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VCD Design Thinking.

VCD 2024

How do
designers think?

Design thinking frames the ways designers think when working within the design process. There are two main approaches to thinking shown in the VCD Double Diamond. These are divergent thinking and convergent thinking. Within these two cognitive activities, designers use a range of different strategies, processes and routines to fulfil the objectives of each phase.

Takeaways

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Design thining

Design thinking refers to the mental strategies and processes that designers use to understand problems and create solutions. It is structured in the Double Diamond model, which involves expanding and narrowing ideas to arrive at a final solution.

 Divergent Thinking

  • Divergent thinking involves exploring multiple ideas freely, maintaining an open mind, and challenging assumptions. It encourages creativity by allowing students to imagine multiple possibilities without judgment.
  • Using divergent thinking routines helps students break out of creative blocks and re-energise their imagination. These routines should become a regular classroom habit to nurture innovation and curiosity.

Convergent Thinking

  • Convergent thinking involves selecting preferred ideas by analysing and comparing them. It also involves refining and resolving the design concept. It’s a more focused and evaluative phase that balances out creative exploration.
  • Convergent thinking helps students reflect on their design journey, reconsider initial ideas, and improve their work through critical evaluation, supporting resolution. It fosters a deeper understanding and promotes thoughtful, intentional decision-making.

Two ways to think

Design thinking means the different cognitive (brain, mental) approaches and activities designers use to understand, define, develop and deliver solutions to design problems. The Double Diamond design process is made from two diamond shapes. When travelling from left to right, one first encounters an expanding space. This expansion represents how designers seek to expand their ideas. Keeping an open mind, challenging assumptions and finding new understandings about the problem. This approach to thinking is called divergent thinking. Once we come to the centre of the diamond space travelling to the right sees the space reduce until it reaches a point. This represents the ways designers need to flip their thinking and begin to evaluate, select and reduce design ideas, retaining only the best most suited ideas, ultimately arriving at one perfect solution. This approach to thinking is called convergent thinking.

Thus, the left diamond refers to ideas, insights and information that are first expanded freely then are clarified and reframed and converge in a brief. The right diamond refers to ideas and concepts using visual language, that are first expanded and then evaluated, reduced in number and refined, converging in one deliverable presentation.

Let’s explore ways to use divergent and convergent thinking.

A diagram showing alternating divergent and convergent thinking phases, represented by arrows spreading out and coming together, with icons of a ship, pie chart, helicopter, and delivery truck above each phase.
Divergent and convergent thinking spaces are shown over the VCAA VCD Design Process diagram adapted from the Illustration found on page 12 of the VCAA Study Design for Visual Communication Design.
An infographic from the Visual Communication Design Poster Pack Full contrasts divergent and convergent thinking, outlining their processes, strategies, and key tools with colorful icons and diagrams. The Target Learning logo appears in the upper right corner.
Order this poster to compliment your learning. Click on the image above to find out more. Alternatively, get a VCD poster set or find it in the VCD Theory Reference Kit.
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Divergent Thinking
Convergent Thinking

Divergent Thinking

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Pushing ideas outwards and away

Divergent thinking routines and strategies stimulate and encourage the free flow of ideas. This is ‘Blue-Sky’ thinking time so students are encouraged to identify and challenge assumptions they may have, be open-minded, suspend their judgement, curious and imaginative about new and innovative ideas.

Divergent thinking routines and strategies are like games that frame particular approaches to understanding a problem, need or opportunity, audiences and users, visualising and developing ideas. When students are stuck for ideas or just need help in re-energising their creative journey, using these routines will help to re-ignite their creative passions.

Try it. How many different ways could you use to get to school each day? Divergent thinking is about could.

Context for divergent thinking

Developing effective divergent thinking is not as easy as it looks. In fact, it's kind of counterintuitive to students’ desire to get work done and finish the job. Divergent thinking uses creative thinking games that make thinking visible. The takeaway from the idea of thinking routines is that they are routines. Not only are they a framework for creativity but they should become routine in the classroom. Students need to become used to the routine of thinking. Thinking new things, thinking differently, thinking about thinking. Select from any of the following routines:

Examples of divergent thinking routines

  • Mind mapping
  • See, Think, Wonder
  • Visual research
  • Consumer audience profiles
  • Scrapbooking
  • Brainstorming
  • Exquisite corps
  • Forced Associations
  • What if someone else was designing this?
  • Action verbs/ SCAMPER
  • Time limits
  • Least amount of shapes or forms
  • Work in a completely different way
  • Sprinting
  • Alternative grids
  • Kit of parts
  • Method stations
  • Deconstruction
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For further information on the Divergent Thinking and a full range of routines, click the link at right.
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Divergent Thinking
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Convergent Thinking

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Bringing ideas together

Convergent thinking involves collecting data about ideas and making it visible for evaluation. It uses strategies to help designers summarise, categorise and synthesise information. It is analytical and comparative, enabling designers to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and reflective, helping them signpost new directions to develop concepts further.

Convergent thinking can also be meta-cognitive thinking. It enables student designers to examine their work and document their journey of change during the design process. It centres around identifying initial conceptions and describing what may have changed and investigating reasons for change in skills and knowledge during the periods of design and presentation. Through reflection, students reconsider their initial understandings of design problems in the brief and re-frame them.

Try it. How should you travel to school if you want the cheapest, fastest or warmest way to get there? Convergent thinking is about should (for a specific outcome).

Convergent thinking uses critical and reflective thinking. Select from any of the following routines:

Examples of convergent thinking routines

  • Pugh or Prioritisation Matrix
  • Four Field Matrix
  • Compas Points
  • P.M.I
  • De Bono's Six Thinking Hats
  • Other role-playing games
  • Two Stars and a Wish
  • S.W.O.T. analysis
  • P.O.O.C.H
  • "I used to think, now I think"
  • Guided questions
  • Red light, Yellow light
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For further information on the Convergent Thinking and a full range of routines, click the link at right.
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