Jeff Grothe: Design Thinking

JEFF GROTHE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

HELLO. THIS DOCUMENT IS DESIGNED TO GIVE YOU A FEEL FOR HOW I THINK AND THE STEPS THAT I TAKE IN MY DESIGN PROCESS. CHEERS,

MY PROCESS:

DESIGN THINKING Design thinking is an approach to design that focuses on people. It seeks to solve problems in a innovative and relational way. It can be broken down in five steps: Empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.

STEP 1:

EMPATHIZE This step involves putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer. (Not literally unless you are designing shoes.) You research and test and interview until you are totally immersed in the problem at hand.

STEP 2:

DEFINE This step is all about asking the right questions.

In order to solve a problem with a product or system, you need to know the root of the problem.

Defining your problem will keep you from working rigorously in the wrong direction (and wasting a lot of your company’s money).

STEP 3:

IDEATE Ahh yes, ideate. The part that everyone loves.

With ideation, it is essential to get as many ideas down on paper as you can. This means that you cannot start to filter out potentially bad ideas just yet. This often stunts creativity. You never know, that crazy idea may just turn into something truly great.

STEP 4:

PROTOTYPE

This is arguably the most important step. You never know if an idea will actually work until you try it. Gettting your ideations off paper and into real life is the most valuable process, allowing you and others to see and test and feel and touch. This will give you great feedback and ideas for improvement.

STEP 5:

TEST

Testing goes hand in hand with prototyping. It involves proving your theories by putting them to the test. If you have created good prototypes, you will be able to put them in the hands of a consumer and discover their flaws and strengths. You can then go back and tweak and redesign and test other ideas until you have exhausted the possibilities.

This is where true innovation comes from.

THANK YOU. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO VIEW MY PROCESS. PLEASE LOOK THROUGH MY WORK TO GET A FEEL FOR THIS PROCESS IN ACTION.

JEFF GROTHE jeff@jeffgrothe.com 509-910-7280

JEFF GROTHE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN