The role of critical thinking in design

Critical thinking allows designers to move beyond superficial solutions and engage deeply with problems they are trying to solve. It requires a reflective and inquisitive approach, where designers continuously question their assumptions, explore multiple perspectives, and seek to understand the underlying principles and context of their work.

Strategies to develop critical thinking

Critical thinking is an essential skill for designers, one that can be honed and developed over time through continuous practice and reflection.

Practice active listening

Active listening means fully concentrating on a speaker to remain attentive and properly comprehend what is being communicated. It enhances critical thinking by ensuring a deep and accurate understanding of information and helps build a meaningful rapport with the speaker. Here are some ways to improve it:

Maintain eye contact

A no-brainer of course, but eye contact is necessary to show you’re attentive and care about what is being said. If eye contact makes you uncomfortable, a good strategy is to look at the person directly between the eyes.

Don’t think about what you’re going to say next

This shifts your attention from the speaker to yourself and means you’re not truly listening. If you’re engaged, you'll respond naturally without needing a prepared response. If you’re interviewing someone you should already have a list of questions.

Avoid interruptions

Let the speaker finish their thoughts without interrupting to ensure you hear the complete message.

Use affirmative gestures and verbal nods

Nod, smile, and use other cues to signal your engagement and understanding, like interjecting with occasional affirmations like 'uh huh' or 'I see'. In Japanese—a culture that emphasises politeness and respect—these interjections are called 'aizuchi' and play a crucial role in maintaining conversation flow and showing attentiveness.

Summarise

Confirm your understanding by paraphrasing or summarizing key points. This is important to ensure you’re not making assumptions about what is being said or making a straw man of their argument.

Ask open-ended questions

Prompt further discussion by asking questions that require more than a yes or no answer. Encourage users to share their thoughts and feelings in their own words.

Spend more time on analysis

Analysis forms the bedrock of critical thinking, allowing you to properly understand the task at hand in a deep and meaningful way. To start with, it's essential to gather sufficient data from various sources, including research, real-world observation, personal experience, reflection, reasoning, and communication with others.

Tools like Dovetail offer powerful features for organising, analysing, and synthesising qualitative data, enabling researchers to uncover insights and make data-driven decisions efficiently.

Unpacking complicated problems by breaking them down into smaller, manageable components helps identify relationships and patterns that may not be immediately apparent. Take the time to carefully review your data, considering real-world scenarios, rather than making hasty decisions based on instinct. Here are some more tips for improving analysis:

1. Question assumptions: Challenge existing beliefs and consider alternative perspectives.
2. Gather information: Collect data from diverse and credible sources.
3. Identify patterns: Look for trends, similarities, and differences in the data.
4. Use logic: Apply logical reasoning to connect pieces of information and draw conclusions.
5. Stay objective: Avoid personal biases and focus on factual evidence.
6. Practice regularly: Engage in analytical exercises like sudoku, brain training, or other puzzles to stay sharp.
7. Seek feedback: Get input from others to gain feedback and different perspectives.

Be open-minded and willing to have your assumptions challenged

Critical thinking involves understanding why others think the way they do, engaging with their ideas respectfully, and being aware of one's own cognitive biases. The goal of critical thinking is not merely to win arguments but to seek real understanding and truth.

When working with a team, fostering a more reflective and considerate approach to thinking and dialogue results in a more diverse range of ideas, better problem-solving, and stronger collaboration.

Cultivate curiosity

Curiosity drives the exploration of new ideas, tools, and techniques, leading to innovative and unique work. It compels designers to ask questions, seek out new knowledge, and continuously expand their understanding of the world around them.

Question everything

Cultivate curiosity by questioning everything. Ask yourself "why," "how," "what if," and "what else" to dig deeper into issues and explore alternatives. ""Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible."—Don Norman

"Curiosity is the driving force behind all great creativity. It’s about asking questions, exploring new possibilities, and never being satisfied with what you already know. It’s the curiosity that leads you to uncover new ideas and push the boundaries of what’s possible."

—Rick Rubin

Foster a healthy critique culture

Regular design critiques not only benefit the design process but also foster curiosity among team members. By encouraging open and honest feedback, individuals are prompted to ask questions, explore different viewpoints, and delve deeper into the reasons behind design choices.

Be present

Practice mindfulness to help keep yourself focussed and in the moment. Mindfulness is about noticing when you've been captured by thought or emotion and developing the tools to snap out of it.

Hang with people from different tribes

Engage with people from diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, disciplines, and cultures to see things from novel perspectives and broaden your worldview.

Step out of your comfort zone

Try new activities, travel, and spend time in different environments to stay fresh and not stagnate.

Develop a growth mindset

Individuals with a growth mindset—those who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, strategies, and feedback—tend to achieve more than those with a fixed mindset, who see talents as innate. You can develop a growth mindset by embracing challenges, viewing feedback as opportunities for improvement, and continuously seeking new learning experiences.

When a design fails to perform as expected, you have the opportunity to investigate reasons behind its shortcomings. Embracing these moments allows you to cultivate a mindset that perceives failure as a catalyst for growth. Remaining resilient in the face of setbacks is essential to fostering continuous development.

Understand the human experience in the context in which designs are used

Common design flaws arise from designers' failure to consider how people interact with objects, and the context in which they are used, highlighting the importance of user-centered design. Develop habits that involve observing users in the real-world and continuous discovery.

So much of what humans produce is meaningless and ephemeral. Think deeply about the human experience to create products that meet real needs, solve real problems, and provide real meaning to people’s lives.

Impediments and cognitive biases

Everyone has inherent biases that can influence their thinking and decision-making. Introspection helps in recognising these biases and once identified, steps can be taken to reduce their impact, leading to more objective and balanced thinking. But before we can acknowledge them in ourselves, we must first learn what they are. Here are some common obstacles to look out for:

Anchoring

Relying too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the anchor) when making decisions.

Availability heuristic

Overestimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory, often influenced by recent exposure.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms preexisting beliefs, while ignoring contrary evidence.

Overconfidence

Excessive confidence in one's own answers to questions or solutions to problems, often without adequate evidence.

Ad hominem attacks

A fallacy that occurs when someone attacks the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making an argument, rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself.

False dilemma

Also known as a false dichotomy, a false dilemma is a fallacy that occurs when only two options are presented as possible choices, ignoring the possibility of other alternatives.

Straw man argument

A fallacy that occurs when someone misrepresents or exaggerates an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack. The "straw man" is a distorted version of the original argument that is set up to be easily knocked down.

Final thoughts

Critical thinking is a deliberate process of carefully analysing information, challenging assumptions, and drawing logical conclusions based on evidence and reasoning. It requires being self-aware of cognitive biases that lead to errors in judgement.

These are not the traits of a mindless, pattern recognition machine, programmed to predictably regurgitate what it has seen before. These are skills that only the human element can contribute.