design abilities

In 1990, Nigel Cross wrote an article called “The nature and nurture of the design ability,” Design Studies, Vol 11, No. 3. He described eight core design abilities of professional designers:

1. to produce novel, unexpected solutions by
2. applying imagination and constructive forethought to practical problems;
3. to use drawings and other modeling media as a means of problem solving. In doing this they need to be able
4. to deal with uncertainty and decision making on the basis of limited information,
5. resolving ill-defined, “wicked” problems by
6. adopting solution-focusing strategies,
7. employing productive / creative thinking and
8. using graphic or spatial modeling media.

Do you see yourself developing along these dimensions? If you rated yourself on a 10 point scale from 1 being total lack of skill to 10 being total and complete proficiency, where would you rate yourself today? How do you plan to get better?

Design is very hard work, and great design is even harder. A design team must embrace the uncertainty of the process. For those teams who are insecure, they have a tendency to go with their first design, and improve on it. But experienced design teams live with the uncertainty of not selecting a design too fast. Don’t be afraid to keep exploring: write more predispositions, continue with your research, draw your insights, and develop many more concepts. Eventually themes and patterns will reveal themselves to you.

Great designs come from many iterations, including sometimes discarding what seemed like a good idea at first. When the design argument is tight, when few holes can be poked into it, then you know you’re onto something.