Research and Leadership

The steps towards a successful project are almost always the same. You get a brief to work on, then set a methodology and boundaries that will define your problem statement and the aim. Afterward, you begin by collecting data and insights from different sources that relate to the problem. After gathering all the information the creative stage begins, ending in a solution for the problem statement.

Our job as designers is to use our creative tools to solve the task at hand and deliver the best possible solution. Then, it is clear that the main part of any design process is not the brief itself, but the framing of the problem statement followed by the research done towards solving it. As an article wrote by Bettina D’avila pointed out, the results will never be satisfied if we are addressing the wrong problem.

After doing the proper research, our question will be much clear. Then, the importance is not on solving, but on asking the right questions to the information. By doing a deep exploration of the data, we will arrive at a better understanding of the problem. Then, the importance falls on reframing the question, taking another look at the information from a different perspective, and looking into what a project needs rather than what it wants.

When a reframed question is focusing on the needs, the solution is prone to be right at the center of the problem. The process is what a true designer has to fall in love with, as this is the stage that normally takes longer than others. The beginning and the end of any project are usually just the team leader opening a question and then closing it, but all the details in between are what enriches the solution to the problem. Like Abraham Lincoln said: give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.