There is an integral relationship between design and innovation. Innovation drives the world forward (McKinney, 2013; Murphy, 2019), and a design process is applied to create innovative solutions to user-based problems (Codomo, 2019). Design innovation can look at bringing something new to a system, product, service, or environment that would ideally make it more enjoyable, usable, and therefore desirable (Spacey, 2017). This idea of desirability is a key feature, as defined by Codomo (2019), in their Innovation model (see Figure A), and is used to help visualise design's relationship to innovation. When designing, a solution’s desirability is only one component that should be recognised by both the designer and the user; we should also address the solution’s potential viability in the market and how feasible it would be to execute (Codomo, 2019). Design innovation is the sweet spot when a solution addresses all three points.
Figure A. The Design Innovation Framework Diagram, as presented by Codomo, 2019.
Throughout this portfolio, many designs have been presented as user-centric solutions which utilise specific frameworks and design thinking models. These design models stem from similar frameworks and theories which starts with learning about the problem, researching the problem, ideating solutions, testing and refining concepts and further presenting a solution. This idea is the foundation for majority of the projects in this portfolio; more specifically, projects have looked at using a form of iterative process.
The Design Funnel process (see Figure B), as defined by Buxton (2010), is an iterative process which converges from a large amount of initial ideation to a small number, based on rationalisation and testing during. This process is one that is most used within this folio, to develop iterative generation and refinement of concepts in relation. It has been most effective when looking at design concept solutions specifically but does not showcase the research and contextualisation behind the design as much to provide a rationale relating the design back to the project.
Figure B. A representation of the Design Funnel and its processes, as presented by Greenberg et al. (2011), inspired by Pugh’s (1990, as cited in Greenberg et al., 2011) variation on emphasising the iterative process.
An alternative framework that has been recently utilised for some projects is the Design Council’s Double Diamond innovation framework (see Figure C). Similar in the convergence methodology in the Design Funnel, the Double Diamond looks at diverging and converging from understanding the challenge presented to being left with an outcome. When applying this process to projects, there are key phases to the development and implementation of the framework to any specific brief as defined by the Design Council (2019). The framework begins with the Discovery phase, the diverging part of the first diamond, where one would spend time understanding and learning more about what the problem is and the people who are directly involved. From the discoveries made, the Defining phase allows for the challenge to be defined in a unique way that creates a convergence of the first diamond. The second diamond them re-diverges in the Development phase, which can be contributed to something like the Design Funnel’s first general iterative component and would include further phases that encourage inspiration and development of ideas. The final convergence of the second diamond is the Delivery phase, which would including components of testing and refinement, and often requires cyclical loops back into the developmental area of the framework to best refine the potential outcomes for the project.
An underlying part of the Double Diamond framework looks at the design principles that create a foundation for rationalising design decisions. This is where the Design Council define the iterative process, as was featured in the Design Funnel, while also putting importance on putting people first, communicating inclusively and promoting collaborative creation. This framework is highly regarded as a “universally accepted depiction of the design process” (Design Council, 2022) and has been utilised in design innovation applications (Codomo, 2019).
Figure C. The Double Diamond Framework, as presented by the Design Council (2019).
The Double Diamond framework connects further with Codomo’s (2019) Gears of Design Innovation (see Figure D) when addressing the key innovation principles of desirability, feasibility, and viability (Codomo, 2019). By looking at a design problem’s Proof of Value, we are discovering the problem and defining its context. The solution then continues into Proof of Concept, the developmental stage of the solution before it is delivered in Proof of Market. In most projects of this portfolio, this is where the framework would end, as Proof of Impact would be the revisiting of design solutions when they are actioned.
Figure D. The Gears of Design Innovation, as presented by Codomo (2019).
With any form of converging process, it is important to look at being clear about the criteria to which each concept is compared; what is the reason that one design is better suited to answer the project over another? To assist with this, rationales are a key factor in providing foundation on deciding what ideas are staying and which are going. They look at providing “context, applicability, and scope” (Caroll, 2003, p. 433) to the ideas generated during the design process, that then supports the decision-making process when going through the converging stages where concepts are narrowed down.
Utilising these frameworks in practice allows for a deeper understanding of the project at the time, and iterative components of these processes make way to show which features of the solutions may best answer the design problem. Greenberg et al.’s Design Funnel looks primarily at the idea generation part of the design process overall, allowing for more flexibility in applying design decisions to the iterative and rationalisation process. Codomo’s Design Innovation Framework and Gears of Design Innovation show the inner workings of a design process that pushes the design towards a more useful and applicable solution. And the Design Council’s Double Diamond method provides an in-depth, iterative process that allows for cyclical returns on design generation. While the Design Funnel does fall short in explaining, through its depiction, what outlying factors affect the process at the same time, the Design Council’s Double Diamond gives a deeper overview of what other layers are included in the complete process, including that discovery phase and underlying supporting principles.
References
Buxton, B. 2010. Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design. Burlington: Elsevier Science, pp.138-148.
Carroll, J., 2003. HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks: Toward a Multidisciplinary Science. Burlington: Elsevier, pp.431-434.
Codomo, 2019. What Is Design Innovation & Why You Need To Know It. [online]. Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/codomo/what-is-design-innovation-why-you-need-to-know-it>
Codomo, 2019. Design Innovation Framework Diagram. [image]. Available at: <https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*GkwAaHtzueq1xALlCjbZ_g.png>
Codomo, 2019. The Gears of Design Innovation. [image]. Available at: <https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*QdQNMLO_-Nwa6d35SH62Tw.png>
Design Council, 2019. Double Diamond Model. [image] Available at: <https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/Double%20Diamond%20Model%202019.pdf>
Design Council, 2022. What is the framework for innovation? Design Council's evolved Double Diamond. [online] Design Council. Available at: <https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/what-framework-innovation-design-councils-evolved-double-diamond>
Greenberg, S., Carpendale, S., Marquardt, N. & Buxton, B. 2011. Sketching user experiences: The Workbook. Waltham, MA: Elsevier, p.10.
Greenberg, S., Carpendale, S., Marquardt, N. & Buxton, B. 2011. Pugh Design Funnel. [image]. Available at: https://3lsqjy1sj7i027fcn749gutj-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Pugh-Design-Funnel.jpg
McKinney, P., 2013. Innovation by Design: What Is It & Why Does It Matter? [online] Phil McKinney - Innovation Mentor and Coach. Available at: <https://philmckinney.com/innovation-by-design-what-is-it-why-does-it-matter/>
Murphy, A., 2019. What Design Students Need to Know About Design Innovation. [online] Masterstudies.com. Available at: <https://www.masterstudies.com/article/what-design-students-need-to-know-about-design-innovation/>
Spacey, J., 2017. What is Design Innovation? [online] Simplicable. Available at: <https://simplicable.com/new/design-innovation-definition>