Identifying the Design Need
Every design process begins with a design problem. It is the design problem that defines the factors of the design need and the individual product design specifications that can lead to a potential design solution.
The design need can come from several sources;
- the designer who identifies a problem in an existing design for a client
- a person, group, or company that contracts a designer
- customer feedback that identifies problems in an existing product
- a customer or marketing team who identifies gaps in the current design range or market
Independent of where the design need comes from, it is ultimatately the designer's job to flesh out the design specifications. This can be done in several ways:
Interviewing the User
By interviewing the client, the designer gains an understanding of the design need from a unique point of view. Users are the primary or firsthand source of information. It is their experiences and feelings about a product or space the designer must respond to.
In the conversation with the user, the designer would normally want to uncover the design problem faced by the user, what the user is hoping to achieve, and the design specifications the design solution would need to address.
Interviewing the Client
Products and environments can often be produced by people or companies who are responding to a market need. In these circumstances, designer's will often call these groups 'clients'. By interviewing clients, the designer is able to gain an understanding of the design need from a suppliers point of view. In this scenario, the designer will ask a different series of questions in comparison to interviewing the user.
When working with clients, particularly those who aim to provide a product or environment to users, the questions need to focus on design specifications that ensure the design solution will be competitive within the market.
