What If? What Wows?

    Over the past few months, we have been diving into ideation and prototyping—two integral steps in the design thinking process. It’s fascinating to see how these phases evolve from conceptual brainstorming into something tangible. I want to take this blog post as an opportunity to reflect on what I've experienced, the challenges I faced, and what I've learned from each phase.

    The ideation phase was exciting, but also quite overwhelming. During our class session on ideation, we discussed how ideas need to be limitless—a space where no thought was too wild or unrealistic. Initially, I found myself holding back, possibly due to my desire to filter ideas before they were even verbalized. This limiting mindset changed once we started our group brainstorming session. I quickly realized the value in a free, unrestrained flow of ideas, as some seemingly outrageous suggestions sparked genuinely innovative approaches. A key takeaway for me here was the importance of quantity over quality during this phase. By focusing on generating as many ideas as possible, it removed the pressure of having to come up with something "perfect" and allowed creativity to really flourish.

    I also noticed how important it was to lean into the dynamics of group ideation. Having different perspectives brought in, especially when they contrasted with my own thoughts, led to some surprising yet highly innovative ideas. One specific instance that stood out to me was when a classmate suggested a solution that seemed completely impractical at first—but it ended up being the catalyst for an entirely new direction. Reflecting on that moment, I think it demonstrated the value of a truly open ideation process—one where we’re not just hearing, but actually building on each other's contributions.

    Following ideation, we moved into prototyping, where the challenge was to bring abstract ideas into physical or visual forms. This transition from thinking to doing was both exciting and nerve-wracking. The prototyping lecture highlighted that the goal was to make ideas tangible, enabling feedback and iteration. This made me think about how important early failure is. Prototyping is less about perfection and more about learning what doesn’t work, so we can move closer to something that does. I found myself wanting to make the first version "right," but that idea was quickly dismantled when my group and I saw how flawed our initial prototype was—and how those flaws led us to a better understanding of the problem.

    The first feedback round was challenging. Hearing critiques can sting, especially when you’re attached to an idea. However, looking back, this was a crucial growth point for me. The feedback not only pushed us to refine our prototype, but it also opened my eyes to the importance of empathy in this process. Understanding how someone else perceived our prototype—and where it fell short—helped us reshape it to better serve the needs of the user.

    One of the things that stood out to me during this process was the natural connection between ideation and prototyping. Ideation encourages a broad scope, while prototyping narrows it into something tangible—but it isn’t a one-way process. Instead, it’s a constant back-and-forth. Every time we prototyped, it led us back to the ideation phase to think about what we could do differently. It was an iterative cycle—which is very different from my previous assumption that ideation ends and prototyping begins. I realized that iteration is a fluid conversation between generating and testing ideas.

    The most challenging part of prototyping was recognizing when to pivot versus when to persevere. When our early feedback showed several flaws, I struggled with whether to continue refining the same idea or switch directions altogether. This reminded me of our discussions in class about the importance of failing fast and using failure as an information-gathering tool rather than a discouragement. I found that embracing this mentality helped me shift my perspective, allowing me to appreciate the value in the mistakes we made along the way.

    Reflecting on these phases, I see how they were opportunities for personal growth, particularly in learning to let go of the fear of failure and embrace uncertainty. As someone who often leans toward analytical, clear-cut solutions, ideation felt like stepping into unfamiliar territory. However, this experience showed me that discomfort is a part of growth, especially in creative processes.

    I’m also walking away with a deeper appreciation for collaboration. The back-and-forth dialogue between group members—the disagreements, the building on each other’s ideas, and the shared "aha" moments—felt like the embodiment of what we learned about integrative thinking. I’m learning to see design thinking as not just a framework for innovation, but as a journey that allows us to better understand both the problem at hand and each other.

    I’m eager to move forward with this process, especially now that I feel more comfortable with the iteration cycle. My goal for our next prototype is to incorporate the feedback we received while staying open to further changes. I’m also hoping to carry these lessons of embracing uncertainty and valuing diverse perspectives into other areas of my work—both academically and personally.