Designers benefit from remaining solution agnostic. As designers, we get to interact with problems that have no current solution. Because we work to unearth new approaches and opportunities, an effective solution is most likely going to be an unfamiliar one. For this reason, we must act as open observers rather than focused validators. We do generate and test ideas, but we do so while holding them lightly. When I started “testing,� I had preconceived thoughts about the distractions of keeping parents and children connected throughout the day. After hearing a divorced parent describe maneuvering tense personal relationships in order to connect with their children (p.92), after observing the impact of the lunch time notes at day care (p.88), and after seeing the rich interpersonal exchanges sparked by bring treasures home (p.54, 89), I was able to see that participant-based insights were grounded in experiences in a way that my personal opinions were not. Hypotheses are necessary, but being hypothesis-driven is deadly.
Learn laterally. To create a broadly applicable model of how objects can support transitioners, I categorized common behaviors that I observed across three different life transitions. Studying a range of experiences helped me see past circumstantial details and identify larger umbrella categories. Helping primary child care providers return to work by applying techniques learned from recent immigrants adapting to life in an American high school helped me to approach the problem with a fresh perspective. With more time, I would like to continue this approach and to continue learning from other systems of care distribution, such as hospitals.
CONCLUSION
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