Design is often misinterpreted by society as a profession that ‘makes things pretty’. While aesthetics is often important (for product experience and adoption), design is about problem solving. This short post will pull examples from one of my favorite design experts - Professor Kees Dorst, namely from his book Designing for the Common Good.
Dorst has developed comprehensive frameworks to think through complex problems. It’s not plug and play, it requires deep thought. So, I hope by cherry picking examples, it doesn’t encourage ‘quick and dirty’ problem solving, but rather inspires further interest to use design to change the way we approach complex issues. I recommend his book Frame Innovation for more details.
1) Understand what are people really trying to achieve, and address unmet needs
Design helps identify what part of the problem is ‘meaningful’ to solve. Effective design starts with good quality insights about human behavior and the real needs they’re motivated to solve. We can use Design Thinking and Design Research to investigate since these are not always apparent or easily articulated by just asking people.
Example problem: A city was struggling with alcohol-fueled violence making the night scene unsafe.
Design Research: Youths and young men needed a way to ‘establish the peking order’ and express manhood and identity. Searching for alternative patterns of behavior led designers to explore how violence in young men isn’t regulated or suppressed in some tribal societies, but ritualized instead.
Outcome: This thinking led to ideas around how to design situations for young men to display their prowess and be recognized by it without hurting anyone.
Example problem: People in rural villages keep driving without a license.
Human-centered Design Research insights:
People felt they could avoid detection
People felt uncomfortable at the motor registry
Tests were too expensive
People can drive but they failed the test because they couldn’t read
Learner drivers must practice with someone licensed, it’s a viscous cycle
Design approach: Stop focusing on trying to ‘catch’ people, find ways to help them meet their transport needs.
2) Reframe problems before trying to solve them
Design helps reframe the problem helps surface new ways to solve it. Innovation is about finding new ways to solve old problems. We can use Frame Innovation by Kees Dorst as an example framework.
Example problem: A city was struggling with alcohol-fueled violence making the night scene unsafe.
Reframed: “We stopped asking how we could prevent alcohol-fueled violence and started asking: how can we create a vibrant night-time economy?” (Suzie Matthews, who worked with Kees Dorst on a Sydney community project, p9 of Designing for the Common Good).
Outcome: This led to the solution of “making the space more usable for the good people”, and ‘crowding out crime’. They concentrated on what they wanted more of.
Example problem: A clothing store was experiencing theft in the changing rooms.
Reframed: “Reimagine the fitting room as a place where customers would choose to spend time, almost as a shopping destination in it’s own right.”
Outcome: This led to one idea of repositioning the fitting rooms to be prominent like a catwalk in the middle of the store, drawing attention and creating ‘natural surveillance’.