Listening Lessons: Make Consumers Part of the Design Process by Tuning In

Reprinted from Advertising Age's point magazine, this article focuses on five steps to using "design thinking" - encompassing design research and design development - that can teach a new process to the marketing and communication field. Using the example of Vodaphone's process in developing their cellphone called "Simply", the article describes observations on what consumers found problematic in using cellphones and what they wanted. Their comments not only drove the design process but also appeared in the product advertising.


The author encourages the practice of observation to fuel product design and the creation of marketing and communication strategies for the product. The document recommends basing design on human insights, which facilitate "buy-in and consensus from all stakeholders including the consumer." An example of this principle is design organisation IDEO's response to the challenge of designing a new facility based on "the patient experience" for a large healthcare system. The organisation presented to the hospital leadership a 7-minute video of what they saw while looking up from a hospital bed - cracked ceiling tiles and a buzzing fluorescent light. Their strategy for the hospital leadership was to create design principles for the new facility out of direct human experience. The steps the author recommends are:

1. Observe - "Go out into the world and listen to people, see what they are missing...use that to inspire the design experience..."
2. Brainstorm - "Do intense idea generation based on... observations."
3. Prototype - "Make your... ideas real... in forms ... people can see, hear, touch..."
4. Implement - "Bring the skills together to design, engineer and develop the solution to the point of production."
5. Tell the story - "Communicate the experience... by revisiting the insights that provided inspiration for the design. Tell stories that reflect the truth."