Creative process is an approach for generating output, especially designs, and other creative works. There are many methods to creative process, and even similar frameworks are defined differently by creative professionals. There is no one true methodology and designers should be aware of the options available to them, and adapt practices to suit their circumstance.

Approaching problems can be exciting, but also overwhelming, especially when things are entangled with ambiguity. Creative process enables the designer to move through complexity and ambiguity while creating a clear sense of direction.

The Double Diamond

The Double Diamond is a common model which takes designers through 2 core phases: one to unpack and discover more about the problem, and then applying those learnings to a well developed solution. As one follows along the rise and fall of creative process the process looks like:

1. Diverge on the problem. Unpack the problem with research and document learnings. Reveal what you don’t know, and confirm assumptions you’ve made.
2. Converge on the problem. As you discover more about the project, define the needs, goals, and objectives.
3. Diverge on the solution. Explore different concepts, and as many as possible. Quantity over quality.
4. Converge on the solution. Eliminate the weakest concepts, and strengthen the best ones. Quality over quantity. Beware cutting and pasting the best parts of solutions together, as this can often lead to poorly integrated solutions.

Beware cutting and pasting the best parts of solutions together, as this can create unfulfilling solutions.

Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a results-based framework for developing solutions to problems. Design Thinking is a cornerstone of User Experience Design and can be applied to many scenarios across varying lines of business.

Many will argue a different number of stages in this model, typically ranging from 3 to 7 steps. Everyone’s interpretation, however, is valid! It comes down to how you want to define, organize, and apply the model to your work and so that can change depending on your approach to work, size of your team, and other factors. So with that in mind, here’s my own break down of the process:

1. Research and Empathize. Learn about the problem and the users experiencing it.
2. Define and Ideate. Define user's goals and motivations, and come up with ideas of how to help them.
3. Prototype and Test. Give the best idea(s) temporary tangibility with just enough fidelity so you can lean early on how your users will respond. Address issues and make something better based on what you learned.
4. Analyze and Measure. Once a solution has shipped don't forget about it. Have clear metrics on how the feature or solution will be successful and determine over a designated period of time if it was.

If these four points create a looped circle, that would bring designers back to the research phase after observing how users engage with the shipped solution—and endless process of refinement. However, this is a framework and not a step-by-step process, which means:

• The framework is continuous. It never ends, and there’s always something to investigate or improve. It’s important to prioritize your issues in alignment with business goals.
• The framework is scalable. Time spent within a phase could be one day, or one month. You and your team should know the appropriate scale at which you’re conducting projects.
• The framework is non-linear. Start at the phase which makes the most sense for where you’re beginning your project and jump around as needed.