Just do something

Start visualizing your ideas as soon as possible, it will not only help finding a solution, but also clarifying the problem.

This November we started working on a new website for one of our clients. A large multi-brand company with lots of stakeholders and different business goals. The board of directors (our main stakeholder) want one big corporate website. The underlying brands each want their own presence online.

We decided to plan kick-off sessions with each of these companies in order to report to the board of directors right after. We planned 6 sessions (8 persons each), which actually ment we would talk to 48 stakeholders (+ 3 directors). You can imagine what happened after we tried to unravel all the information we gained after only two sessions. We got overwhelmed by all the information fired at us.

Visualize your ideas quickly

Instead of waiting for more information (with the risk of getting even more confused) We decided to sketch possible solutions in this early phase. The moment we started sketching we found to understand the problems and information better than we did before. Although we feel not having found the holy grail yet, we do have the feeling to have regained grip.

We expect the remaining 4 sessions to be more effective now that we’ve visualized our ideas. Our lesson of last week, start visualizing as soon as possible. It will not only help finding a solution for your problem, but also help understanding the problem itself.

‘When a design problem is so overwhelming as to be nearly paralyzing, don’t wait for clarity to arrive before beginning to draw. Drawing is not simply a way of depicting a design solution; it is itself a way of learning about the problem you are trying to solve.’
Matthew Frederick – 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

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