Week 3: Rapid ideation

15th June 2021

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Rapid ideation is techniques and exercises used to generate ideas and boost creativity (Lewrick et al., 2018). The goal is to create ideas within a specific time frame based on a theme. The process involves brainstorming as many ideas as possible and developing them into low fidelity prototypes to visualise them.

“To move beyond ideation you must create a prototype” (Scott, 2021). Prototyping is an early representation of the product idea. There are many prototyping tools such as sketching, storyboarding, paper prototypes, wireframes and many more. I have learnt that each technique may use different methods but serves the same purpose, to develop, visualise and understand the idea and product. I have some experience in producing wireframes using Figma to create digital designs of web pages. I enjoy designing wireframes and I am currently working on an online course with Udemy to practice my skills. I am hoping to become better at using Figma to produce high fidelity prototypes.

To produce “extremely innovative ideas” in ideation sessions, users must have contextual use experience and little awareness of technical information (Kristensson and Magnusson, 2010). Expert users who have technological knowledge tend to produce less radical ideas because they are conscious of the technology limitations. Although some concepts are not feasible to implement, users lacking technical knowledge created more original ideas. However, research shows the user participating in ideation must have some technical information. It is because they will know the possibilities of whether a concept can be achievable to build. Creativity and innovation may be limited in this process however, participants should use this as a ”source of inspiration rather than a restrictor for creative thinking”.

Testing is carried out with potential users and this may uncover problems in the design. Iterative prototyping helps to improve the idea or to build a completely new one. Once all feedback and issues are solved, a high fidelity prototype is made to demonstrate an improved product. The goals and intentions established at the start must be refined and achieved before the digital prototype goes into production.

Challenge activity: Reverse engineering

The challenge activity was to reverse engineer an artefact using various prototyping methods. The task aims to explore and practice prototyping tools and techniques to understand the minds of creative practitioners. I have chosen paper prototyping to reverse engineer the Instagram app. I chose this app because I enjoy the design and ease of use and use it the most on my mobile.

Below I have created a breakdown of Instagram’s brand and functionality. I have listed the main features, colour palette, grid system, dimensions of the photo uploads and the logos used.

Instagram brand and functionality created by Lehang Tieu. 2021.

Paper prototyping is a semi-functional model that allows you to visualise and test the design idea (Buley, 2013). Once you have your concept, you then prototype low fidelity designs by producing hand-drawn sketches. You may discover that your original idea doesn’t work out on paper therefore, you have to improve your design as you go along. It is an iterative process that is cost-effective and can save you efficient time.

Prototyping is my favourite stage of the project because it enables my creativity to visualise and evaluate a design. It is a great learning process and helps me to plan my work efficiently. Once I am satisfied with the design, I can move onto producing high-fidelity prototypes.

I have created paper prototypes on the search and homepage of Instagram.

Paper prototype created by Lehang Tieu. 2021.

Reverse engineering the Instagram app allowed me to identify and understand the design principles implemented. One of the most important characteristics is the three-column grid system used on the search page. It enables a larger content area utilised for the media and keeps the content centralised in an asymmetrical design. It also avoids the page looking cluttered and messy. I like the minimalist design it uses. Instagram is very photo and video content-heavy that means lots of colour and movement on the screen, so it was crucial to make the design simple which balances the app design well.

The colour palette is a mix of bold and warm tones and is used on the Instagram logo. The Gestalt principle figure/ground is applied well showing a clear contrast between the white background and the black icons and text. It allows for focus on the icons, text and media rather than the background. The use of iconography was designed and presented well to fit the theme. It saves screen estate and doesn’t need translation for international users.

During this pandemic, I have designed many digital prototypes and presented them to stakeholders to get feedback. It is because it has been easier to explain and present via video call compared to hand-drawn sketches. I then have feedback rounds from stakeholders which can lead to extensive layout changes and restructuring. It can be a time-consuming project. My takeaway from this week is to implement sketches as the first step of the rapid ideation process. It limits inefficient design time and improves productivity.

References

Lewrick, M., Link, P., Leifer L. 2018. The design thinking playbook. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., p.42, 70.

Dr Scott, M. 2021. Prototyping. Available at: <https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/912/pages/week-3-approaches-to-prototyping?module_item_id=54089> [Accessed 15 June 2021]

Buley, L. 2013. The user experience team of one. New York: Louis Rosenfeld, pp.192-193.

Kristensson, P., Magnusson, P. R. 2010. ‘Tuning Users’ Innovativeness During Ideation’. Creativity and innovation management 19(2), 147–59.

Help instagram. 2021. Help centre. [online] Available at: <https://help.instagram.com/1631821640426723> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

Sprout Social. 2019. The Complete List of Instagram Features for Marketing Experts. [online] Available at: <https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-features/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

Brand Resource Center. 2021. Instagram Landing. [online] Available at: <https://en.facebookbrand.com/instagram/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

Images

2021. Instagram logos. [image] Available at: <https://en.facebookbrand.com/instagram/assets/instagram?audience=instagram-landing> [Accessed 15 June 2021].

2021. Instagram logos white. [image] Available at: <https://en.facebookbrand.com/instagram/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].