Simon WhatleyApr 8

Service design starts before design.

Before a journey map. Before a blueprint. Before a single user interview. It starts with agreeing the problem.

If the team can't state the problem in one sentence, you're not ready to design the solution. You're ready to have the conversation that was skipped.

It's almost never obvious. And it's almost always worth naming explicitly.

#ServiceDesign #ProblemFraming #PublicSector

Simon WhatleyMar 18

Boundaries are chosen, not given.

Where you draw the line between "inside" and "outside" determines what solutions you can see.

What have you left out of scope that might actually matter?

#SystemsThinking #Boundaries #ProblemFraming #ServiceDesign

Itamar MedeirosJun 6, 2025

Designers don’t just solve problems—they shape how we see them. Learn how #synthesis, #sensemaking, and #problemframing turn complexity into clarity and insight into strategic action.

https://www.designative.info/2025/06/06/importance-synthesis-sensemaking-strategic-design-essential-skills-designers-strategists/

Itamar MedeirosOct 13, 2024
Is uncertainty your design kryptonite? In this workshop at UX India 2024, I reframed uncertainty and ambiguity as opportunities for innovation in the messy middle of the design process. https://www.designative.info/2024/10/01/dealing-uncertainty-ambiguity-workshop-ux-india-2024/ #CreativeProcess, #DesignStrategy, #EmotionalIntelligence, #Facilitation, #Leadership, #ProblemFraming, #PsychologicalSafety, #SpeakingAtEvents, #StakeholderAnalysisAndManagement, #Teamwork, #UncertaintyAndAmbiguity, #Workshops
"Dealing with Uncertainty and Ambiguity" workshop at UX India 2024 » { design@tive } information design

Is uncertainty your design kryptonite? In this workshop at UX India 2024, I reframed uncertainty and ambiguity as opportunities for innovation in the messy middle of the design process.

{ design@tive } information design
Itamar MedeirosOct 31, 2023
In this article, I'll make the case that #InnovativeThinking and #IdeaGeneration are not mere tools in the #CreativeProcess but rather the compass guiding #Designers and #Strategists through the complex landscape of modern #design and #strategy. #Creativity  #DesignSkills #LateralThinking #ProblemFraming #SixThinkingHats #ThoughtLeadership https://www.designative.info/2023/10/26/innovative-thinking-and-idea-generation-for-thought-leadership-essential-skills-designers-strategists/
Innovative Thinking and Idea Generation for Thought Leadership » { design@tive } information design

Innovative thinking and idea generation help designers and strategists bridge uncertainty and vision. Let's review the necessary skills for this process.

{ design@tive } information design
Itamar MedeirosFeb 16, 2023
While #creatives today sometimes struggle with a lack of specifics on their #DesignBriefs and #clients who expect them to be telepathic, the request put out by #CocaCola in 1915 was as stunningly succinct as it was ambitious. The result was a #design that's appeared in some of the best billboard #advertising. https://www.creativebloq.com/news/history-coca-cola-bottle-shape #Creativity #CreativeProcess #Packaging #AdvertisingHistory #ProblemFraming #ProblemSolving via #CreativeBloq
Did the Coca-Cola bottle have the most ridiculous design brief ever?

(But also the simplest?)

Creative Bloq
Itamar MedeirosFeb 2, 2023
What is the opportunity or problem that a novel #technology could solve? From a #designer’s perspective, this is a particularly difficult type of #design: finding problems for solutions. #DecisionBias #ProblemFraming #AI #ArtificialIntelligence https://medium.com/@panu/ai-is-a-solution-in-search-of-a-problem-ab4c6e818206
AI is a solution in search of a problem - Panu Korhonen - Medium

A designer identifies user problems or opportunities and creates desirable, viable and feasible solutions. Recently there have been questions like “How could we use AI, machine learning or GPT3 for…

Medium
Itamar MedeirosJan 25, 2023

Let me show you how to use #JobsToBeDone (#JTBD) to facilitate the two-way #negotiations between #leadership and #ProductTeams that allows for managing by #outcomes.

https://www.designative.info/2022/03/10/managing-by-outcomes-and-jobs-to-be-done/

#Agile #BusinessDecisions #ClaytonChristensen #Collaboration #ConsumerBehavior #CreativeProcess #DesignDecisions #DesignStrategy #Facilitation #JoshSeiden #LeanUX #OutcomesOverOutputs #ProblemFraming #ProductDefinition #ProductManagement #PsychologicalSafety #SharedUnderstanding #Visioneering #OKR

Managing by Outcomes and Jobs to be Done » { design@tive } information design

Managing by Outcomes with Jobs to be Done (JTBD) can help facilitate two-way negotiations that allow for team autonomy and ownership.

{ design@tive } information design
Itamar MedeirosJan 12, 2023

Learn why influencing #decisions that shape #strategy begins with facilitating and incorporating #feedback to #designs to drive #ProductVision forward. We will also look at best practices for articulating #DesignDecisions and how to conduct #DesignCritiques.

https://www.designative.info/2022/02/15/strategy-feedback-and-design-reviews/

#BusinessDecisions #Collaboration #CreativeProcess #DecisionMaking #DesignStrategy #Facilitation #LeanUX #ProblemFraming #PsychologicalSafety #StakeholderManagement #Teamwork #TrustBuilding, #UX #Visioneering

Strategy, Feedback and Design Reviews » { design@tive } information design

Influencing larger decisions that shape strategy starts with facilitating the smallest decisions, including how to incorporate feedback into designs.

{ design@tive } information design
Itamar MedeirosDec 7, 2022

The effectiveness of the #team in making #GoodDecisions depends on their ability to generate #alternatives.

Let's discuss how #designers and #strategists can become skilled #facilitators who help teams create choices.

https://www.designative.info/2021/07/26/strategy-and-the-art-of-creating-choices/

#Agile #BusinessDecisions #CreativeProcess #CriticalThinking #DecisionMaking #DesignDecisions #DesignStrategy #Facilitation #Innovation #LateralThinking #ProblemFraming #ProjectManagement #SixThinkingHats #StakeholderManagement #Teamwork #Workshops

Strategy and the Art of Creating Choices » { design@tive } information design

In this post, I'll talk about how can designers step up to the plate and become skilled facilitators that help teams with creating choices.

{ design@tive } information design