When David Kelley, Bill Moggridge, and Mike Nuttall founded IDEO, a consulting firm that would become one of the most innovative companies of the late 90s, they brought a new perspective in product development.

当大卫·凯利(David Kelley)，比尔·莫格里奇(Bill Moggridge)和迈克·诺塔尔(Mike Nuttall)创立一家咨询公司IDEO时，它将成为90年代后期最具创新性的公司之一，他们为产品开发带来了新的视角。

Instead of focusing on a perfect solution to the problem of their customers, they tried to consider and test every possible idea and alternative.

他们没有专注于为客户的问题提供完美的解决方案，而是尝试考虑和测试所有可能的想法和替代方案。

This imaginative way of designing innovation enabled them to find more creative ways to help their customers.

这种富有创意的创新设计方法使他们能够找到更多创造性的方法来帮助客户。

It helped them feel more accurately their customers’ journey and understand the emotional side of their behavior.

它帮助他们更准确地感觉到客户的旅程，并了解其行为的情感方面。

How have they been so creative and empathic as product designers?

他们如何像产品设计师一样富有创造力和同情心？

According to David and Tom Kelley in Creative Confidence, what they called design thinking opened up new possibilities for them to connect with consumer behavior.

David and Tom Kelley在“ 创意信心”杂志中表示 ，他们所谓的设计思维为他们与消费者行为联系开辟了新的可能性。

By pushing them to ask meaningful questions, to use more visual and intuitive analysis, and experiment more smartly, this method allowed them to get inside the heads of users.

通过推动他们提出有意义的问题，使用更多直观直观的分析方法并进行更明智的实验，此方法使他们能够进入用户的头脑。

Inspired by it, here are 4 ways to design creative and relevant innovations for a specific market.

受此启发，这里有4种方法为特定市场设计创意和相关创新。

问自己有意义的问题 (Asking Yourself Meaningful Questions)

The most spontaneous habit you can have facing a problem is to ask yourself the question of how you can solve it (how can I solve a power outage?).

您遇到问题时最自发的习惯是问自己如何解决问题的方法 (我该如何解决断电？)。

You may then try to address the functional side of the problem, what makes it not work on the surface: an internet failure, a bug, a button that doesn’t work…. Here, by putting the fuses back on or calling an electrician.

然后，您可以尝试解决问题的功能方面，是什么使它在表面上不起作用：互联网故障，错误，无法使用的按钮……。 在这里，通过重新装上保险丝或致电电工。

But another good way to connect with the concerns of your end-user is to ask the question of why: why do we have so many power failures? Maybe because the supplier is bad or some employees are misusing the facilities.

但是，解决最终用户关注的另一种好方法是问为什么这个问题：为什么我们有那么多电源故障？ 可能是因为供应商不好或某些员工滥用了设施。

By asking the question of why 5 times, you are gradually getting closer to the emotional side of the customer’s experience:

通过问为什么5次的问题，您逐渐接近客户体验的情感方面：

Why has the machine stopped working? It overloaded and went haywire.

为什么机器停止工作？ 它超载了，到了干草堆。

Why was the machine overloaded? The bolts weren’t sufficiently oiled.

为什么机器过载？ 螺栓注油不足。

Why weren’t they oiled enough? The oil pump wasn’t doing enough.

他们为什么不加油？ 油泵做得不够。

Why wasn’t the oil pump working properly? It was damaged.

为什么油泵不能正常工作？ 它已损坏。

Why was it damaged? The user kept trying to oil the machine.

为什么损坏了？ 用户一直在尝试给机器上油。

Why did the operator force the oil pump? Because he was frustrated by the slowness of the machine. He thought the machine was not going fast enough even though it was very productive.

操作员为什么要强制油泵？ 因为他对机器的运行速度感到沮丧。 他认为这台机器即使足够高效也不能足够快地运转。

In this way, you get clear insights into the problem to be solved: you have to convince the user that the machine is productive even though it runs slowly. For example, by adding more noise or appearance of speed to the machine.

这样，您就可以清楚地了解要解决的问题：即使机器运行缓慢，您也必须说服用户该机器可以生产。 例如，通过增加机器的噪音或速度外观。

密切观察客户 (Observing Closely Your Customers)

One of the problems in analyzing consumer behavior is to find a common measure between quantitative data (conversion rates, consumption habits) and qualitative data (surveys and testimonials on customer motivations).

分析消费者行为的问题之一是要在定量数据(转化率，消费习惯)和定性数据(有关客户动机的调查和推荐)之间找到一个共同的度量标准。

Quantitative studies do not necessarily explain why consumers do what they do, whereas qualitative studies rely only on conscious motivations and justifications, which may miss deeper motivations.

定量研究不一定能解释为什么消费者会做他们所做的事情，而定性研究仅依赖于有意识的动机和辩解，而这可能会错过更深层次的动机。

An optimal way to gather relevant information is to observe the consumer in action, analyzing his gestures, his environment, the timing, and the circumstances in which he starts to consume. You may ask them to show how they use your product, to describe it, or even to draw a precise picture of their experience.

收集相关信息的最佳方法是观察消费者的行为，分析其手势，环境，时间以及开始消费的环境。 您可能会要求他们展示他们如何使用您的产品，对其进行描述，甚至精确描绘他们的体验。

This is the method of design thinking to study in an empathetic way, to understand the emotional factor of product use.

