VISUALIZATION

Challenge:

I am in a client- based, undergraduate programme and profession in the field of design. We  deal with clients, learn about their needs, requirements and wishes and tend to work  around these things, on a day-to-day basis.  Due to lack of familiarity between the clients  and our team, often a communication gap is noticed. My team and I are unable to  comprehend what exactly the clients desire and thus find it hard to reach their expectations.  Thus, our main challenge is to reduce this communication gap, to understand our clients  better.    Selection:

Visualization is a common tool used in our field. We think about different possibilities in  terms of ideas, concepts, and designs for our projects, and come up with methods to  represent these on paper or digital software. But from my understanding after this course,  we are far away from utilizing this tool to its fullest. I have chosen this tool as our team is  already familiar with it and hence would be easy to work around with. Thus, we are hoping  it will help bridge the gap between the clients and my team.    Often, either clients are unable to express what exactly they require/ need in a project or  they do not understand what our idea and solution for the project is. To enhance the  communication and understanding between our team and clients, we have started using the  different visual thinking methods taught in this course, which was implemented on both,  our clients as well as our team.    Application:    We have started to capture our thought process and ideas through sketches and  photographs. Now, more emphasis is given on a nonverbal method of communication,  something beyond words and languages.    The first method we implemented was ideation and sketching. This helps all, understand  the context of the work/ projects. All the different thought processes, of different people in  the team was put up on paper. This helped us sort out similar ideas and come up with a  common solution, something that everyone agreed to. Any confusion between my  teammates was sorted out by explaining our views in the form of diagrams and sketches.    We also encouraged our clients to use this method to express their requirements. Since all  cannot sketch well, we suggested the groups (clients and teammates) to use something as  basic as shapes, forms, and stick figures. The sketches were mainly used to understand  each other’s thoughts in- order to come up with a solution that suited everyone.

Prototyping is another method that my group used. The ideas that were finalised after the  ideation and sketching processes were now brought alive through prototyping. We made  small scale models, both digital and real, and showed the same to our clients.     Insight:    Visualisation proved to be a powerful and efficient tool to clear creative blocks and reduce  the communication gap.     Ideation and sketching allowed my team to understand each other’s ideas more clearly as  sketches gave a better image of how and what a person was thinking. The same aids  allowed clients to represent their requirements on paper. Having a visual example of their  requirements helped us to understand their needs better.     Prototyping gave my team and clients first-hand experience of the finalised ideas. We could  now see our ideas come alive on paper / digital media. It helped to give a real form to our  thought processes. Prototype models also helped the clients to know what they could  expect form our team and hence reduced their doubts and uncertainty.    Approach:    Our overall response and understanding of clients, situations, has significantly improved  after we have relied on the visualization tool. It not only helped to reduce the  communication gap with our clients but also, improved the understanding within my team.    We would like to continue exploring this tool as it has proven to be helpful in numerous  ways. It is an appropriate tool for various parts of the design process from conceptualisation  of ideas to client interaction to final production. It has helped us overcome the lack of clear  communication and understanding within the team as well as with clients.     Even though our field is familiar with this tool, this course let us explore it to greater depths.  Now we can take this tool beyond our workspace and allow clients to utilize it and help us  overcome multiple challenges.


VISUALIZATION Challenge : I am in a client- based , undergraduate programme and profession in the field of design . We deal with clients , learn about their needs , requirements and wishes and tend to work around these things , on a day - to - day basis . Due to lack of familiarity between the clients and our team , often a communication gap is noticed . My team and I are unable to comprehend what exactly the clients desire and thus find it hard to reach their expectations . Thus , our main challenge is to reduce this communication gap , to understand our clients better . Selection : Visualization is a common tool used in our field . We think about different possibilities in terms of ideas , concepts , and designs for our projects , and come up with methods to represent these on paper or digital software . But from my understanding after this course , we are far away from utilizing this tool to its fullest . I have chosen this tool as our team is already familiar with it and hence would be easy to work around with . Thus , we are hoping it will help bridge the gap between the clients and my team . Often , either clients are unable to express what exactly they require/ need in a project or they do not understand what our idea and solution for the project is . To enhance the communication and understanding between our team and clients , we have started using the different visual thinking methods taught in this course , which was implemented on both , our clients as well as our team . Application : We have started to capture our thought process and ideas through sketches and photographs . Now , more emphasis is given on a nonverbal method of communication , something beyond words and languages . The first method we implemented was ideation and sketching . This helps all , understand the context of the work/ projects . All the different thought processes , of different people in the team was put up on paper . This helped us sort out similar ideas and come up with a common solution , something that everyone agreed to . Any confusion between my teammates was sorted out by explaining our views in the form of diagrams and sketches . We also encouraged our clients to use this method to express their requirements . Since all can not sketch well , we suggested the groups ( clients and teammates ) to use something as basic as shapes , forms , and stick figures . The sketches were mainly used to understand each other ’s thoughts in- order to come up with a solution that suited everyone . Prototyping is another method that my group used . The ideas that were finalised after the ideation and sketching processes were now brought alive through prototyping . We made small scale models , both digital and real , and showed the same to our clients . Insight : Visualisation proved to be a powerful and efficient tool to clear creative blocks and reduce the communication gap . Ideation and sketching allowed my team to understand each other ’s ideas more clearly as sketches gave a better image of how and what a person was thinking . The same aids allowed clients to represent their requirements on paper . Having a visual example of their requirements helped us to understand their needs better . Prototyping gave my team and clients first - hand experience of the finalised ideas . We could now see our ideas come alive on paper / digital media . It helped to give a real form to our thought processes . Prototype models also helped the clients to know what they could expect form our team and hence reduced their doubts and uncertainty . Approach : Our overall response and understanding of clients , situations , has significantly improved after we have relied on the visualization tool . It not only helped to reduce the communication gap with our clients but also , improved the understanding within my team . We would like to continue exploring this tool as it has proven to be helpful in numerous ways . It is an appropriate tool for various parts of the design process from conceptualisation of ideas to client interaction to final production . It has helped us overcome the lack of clear communication and understanding within the team as well as with clients . Even though our field is familiar with this tool , this course let us explore it to greater depths . Now we can take this tool beyond our workspace and allow clients to utilize it and help us overcome multiple challenges .