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Your round-up of design thinking news and opportunities, to improve your practice.

Welcome to Design Thoughts! I’m Charlotte, a freelance service designer. This newsletter is a round-up of thoughts, news and opportunities.

Why we should prototype as a research method

Recently I’ve been persuading my team that we should start prototyping, during the user research / discovery phase of our project. As I bring up the idea of ‘mock ups’ and ‘prototype’ I can see anxiety rise. What if we’re locking down an idea too early? What if that’s not what users meant about their issue?

In the design process there’s an uncomfortable feeling every time you move from one phase to another. And a re-scoping of the aims, inevitable disagreements about this - it’s tricky. It’s comfy to hang around in the abstract part of the project. Writing down insights and user needs is fun because at that point there is only possibility. By not articulating a solution, you allow yourself to sit in the idea that everything is possible and you can solve all of the user’s needs.

In reality; there are budget constraints, the constraints of what the business needs, and the constraint that technology and staff can only do so much.

As soon as you start drawing, developing what the solution can be, users have something they can say ‘no’ to. This articulation of what the solution could be also allows team members to get on the same page. One person thought we were designing an ‘X’ and another thought a ‘Y’ - well I’d rather know that sooner rather than later.

This is why I like to use mock ups and prototypes as a research method. In the same way that a question in an interview is a research method, or observing someone doing something is a research method. A rough mock up (say a slide with a drawing of a solution on) gives someone a chance to say what they do or don’t like about it. If lots of users love a mock up or an idea- why? Is that the solution they’re after, or does seeing it as a solution reveal something new about the problem?

Let's say research shows that users want more guidance around something. But when you show them a mock up of a guide, they don’t get excited. This could reveal that they don’t want more guidance, they want the thing to be simpler in the first place.

The quicker that we articulate our solutions, and get users to actually use them, the quicker we find out they don’t address real needs. And the quicker we can address those needs.

I listen to Lauryn Hill's ‘I gotta find peace of mind’ when I'm prototyping. I think the song is about her relationship with God, rather than prototyping, but there's a nice line in it:

“He says it's improbable, but I know it's tangible. He says it's not grab-able, but I know it's have-able. 'Cause anything's possible, oh anything is possible Oh, I know it's possible . Anything, anything, anything, anything, anything, yeah”

It reminds me to bring new ideas into existence, to make them possible.

Design Patterns for Mental Health Community Meetup

I'll be at this online meetup for people working on the design and delivery of mental health products and services. I'll be there speaking about;

• Starting with the health outcomes you want to achieve.
• Considering levels of activation when people are engaging with services.
• Why targeted mental health services are important.

After the short talks there'll be break out room time, for people to meet each other for collaboration and chats. Tickets are £6 get yours at this link.

In other news

• ❌ Replacing Black models with artificial intelligence is not diversity. Levi's faux diversity ads. Source​
• 🌽 The organic vegetable box company Riverford is to become 100% owned by its staff after its founder, Guy Singh-Watson, agreed to sell his remaining 23% stake for almost £10m. Source​
• 🕳 What if black holes aren't holes? Black holes might really be giant structures made of spacetime, physicists day. Source​

🎉 Opportunities

Senior Interaction Designer, User Researcher, Service Designer at Snook

3 different 6-month contract roles with a day rate. You will need to get security clearance.

​Apply here​

Senior Content Designer, Lloyds Banking Group

Salary: £73,500 - £92,000

​Apply here​

User Researcher, BT Group

12-month contract role.

Hybrid: they want someone to be 3 days a week together in one of theur UK Digital Hubs, with the other 2 days at home.

​Apply here​

✨ Leaving the house without my phone

In the last newsletter, I said I'd get out of the house without my phone and report back. I only went out for like 20 mins to the shop - but I can confirm it was gorgeous. If you try it this week, reply back and let me know!