Culture Centered Design Process

Design Thinking Method

The Culture-Centered-Design-Process is focuses on creation with the explicit intention of improving the experience and functional performance inside a defined culture.

It's a Question of Culture.

Culture sets the overall framework of our lifestyle. It is the most defining influence on human interaction. Within this design thinking process we frame the use case inside a defined culture and focus on what’s most important for them and master any (unknown) challenge.

The process takes you through Six Preset Stages. The stages are linear, the whole process could to take place dynamically simultaneously and/or be repeated. Learn more about our philosophy of Semiotic Analysis or the Culture Centered Design Process.

Learn more about the philosophy of Culture Design or the Design Process Application FormBase.

Culture Design Form Base

Project Setup + Management

By having a clear vision of the end in mind, we set up an intuitive compass for the upcoming journey. Keeping the end in mind helps to develop solutions for unexpected challenges.
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Why?
Why is the essential representation behind the brand and the business, the product or services. With the right why you inspire the people, and that inspiring can be infectious and becomes a cult?
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How?
How does the results from your team and the way how can you transfer your vision into action and how does it gets interpreted?
How does it become special and does it sets you apart from your competition?
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What?
What is "simply" about the solution we are going to work on!

Observe

This stage is meant to observe the culture and understand the way they do things and why. Only if we discover the deep needs, we will get insights with impact. It's very important to get what they think about the world, and what is meaningful to them. A definition of culture helps to understand people. With a scientific approach of semiotic analysis, you uncover the full Culture Image and get to know their Structure & Dynamics. The understanding of the connection between us and the things around us may help to create better products and services.

Question

Who are the culture carrier?
Where are the mechanics and dynamics of culture constellation?

As an expert of people, a designer should read the potential market like a semiotician and becomes aware of the sign system, called culture. The challenge is to master all signs to get the true power of design and make dynamics and relationships within an existing system visible.

Interprete

The second stage is meant to interpret the culture image with a Map of the full user journey from macro to micro. The whole path needs to get completed with in all 4 Dimensions. The Map reflects the dynamics of the defined culture image elements in a defined specific time zone.

Question

How does the user journey look like?
Where are the conflict areas?

The user journey taken to get solution and the experiences gained are the true reward. Put on your glasses. Outline the journey with all participants and make notes how they act and struggle.

Define

Now, it’s time to accumulate the information gathered during the shape stage and establish focus. Define up to 6 key challenges, which needs to get mastered to improve or solve the selected conflict area. Collect possible solutions, take a keen decision at the end and formulate a Final Statement as a question.

Question

Where exactly does the conflict take place?
What is the impact to the culture?

To get the right answer, you have to ask the right question. To asked the right question, you have to know the user’s identity and deep needs.

Design

Everyone generates and present a broad range of ideas for consideration. Do everything to convince everyone of the Positive Impact of your design solution. The winner convinced all and leads the direction of the concept to be developed.

Question

Where does the culture develop to?
How can you support and influence their path positively?

Design is a matter of knowledge. The Law and Order of your culture Image brings you to the perfect design solution. If you can break it down to a simple thought, you are almost there.

Develop

Establish a realistic interactive representation of your concept. Nothing more. Work fast and dirty, but realistic enough to prototype the concept. You better have experts and masters of improvisation in your team.

Question

Which requirements are mendatory to answer the user needs?
Which not?

Improvisation as a basic for new product development. Done is better than perfect. Start at the end, and how the test will look like. Just Prepare your prototype for the test only.

Validate

This is a make or break occasion. It' about Implementation and Acceptance, if your solution will be successful. The Level of Satisfaction to your design solution is the key performance indicator to your improvements. If there is no satisfaction to your concept, the solution is simply useless.

Question

Does your solution improve the status quo?
Does your design support their future development?

Implement the design solution inside your defined culture and start to observe again. (like the first stage) Give no instruction or comments. Only see and listen and go back to the stage inside the design process until it’s convenient enough to replace the frustration with a start of an improvement.

Design Process