The use of repeated design elements is a controversial topic in the creative industry. The distinction between, on the one hand, mundane repetition at the expense of creativity and, on the other hand, a belief in the importance of maintaining good practice to deliver effective visual results for the end user has the design industry […]
SWOT Analysis for the UK’s Brexit Decision to Leave the EU
Last week, the UK decided to leave the European Union after more than 40 years of membership. The national referendum results were 51.9% to leave, while 48.1% to stay. The decision was not only shocking for many people: it has also shocked the British and global economy. Anyone who knows how to invest in stocks […]
How Design Thinking Approaches Problems
Design thinking is widely known as a strategy to successfully address complex problems and build products that address consumers’ needs. Many word-leading design companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, IKEA, Lego and others, have achieved success through applying design thinking in their product development process. While there are similarities between the design thinking process and other […]
Guide for 3D Printing Technologies
3D printing technology is one of the rapidly growing fields that has been involved in different industries including, but is not limited to industrial design, product design, and medical implementations. The affordability of 3D printers, plus their easy installation and usage, make it a very appealing technology for designers to visualize their ideas in the […]
10 Success Factors for the Experience Design Process
Experience design (or “user experience design”) aims to improve the usability and accessibility of the digital or physical product and thereby create a pleasant and effective experience while using the product and hence a satisfied user. This requires more than just focusing on the aesthetics or the layout of the application design. A successful experience […]
Exploring Design in the Egyptian Creative Market (Infographic)
There is an agreement between both scholars and practitioners about the important role of design and creativity in the following three fields: education, organization, and government. In a previous article, “Leading Economy Through Design: Applying National Design Policies”, we explored how different countries such as the UK, Germany, Japan, India, and China adopt design policies […]
How to Conduct a Successful UX Research for Your Design Project
Lacking a clear understanding of the project target audience can prevent a design team from developing a product that fulfills the end user’s needs and expectations. Before starting a project, many questions come to mind including “What is the target market segment?”, “What are the user problems that we can address?” and “How we can […]
10 Product Design Icons from the 20th Century
Following the product design timeline during the 20th century, we can observe that design has evolved to focus on the function rather than the form which dominated 19th-century design movements. Design schools such as post-modernism and Bauhaus contributed to focus on the function of the design and how it serves people’s needs. The product design […]
10 Time Management Tips to Improve Innovation
Design and innovation are one of the fields that require a long time for investigation and brainstorming in order to formulate a new creative idea and evaluate its viability in the market and suitability for the consumer. According to design thinking process models, the investigation and ideation phases are almost 50% of the process that […]
Design Thinking Case Study: Innovation at Apple
Apple is one of the leading companies that is renowned for its unique products and brand. A short talk with an Apple user reveals there is an emotional relation between consumers and Apple products, including every “i” product created in the past two decades. Why are Apple products different from their competitors’ products? How does […]
Adobe Experience Design CC: Taking the Creative Cloud to Prototyping
As interactive and user experience designers, there was always the question: Why is there not a prototyping tool included in the Adobe Creative Cloud? Since the release of Adobe Creative Cloud, it has been known as an integrated platform for designers, developers, photographers, and media experts to build their projects through a bundle of applications […]
Design Thinking in Schools: Building a Generation of Innovators
Observing today’s world can tell us much about tomorrow and what human beings need to meet future challenges. Along with the increasing challenges that we face everyday from economical challenges and climate change to extremism and the increasing language of hate between nations, we should raise a generation that is able to meet these challenges […]
Five Principles for Successful User-Centered Design
Look at the various products in our daily lives. Why do we love specific products while we get frustrated with using others? Why you prefer to use a specific brand over the other? I still remember the day I switched from Windows to Mac OS. I am sure you have a similar experience about one […]
Using Inductive Reasoning in User Experience Research
Part of the design process is to build a deep understanding about users’ behaviors and how they tend to use products or applications. This can be achieved through user experience research, a process that involves collecting and processing user data to build a product prototype with the user experience in mind. Reasoning is a common […]
5 Steps to Turn Your Creativity into a Successful Design Business
In today’s challenging economy, it’s harder to get a job as a designer in a company. Therefore, I tell my students to open their minds to different business models that they can conquer using their talent and education in design, such as working as a freelance designer or establishing design start-ups. Many of today’s big […]
IBM Design Thinking Model: A Shift Toward Big Enterprises
Along with increasing market competency, companies are moving toward greater adoption of design thinking techniques as tools to put their consumers in the heart of the development process. The goal is to build a consumer-driven culture inside the organization. IBM is one of the leading companies moving in this direction. Last year alone, the company […]
The Six Systems Thinking Steps to Solve Complex Problems
A quick overview of common problem solving techniques indicates that most of these methods focus on the problem rather than the whole eco-system where the problem exists. Along with the challenges of global economy, problems turn out to be more complicated and sometimes awakening problems. Climate change, traffic problems, and organizational problems that have developed […]
What Kills Design Thinking?
Design thinking is one of the many beneficial tools that help individuals and companies to find new ideas through changing the way they think in different situations, including discovering ideas or solving problems. So, why do companies who adopt design thinking methods still face possible failure? Why aren't they able to innovate even after using […]
Five Common Mistakes Committed by UX Design Teams
Building a user-driven design process is one of the main targets of the UX design team, which aims to create a product or service design driven by deep understanding for the end user. In their book, Design Experience: The Role of Design and Designers in the Twenty-First Century, Mike Press and Rachel Cooper highlighted how […]
6 Steps for Effective Critical Thinking
On a daily basis, we face problems and situations that should be evaluated and solved, and we are challenged to understand different perspectives to think about these situations. Most of us are building our cognitive thinking based on previous similar situations or experiences. However, this may not guarantee a better solution for a problem, as […]