Define

One of the most important steps of design theory is the define phase. According to Professor Hastings, “The define mode is when you unpack and synthesize your empathy findings into compelling needs and insights, and scope a specific and meaningful challenge.”

The two goals of the define phase include developing a deep understanding as well as your point of view. Your point serves as a guiding statement gives insights on what was uncovered during the previous phase. By understanding these insights of the problem, a better design can be made to create a successful solution to the problem that needs to be solved.

Even after a problem is identified, how does one know if it’s the correct problem to solve? When you’re so invested into fixing one problem, you can often forget that there could be another deeper problem, so it is important to step back from the problem and think about it through different angles. This is where the define step of design comes into play. The define step “…helps to open a problem up so that you can view it from different perspectives to find innovative solutions. It encourages you to think clearly about what exactly you are working on. It is a way of considering other factors that might have nothing in common on the surface,” according to the YouTube video by the channel DIY Toolkit. By using the define step to look at a problem from multiple different perspectives, it can help you be completely sure that you are solving the correct problem(s) in the most efficient way(s) possible. A great way to define the problem comes from research, but how do we know it is the most effective problem statement to solve with the design? There are a few steps to make sure you have the most effective problem statement, such as choosing a problem, writing the statement, phrasing it as a question, not imposing limitations, is actionable and specific, it is short, and that it is human focused. If the problem fits all of these qualifications, it is an effective problem statement. By making sure you are going about solving it the correct way, it will save you time from fixing your solution later on, as well as guaranteeing your product to be more effective to solving the problem.

When companies become big, they begin to lose focus on the define aspect of designing a product, as they become more interested in the money rather than the human being’s experience. Creativity as a whole doesn’t become as important as it once was, causing a “norm” when it comes to design rather than individuality that caters the most to solving specific problems. “I think we got to a place in our evolution where designers have to step up. I think now it's time the creative people find how can we solve the problems we have, because it's not about money, it's about people. It's about you know someone who can decode the life you have and how to move that forward. It is about designing the systems, not the gadgets,” says Nille Juul-Sørensen, a Danish designer. As a designer, he sated that if society moved from a linear economy to a circular economy, waste would feed back into a system that allows for maximization and clever application of resources. This change would result in useful product designs that could actually solve problems and are more in touch with society compared to the products mass produced without much research by larger companies. This loss of touch with society with the designing of new products truly reflects on why define is so important when it comes to design.