Designer Thinking

Before research, before precedents, before a single sketch — identify and reframe the core design question. Every project has a thesis. Finding it is the first act of design.

The question is not "design a lobby." It is: how can we make a government building feel like it belongs to its people? That reframe changes everything that follows.

Six frames, rigorously applied. Who are the users, stakeholders, and community? What is being designed and what must it do? Why does it need to exist? Where will it live — physically, culturally, digitally? When will it be used? How might it be made and experienced?

Each question is answered twice: with a realistic view of what is factually true, and with an open-minded view of what could be if we imagine carefully.

Filter every design direction through Rams' 10 Principles. Not all ten apply equally to every project — the discipline is identifying the three to five principles most relevant, and letting them demand specific things of the design.

A civic center must be honest. A shelter must be unobtrusive. An artist studio must be aesthetic. These are not optional — they are the design constraints that replace arbitrary decisions with principled ones.

This is not a demographic exercise. It is an act of imagination and compassion. Who is this person, really — not their role, but their life? What do they feel when they encounter this problem today? What do they need that they may not even be able to articulate?

What would delight them? What would disappoint them? How should they feel before, during, and after moving through this space? The user must become real before any design decision is made.

Three to five built projects, products, or experiences that speak directly to this design challenge. Not just the famous ones — the goal is to find the less obvious reference that teaches something specific and unexpected.

For every precedent: what quality makes it relevant? What is the specific lesson to carry forward — and what to consciously avoid?

Synthesis into a single concept name — one or two evocative words that anchor every subsequent decision. A concept statement. A "How might we…" thesis question. Three project-specific design principles derived from the research, not borrowed from generic theory.

Then: the full design brief. A living document that disciplines the work — research, empathy portrait, precedents, concept, open questions. Not to be filed and forgotten, but to be returned to every time a decision needs anchoring.