Great Questions Lead to Great Design: A Guide to the Design Thinking Process

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”― Albert Einstein. Thinking is the key to the unknown. Behind all great discoveries there were great thinkers. You can’t achieve something until and unless you think. Each and every person has different thinking capabilities and different point of view. Each person’s thinking is unique. Thinking has no bounds. But when do people think? “WHEN PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS, THEY THINK”. Whenever a question arises in your mind you start thinking and that can lead you to something beyond your expectations. But often people avoid asking questions in this society where everybody’s life has turned into a computer program.

Questions are often the reflection of genuine interest and curiosity of a person.

A person who knows how to use the QUESTION” can achieve great goals. Questions lead to better understanding of a topic, deep knowledge and better thinking.

Thus “QUESTION” is an important quality in the designing industry. For creative profession like designing proper techniques of questions can unleash great achievements.

PROBLEMS FACED IN ASKING QUESTIONS

Now, we see that designers don’t ask questions but what is the reason behind it?

The underlying answer is that in today’s world designers work 24×7 in a busy schedule, so they think that questioning can cause interruptions in work and waste time which they can’t afford. In today’s world according to all time is money. So they think questioning and thinking is a waste of time.

Even if some designers ask questions they do not ask as often as they should.

This problem arises as they think that they will irritate people by asking questions. They think that annoying people by asking question can be a problem to their career.

Another possible reason of this nature can be the fear or lack of question framing skills. Asking quality questions need proper framing. So some people lack the ability of framing their questions creatively and cleverly thus they become scared of asking questions.

WHAT IS THE NEED OF QUESTION IN DESIGNING

Asking questions play a key role in website designing world. It can benefit one in great ways.

It plays the following roles:

• Builds better and deeper understanding about a topic.
• It develops the quality of communication with others
• It reflects one’s point of view and useful ideas.
• It helps to clear out doubts and contradictions.

Thus asking questions is an important element that every designer must possess.

But as we discussed many people face problem in framing and expressing their questions.

HOW TO FRAME A QUALITY QUESTION

Should Be Bold

A good question should be bold enough to show exhibit your confidence and add weightage to your opinion. It should not be an uncertain and weak question that shows lack of confidence.

Should Clear Doubts

Good question should clear doubts and clarify the situation instead of adding up to the confusion and creating a mess.

Should Increase Level

A good question should not lie in basic level. It should add up to the common levels. It should be beyond the basic. A good question always aims at developing things rather than keeping it same.

Should Open Up Possibilities

A good quality question open up many unseen and overlooked possibilities. It should provide better alternatives. A good question always opens up new possibilities.

HOW TO SETUP ENVIRONMENT FOR ASKING QUESTIONS

Choose the person

First of all carefully select who to ask the question. This is very important part. You need to select the listener cleverly.

Analyze listeners mind

Properly read the mind and behavior of the listener whom you want to ask the question.

Create the environment

Then start setting up the environment to ask question. Start with basic conversations, be interactive draw attention of the listeners towards you.

Ask your question

After setting up the environment look for the perfect opportunity and when you reach that situation ask your well framed question. Most importantly be confident and certain while asking the question.

Follow up questions

After asking the first questions ask follow up questions to add up details to the question. Dig deeper into the content.

RELATION OF QUESTION AND IMAGINATION

Designing is a creative field thus designers have better imagination capability than others thus if they ask questions based on their imagination it may open up several options.

Such as, if a designer think of future and asks if this was future what would’ve been the decision? Or what would’ve been the scenario? Such question opens up new perspectives. This completely depends upon the imagination of the designers. Each person may perceive different image which may provide several options but the main step is to ask the right question. Right question provides with best answers.

QUESTIONING IN GROUPS

Questions always exhibit your involvement and show your interest on a topic. When you are in a group instead of asking individual question ask question involving the whole group. For example instead of asking “How could i…….?” ask “how could we….?” etc.

Asking questions in group is an important part as it is involving other people too. By asking proper questions in group you not only develop thinking but also give a feeling of involvement of others, the other people must feel needed as this boosts up their performance and working quality. And it also binds the whole group together, which is an extremely important factor in a designing team.

SELF QUESTIONING

This is a quality that very few people possess. It is very important for a designer to ask questions to themselves. It is obvious that no one knows us better than ourselves. By asking question to ourselves not only we evaluate ourselves but also get to know several unknown virtues hidden inside us. Asking self-questions helps a person to think at great depths. Asking questions like “What should I do?”, “Is there a better possibility?”, “Why does this happen?”, “How can I do this in a better way?” etc. asking questions like this helps us to understand ourselves better and we get to know what we are truly capable of. It provides the designers with solutions that they have been seeking for a long time. This helps them to share responsibilities and do their work with better ease as it becomes clear for them that what they can do and how they can do it better. Thus self-questioning plays an extremely important role.

Thus, questions are truly one of the prime factors in designing. It is not only a pathway to success but also the key to the door to unknown. As designers are the one who transforms dreams and imaginations into reality thus for them the unknown is the treasure.