这是一种以共情的方式进行研究，了解产品使用的情感因素的设计思维方法。

The IDEO agency, for example, conducted observations of people handling everyday tools, giving them the idea of a new ice cream spoon.

例如，IDEO机构对人们使用日常工具的情况进行了观察，使他们有了新的冰淇淋勺的想法。

They noticed that some people had the reflex to lick their spoon when enjoying the rest of their ice cream before throwing it in the bin. So they created a spoon that was more pleasant to the tongue.

他们注意到，有些人在享受剩下的冰淇淋之前，会反射舔舔勺子，然后将其扔进垃圾箱。 因此，他们创造了一个汤匙，使舌头更愉悦。

If they had done interviews, they certainly would not have had this information, as it was an almost unconscious habit. But it made a big difference in the experience of using the utensil.

如果他们进行了采访，他们肯定不会获得这些信息，因为这几乎是一种无意识的习惯。 但这在使用器皿的体验上有很大的不同。

自己拍摄客户体验 (Picturing By Yourself The Customer Experience)

When entering the creative process, there may be a tendency to rush to find a unique solution adapted to your observations.

进入创作过程时，可能会急于寻找适合您的观察结果的独特解决方案。

Yet, focusing on the number of ideas and potential solutions is generally more effective than aiming for one optimal solution.

但是，集中精力于想法和潜在解决方案的数量通常比针对一个最佳解决方案更为有效。

It is not necessary to imagine in detail all the possibilities, simple visual means can suffice: drawings, collages, videos to redesign habits, problems, and the general experience of the consumer.

不必详细想象所有可能性，简单的视觉手段就足够了：图纸，拼贴画，重新设计习惯，问题和消费者一般经验的视频。

Dan Roam, an expert in the art of visual thinking, insists that anyone can draw anything — even if they don’t feel naturally creative or gifted — just by deconstructing it into 5 basic shapes: round, a line, a square, a triangle, an irregular shape.

视觉思维领域的专家丹·罗姆(Dan Roam)坚持认为，只要将其分解为5种基本形状(圆形，直线，正方形，三角形)，任何人都可以绘制任何东西-即使他们没有自然的创造力或天赋，形状不规则。

Starting from these shapes, emotions, relationships, and ideas can be represented in a drawing. You can retrace them, renew the presentation of your figures, reconsider the emotions of your clients with the help of a simple pencil.

从这些形状开始，可以在图形中表示情感，关系和想法。 您可以借助一支简单的铅笔来追溯它们，更新图形的呈现方式，重新考虑客户的情绪。

From there, you can create different storyboards, depending on the scenario.

在这里，您可以根据情况创建不同的故事板。

That’s how the airline Air New Zealand managed to rethink the customer experience of its flights creatively: in groups they brainstormed a dozen prototypes with cardboard, polystyrene, and paper do-it-yourself, redesigning the seating configuration of their aircraft.

这就是新西兰航空公司设法创造性地重新思考其航班的客户体验的方式：他们集体进行了头脑风暴，用纸板，聚苯乙烯和自己动手做的纸制原型，重新设计了飞机的座位配置。

This allowed them to design the possibility of including bunk beds for passengers inside the seats themselves and without using more space.

这使他们能够设计出在自己的座椅内部包括供乘客使用的双层床的可能性，而无需占用更多空间。

建立便宜但有影响力的原型 (Building a Cheap but Impactful Prototype)

Sometimes rather than waiting for good ideas, the most effective way is to directly test the impact of a prototype on consumers. This allows you to experience them directly and give credibility to the creative solutions you propose in meetings.

有时，最有效的方法是等待原型对消费者的影响，而不是等待好的想法。 这使您可以直接体验它们，并使您在会议中提出的创造性解决方案可信。

Creating a presentable prototype can be complicated and time-consuming, but there are quick and easy ways to make it happen. For example, by producing videos or interactive presentations that simulate the essential parts of a product or software.

创建一个合适的原型可能很复杂而且很耗时，但是有实现它的快速简便的方法。 例如，通过制作视频或交互式演示来模拟产品或软件的基本部分。

Adam Skaates, a toy inventor, once came up with the idea of offering his team an application that allows children to create their monster and dance with it. To overcome their likely skepticism, he got himself filmed on his smartphone, dancing to the rhythm of whoever touched his smartphone.

玩具发明者亚当·斯卡茨(Adam Skaates)曾经提出过一种想法，即为他的团队提供一种应用程序，该应用程序允许孩子们创建怪物并与之共舞。 为了克服他们的怀疑态度，他在智能手机上拍摄了自己的照片，并以碰触智能手机的人的节奏跳动。

You may know also the first version prototype of Dropbox, which was only a demonstration video.

您可能还知道了Dropbox的第一个版本原型，它只是一个演示视频。

This kind of product is enough to understand if consumers will be interested in the features and even the design of a future product, and already allows you to learn from it.

这种产品足以了解消费者是否会对未来产品的功能甚至设计感兴趣，并且已经允许您从中学习。

Your turn to increase your creativity as a product designer with these 4 techniques!

现在，您可以使用这4种技巧来提高产品设计师的创造力！