Learn How to Communicate, Build and Strategize with Design Thinking
Visuals, words, form, function… there are so many aspects to design. While each application of design, from marketing to manufacturing, seems different, they are a lot more similar than you might think.
For Adoption
Design is a function of communication and we all have our preferences, just like in verbal communication. Some people are more formal, some more casual, some minimalist, some verbose. Similarly, we have our design styles and preferences. These are often implicit and we can’t name them, however, when we see something we like, we know it.
I Just Like It
The characteristics of familiarity and likability in design and communications have an automatic effect. We are predisposed to be agreeable when we like something or when we find it familiar. This is true no matter if the topic is branding, furniture, processes, etc. Design is a powerful communications tool. It is a powerful persuasion tool.
What Do Design and Persuasion Have in Common?
We all have a message to communicate. Whether in a professional or personal context, we regularly need to communicate and communicating clearly is the goal. If every time you have a message to share, you consider the “design” of your message rather than just the words, you can create clear communications.
Audiences are message consumers. While most don’t know it, speakers are marketers, carpenters are urban planners, engineers are efficiency adoption experts. When we neglect to consider design in the work we do, no matter what that work may be, we undermine our roles and our chances for success. You certainly wouldn’t send out a marketing message without any design. Why communicate a directive formally when speaking to teenagers? Why ignore existing habits when laying out an operational format?
For Consumption
So design for your consumers. Think about words and messaging. Think about user experience and purpose. Think about performance and flow. If you apply design thinking to your messages, your tools, and your processes, your goals are more likely to translate into results.