Designing Approach and Thinking

Empathise:Where to Begin?

Design Process = Creative block

I have the ideas, but trying to put them into work through a design process has just given me a creative block. First, I thought the ‘Double Diamond’ might work well, as I know I want to make a game about teaching children about the challenges of climate change. But as soon as I started researching it, I found it just made my thinking stagnate. I was asking myself, how do my ideas fit into all of this? Where do I start, and what should I do?

Design Council (2025) Double Diamond

Then I thought about looking at the Stanford d.school model. And once again, because I already have a fairly clear idea of what I want to make—a computer game about teaching children about climate change—it overwhelmed me. I felt I could not relax into my ideas.

Stanford.d School (2012)

So I took a step back, forgot about any design process, and remembered my creative principles. I have been focusing too much on trying to learn new things, such as design processes, and getting bogged down instead of having fun and enjoying the process. When I started to relax more, I realised that if I want to make a game about the challenges of climate change, I need to understand two things:

What is climate change?
What are the challenges for humanity in trying to achieve a net zero future?

The latter is the crucial part. I have started reading Net Zero: How We Stop Causing Climate Change by Dieter Helm (2021). This has freed up my thinking, and I have begun to empathise with the gravity of the challenges that face humanity. This empathy feels natural.

Whereas before, when I looked at the design process, I was searching for empathy—wanting to know where to begin—now I feel I have already started simply by taking the first step. I think I got bogged down because it felt as though Stanford d.school was not guiding me on where my empathy should be applied. Yes, it should be directed towards the user, but I have found that branching my empathy into the problem itself—what I want children to learn—has freed my thinking. The design process is not a set of rigid rules but a way to communicate my ideas.

By empathising with the problem I want children to learn about, I am developing a reflexivity towards both the problem and the process. This will be particularly useful when I talk to my students about their thoughts on the climate crisis. After reading the first 60 pages of Helm (2021), I realise that my empathy at this stage lies within the problem itself, and from here, I can now move forward!

Challenges of Climate Change and Achieving NET ZERO

Inspired by Helm (2021)

February 17, 2025

Design Thinking

Martin (2024) in this video talks about integrative thinking in a design thinking. Martin explains that creativity and innovation comes from when two opposing tensions and constraints are combined to create innovative solutions. He refers to the tensions as ‘either’ and ‘or’.

My tensions = My Problem:

Tension A (Either)	Tension B (Or)
Countries achieving net zero carbon emissions	Double digit climate change

Brown (2010) outlines what this means in the context of design.

Brown (2010) explain it’s a balance between ‘desirability’ what do humans need? Is it feasible? And is it economically viable?

To answer these questions I need to understand what Net Zero and apply integrative thinking.

February 15, 2025

Creative approach, My Design Principles, My Idea

Creative Approach

I have gone back and forth with ideas about what technology to design for this project. In some ways it has been quite unsettling. My indecisiveness has fluctuated between what I am going to design? It how I am going to design it? And how I am going to present my process?

What I have battling with is what Menial and Thiene (2022) the creative approach. They outline two approaches. The first is when the designer is the expert in the domain that are designing in. Their expertise in the domain provide the foundation and informs the rest of the design process. From this standpoint the design process is seemly more of step by step approach. This is not where I am at or who I actually am as a person.

The second creative approach out lined by Menial and Thiene (2022) fits more neatly with where I am at and who I am. It relies on life experinces and the actual product and what it will look like at bthe beginning is unknown. They outline that inspiration can come at a ‘drop of a hat’ at unexpected moments when one least expect it. This is what has happened to me and at first I was concerned that this creative approach is random and not valid but I am reassured it is.

My Principles

I have decided to based my creative principles based heavily on Menial and Thiene (2022) a second creative approach and also added some of my own principles.

My creative principles are as follows:

use a characteristic design process to gain to increase the chance of success
openness to work beyond specialist expertise
use trail and error
talk to others not connected with the actual design
explore new perspectives
do not be limited by specific outcomes or expectations
develop a sense of curiosity, playfulness and humor
demonstrate empathy and compassion
underpinning learning theory
immerse myself in mind of the user

Throughout the design process I will use symbols for each of my creative principles to ensure that they constantly met throughout.

These symbols will be used throughout my design process to ensure that my creative principles are always adhered too.

My Idea Brief

The problem/challenge or issue: The climate crisis

Working design idea: A computer game that teaches children about the challenges of the climate crisis.

Who is it for? For children 7+ and above

Where and how is it used? In school educational settings as well as for commercial use

What technology is involved? AI

What learning is happening? Social constructionist