Let’s get some shoes! – Ask. Try. Do. Share –

I am addicted to shoes. When I shoe shop I go through a process: I ask. I try. I do. I share. All this time I thought I was design newbie, but it turns out I’ve been mirroring the design process in my daily life since becoming a shopaholic at an embarrassingly ripe young age! On the upside, my shoe addiction gives me a perfect way to illustrate the design process, as interpreted by a self-professed shoe addict, in a non-conventional way.

The Design Process (according to a shoe addict)

When we did the planning session in class for the upcoming Sauder School of Business event, one key component to the design process of “Ask. Try. Do.” put forward by the DStudio team was missing: Share. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sauder – it is a brilliant school with exceptional faculty, but the concept of “Share” is missing in our education and our peer-to-peer interactions far too often. Rather than fostering an environment of collaboration, we often feel the need to compete. I am as competitive as the next person, in fact probably more so, but the competitiveness can sometimes get blown out of proportion. When we share – whether it’s notes, ideas, insights – we all benefit. Design is the same way.

Ask.

We can learn a lot from Ask. We gain insight. We gain context. We gain constraints. What I’ve learned from DStudio is that Ask doesn’t always have to be verbal; as Sara Beckman discusses, observation can provide more insight than Ask in the form of focus groups or interviews.

In the context of my shoe shopping, I look at shoes before audibly asking sales associates for assistance.

Try.

Trial and error is something we’ve been practicing since children. When we try, we learn things that do and don’t work. I believe this stays true throughout life.

Shoes, as we all now, are a true trial and error item. I may be a 7.5 in flats and a 9 in heels; pure madness, if you ask me. Can’t we introduce a universal sizing scheme? I digress – trying is key to determining whether or not I actually like a shoe.

Do.

I don’t actually love this step. As was talked about in Schon’s article, more often than not design is about creating a prototype or a plan, and is rarely actually involved in execution. I think I’m afraid of execution. I am a strategist, not a tactical implementer.

Pull out the credit card and get ‘er done! When I Do with shoes, I rarely hesitate.

Share.

Again, my favourite part of any process is the feedback, the give and take of knowledge and experience. It’s what I think is the most important step; it makes all of us better.

Shoes, like any great item, are better shared. Besides, that way it makes your shoe collection seem ten times bigger than it is!

In the spirit of Share at Sauder, one of the ideas my group developed that I loved the most was a competition between two teams that required the teams to collaborate in order to succeed. Our devious selves thought it would be witty to not inform the competitors of this, thus observing how long it took for the idea of collaboration to come naturally to them. Sneaky, but reflective of how we all perceive the innate competitive nature of Sauder students. What I also found valuable was the Share session at the end of the individual group brainstorming. I realized during this process that there were issues my group hadn’t addressed, such as the flow of the room with two whiteboards open, that other groups had considered. By hearing others’ ideas, I was able to acknowledge components of each group that I loved and could potentially come together in a unique way that reflected the true nature of DStudio. It was during the class Share that I got really excited about the actual implementation, which as I mentioned above is unusual for me!

Design is not linear. Design is not even circular. Design is a web of constant interaction and feedback. As Schon discusses, ongoing talk back throughout the process leads to insights and innovations that one wouldn’t otherwise have. Within Beckman’s article, Charles Owen’s concept on design as problem solving stood out to me. I used to agree wholly with the circular nature of design, but the more I delve into design, the more I realize it’s truly a constant evolution of feedback to different stages of the design process. I don’t always go from Try to Do, sometimes I skip ahead to Share and Ask to gain feedback before proceeding on to Do. I think that after the initial Ask, the design process is constantly in flux, a complicated interwoven web of connections and talk back that results in innovation and creativity.

Ask. Try. Do. Share. Design, simplified.