Supercharge Design Thinking

This week in design and Technology we had a talk from Peter McCaughey of WAVEparticle.

Despite how scattered and conceptual his interactive discussion was, I feel like Peter made some very interesting points about design thinking.

"Challenge the default norms of our culture"

How are we supposed to progress as a society if we don't explore and support conceptual thinking? Designing outside the box gives a new perspective of what we take for granted as an everyday norm. We as designers need to challenge these norms to benefit our culture in future years.

Andy Warhol challenged the public's view of art in the 1960s by using screen printing techniques and identifiable imagery. The new genre of Pop Art was formed as a direct result of "challenging the default norms of our culture".

Adopt the "as if mood"

Treating all your ideas "as if" they exist can help in expanding your concept range to include the wacky and ridiculous. Modelling, illustrating and entertaining these concepts can led to new design discoveries. Although I like this was of thinking, I feel like sometimes it can led you towards a dead end. Knowing when to dive deeper in developing concepts is essential to prevent wasting time.

A designers go-to brainstorming tool, the post-it note, would never have been developed if the "as if mood" wasn't adopted. Who could believe a piece of paper with a failed strip of glue could influence the design process on a global scale?

"Take an idea and place it in the past tense"

Would you analyse your designs differently if you talked like it's already been created? Looking back at some projects can often be full of regrets. We have to challenge these ideas in this "hindsight" mindset.

This "past tense" way of thinking helped grow the Apple fan base. Apple put thought into the aftersale of their products. Where do customers go if their laptop breaks? How do we ensure they come back for more?

Peter also provided us with a "list" of methods for supercharging an idea. I feel like this diagram perfectly represents how scatter brained and thought provoking he is as a person. He has a truly abstract way of looking at the world. Designers have the role of balancing this abstract thinking with applied practical knowledge to solve problems in the modern age.