Step 5: Generate rapid ideas
With a foundation of research, information architecture, and inspiration, you're ready to start generating your own design ideas. The key here is to work quickly and explore a wide range of concepts before refining the details.
Key considerations
Go wide.
Brainstorm as many ideas as possible without judgment. Set a goal of coming up with at least 6 distinct ideas in a short timeframe, say 30 minutes. Don't worry about feasibility at this stage.
Explore radical or unconventional approaches alongside safe options. For example, consider a completely text-based interface, a highly visual interface with minimal text, or a conversational interface.
Combine and remix elements from your inspiration examples. Take interesting bits from different designs and mash them up in new ways.
Select 1-2 ideas to move forward with.
Review all the ideas you generated. Which ones feel most promising or exciting? Trust your intuition.
Choose 1-2 ideas that you want to flesh out further. Look for ideas that are distinct from each other.
Soren Iverson, the designer behind some of the internet’s most hilarious UI remixes, told me about a 30-minute workshop he conducted with his team. He asked each person to intentionally design a hilariously bad UI for the task at hand. Then, everyone exchanged their designs and the other person had to improve it. This yielded some great ideas.
Best practices
Set a time limit for the ideation session to maintain momentum and not get stuck overthinking.
Example
Commit to moving on after 30 minutes even if you want to keep ideating.
Involve stakeholders or users in the ideation process to get diverse perspectives, if possible.
Example
Run a quick brainstorming meeting with your product manager and an engineer.
Use a consistent format for capturing and presenting the ideas so you can compare them easily.
Example
Sketch all the ideas on sticky notes using a black marker so the fidelity is consistent.