Introduction to design thinking - Book Summary!
Tags: webdesign, frontend, ui, ux
Published: 2024-02-22 10:31:25

I recently finished reading **Introduction to design thinking** by *Uijun Park*. So here is a detailed summary!

This book talks about the 5 steps to design thinking, that any UX designer must follow, and also explains some design principles. So let's get to it!

#5 steps to design thinking

### Step 1. Empathise

UX design is about solving problems that users experience, so you need to understand your users to discover what problems they are experiencing.
* User demographic research: to define the target user
* In-depth interviews: to learn what problems users are facing with the product
* Usability test: to understand which part of the product is difficult to use
* Analytics: use user traffic analytics to see which parts of the product need improving

### Step 2. Define

> "Finding a good problem is more complex than coming up with a good-looking design result." - Uijun Park

* Prioritise which problems to solve
* Let the whole team participate in choosing which problem to solve first

### Step 3. Ideate

> "It’s more likely that a better idea comes up when multiple people with different perspectives having a deep discussion, and validation with users and market, and refinement." - Uijun Park

* Derive various diverse ideas that could potentially solve the problem
* Can be useful to have other departments participate (like developers, sales...)
* *Brainwriting*: writing down ideas on a piece of paper within a set time, then have everyone share their ideas
* *Sketch workshop*: participants sketch ideas in a set time, to come up with creative solutions
* Vote to select best ideas 

### Step 4. Prototype

> "Now, you will need to create a prototype of ideas to test with the user or to simulate with an internal team member." - Park, Uijun. Introduction to Design Thinking

* Low-fidelity prototype: Sketch
* Mid-fidelity prototype: Wireframe
  * User-flow: defines a user's steps to complete a task on the web or app.
* High-fidelity prototype: UI design

### Step 5. Test

> "The test in design thinking can be done before and after release. You don’t need to have a fully functioning product to get user feedback." - Park, Uijun. Introduction to Design Thinking

* Pre-development test: saves time and money
  * Usability test: let users test the prototype
* Post release test: measure user traffic, conversion rate, and other metrics to evaluate whether your product has achieved initial goals
  * Analytics: compare to the data you gathered in step 1

#UX design principles for beginners

### PRINCIPLE 1. CONSISTENCY

* Creating a consistent and predictable user experience across all aspects of a product, such as the layout, visual design, and interactions.
  * Following established design patterns and guidelines,
  * Using consistent language and terminology,
  * Maintaining a cohesive visual style

### PRINCIPLE 2. AFFORDANCE

* Making it intuitive for users to know how to use a product just by looking at it.

### PRINCIPLE 3. MENTAL MODEL AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL

* Mental model: expectations that users have for a product, based on their experience, training, and knowledge
* Conceptual model: the experience or interface that a product provides
* Aim to strike a balance between users' mental model and the conceptual model

### PRINCIPLE 4. MAPPING

* Designing interfaces or displays that make the results of operating the control device predictable for the user

### PRINCIPLE 5. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

* Organizing and structuring digital content to make it easier for users to find what they need
* Organising content in a logical and intuitive way.

### PRINCIPLE 6. USER INTENT

* High user intent: the user knows well what they want to do and can follow a specific procedure to complete their task when they enter a website to buy a product.
* Low intent: users have a rough idea of their goal but do not know what specifically they need to do to achieve it.
* Important to consider both high and low user intent and design to satisfy both types of users.



Here it is guys! I read this book wanting to improve my design skills, and it did not disappoint. Again this is only a detailed summary, and the book contains so much more, with case studies and lots of tips and examples, so if you liked this post, I really recommend that you get the book!