Design thinking needs to challenge conventional thought process. That’s when innovation happens

“So what are your plans after 12th? This must be the most bothersome question faced by students appearing for their 12th standard board examination. The students end up mumbling something like “ Depends on the marks… ” or “ Not very sure as yet… ” In truth, some of them are confused as hell and so are their parents! Navigating through the world of higher studies with the mind-boggling options and preparing for various entrance tests is indeed a daunting task. Narrow down your search & PREPARE!! The trick then is to narrow down the search for the perfect career option that is best suited for your personality type, interests, and talents. Most of us think that a career in Engineering, Business Management, Civil Services, Medical, Financial Planning or Law are the safest bet. And not everyone is cut out to learn and put it to practice if their interests lie elsewhere. Also, realistically these sought after fields that promise a very rewarding future can have the same amount ...

Let’s be honest, competitive games are so much fun! If you look back, your most enjoyable moments were probably spent playing a game or two with family or friends. You probably competed fiercely with each other during such times, albeit in a fun sort of way. And of course, these competitions were so much more gratifying if you actually did win!! There is a reason why you had a great time then. Competition plays an important factor in the human evolutionary process. The instinct for survival drives most of the animal kingdom to compete with each other for resources. Therefore competing is a biological trait  that has evolved for the survival of the fittest. Throughout human history, people have been organizing competitions in one form or another, from the ancient Greek Olympic Games (going back as far as 776 BC) to modern day football FIFA World Cup. In fact, when you look closely, you’ll notice that competition is everywhere in modern society. Economists even promote competit...

From the time people started interacting with each other, they have always been curious about how differently other people conduct and go about their lives which is not similar to their own. Over the centuries these exchanges has happened voluntarily or have been brought about by trade movements or territorial invasions. We can trace this cultural evolution through Indian history. Let us take a look at the events that shaped the ethnographic landscape of the India over last few centuries.  Impact created my movement of traders via The Silk Route   In 138 BCE, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty of China (202 BCE – 220 CE), sent his emissary Zhang Qian to the west to negotiate with the Yuezhi people for help in defeating the Xiongnu. Zhang Qian’s journeys resulted in him coming in contact with varied cultures & civilizations in central Asia. The northern Mesopotamian province (present-day Iran) became China’s preferred partner in trade, as part of the Parthian Empire, opening ...

Ethnography  is a naturalistic observational method that emphasizes the detailed observation of people in a naturally occurring setting.  An ethnographic approach in Human Centered Interaction originates from social anthropology. Social anthropology is a study of human societies and cultures.  So, what does it really mean?  In a nutshell,  studying the targeted group of people and their culture!   Who are these people? What is their profession? How do they spend their day? What do they believe in? What factors of society they most influenced by? What language do they speak? Etc.  Questions like these breaks down the concept of  ‘the study of people and cultures’.   And data derived from studying these questions can be used to design better solutions to the wicked problems. For example, in India, one needs to understand and study the different regional groups, their languages, their cultures, the society they live in, etc., in order to cre...

Before, the outset of book buying and delivering companies like Flipkart or Amazon in India, the whole book purchasing experience was mostly going to the bookstore, browsing the books and then buying what you like with limited options of payment like cash or occasionally card payments. Chances were you won’t even find a book you really have your heart set on because bookstores have a limited capacity of stock holding. User experience to the rescue- Consequently, Amazon has overturned the very idea of book buying and delivery solutions from across the world to your doorsteps. Today Amazon dominates the online shopping industry. As Brian Reed says, ‘everything is designed. Few things are designed well.’   Amazon is all about delivering a premium user experience by keeping the customers’ needs as the foundation.   Amazon operates through websites, mobile apps, m-sites and what not. Amazon promises each customer a personalized shopping experience, a wide range of...

Have you noticed how the tea kettle is designed? Why is it designed differently from other pots that hold liquids like water? It is because the tea kettle holds boiling hot liquid which needs to retain that temperature till it gets consumed.  It also needs to serve the purpose of pouring the hot tea into small cups, without it getting cold while doing so. Hence the kettle is designed with a handle to lift the hot pot. A spout is incorporated so that the liquid can be carefully poured into the small cups with ease while retaining the required temperature. Now imagine using the regular water pot for storing and serving tea. You will probably end up burning your fingers; mess up the place while pouring tea and it will most likely be served cold! Human mind is capable of imagining far more sophisticated solutions to problems when we are faced with constraints. The kettle demonstrates that someone successfully overcame the problem of handling hot tea and could elegantly serve it...

Information Architecture — Navigation Navigation is the way in which a user will cruise through the information provided in the product to achieve his end goal. This is a crucial component because if the navigation does not guide the users properly, it can lead to frustration and eventually the product will end up losing the users. Information can be organized in many ways to make it available to the users in an efficient way. The different navigation patterns are: 1. Single page pattern: This is a very simple pattern meant for small websites where all information is fit into one single page 2. The flat pattern: This is meant for simple websites where the topics available are few and they all are arranged as peers, that is, no hierarchy. 3. The index pattern: This is a simple pattern with one single index page that points to different pages. 4. The hub and spoke model: This is where the users can access several workflows that start at a single poin...