A large part of what UX/UI designers do is generate new ideas. Always being creative is difficult, so you will inevitably need tools and techniques to help you develop new ideas. In this article we discuss Brainstorming For UX/UI Designers.
One of the most popular methods for doing this is brainstorming. Alex Osborn invented this strategy to help people generate as many ideas as possible without restrictive fear of judgment.
Read this post if you want to know the rules of brainstorming and how to apply them adequately to a UX/UI design agency.
Table of Contents
Brainstorming Rules for UX/UI Designers
Brainstorming is used in practically every field and industry where proposing new and exciting ideas is important. Now, let’s see how your design team in a UX/UI agency can use this approach to generating ideas to develop better solutions.
Rule 1. Give people time to think, don’t force them to participate.
Very often, brainstorming begins with participants gathering in one room together and starting to think. But this method puts the cart before the horse. Before beginning the brainstorm, allow team members to come up with ideas on their own.
Once they’ve reflected on and written down their thoughts, only then is it a good time for them to be shared with the group. This allows participants to freely exchange ideas, reduce conformism, and fight the fear of speaking out.
Rule 2. Allow everyone to express their ideas freely.
This is a critical rule of brainstorming: no judgment.
Make every effort possible to maintain an open discussion without giving out rankings, ratings, or labels. To put it – don’t denigrate any ideas at this stage. Rules and negativity about ideas only limit creativity and prevent participants from unleashing all of their potential and possibilities.
How long should brainstorming last? If your team members are gushing with ideas, don’t stop! Even if the session is going on for longer than expected, the time is worth it.
However, on the flip side, if immediately after the session has begun, the participants already seem burned out,” then finishing early and trying a different day again may be the best use of time. Creativity is finicky, so sometimes you need to work around when the creative juices are flowing.
Rule 3. Make sure that each UX/UI designer offers at least one idea.
Sometimes you feel the urge to immediately reject an idea that seems inappropriate or impractical – never do this during a brainstorming session.
Some people are embarrassed to share their thoughts with others. So, it is important to let everyone speak out without fear – even if you have to listen to complete nonsense (but remember – sometimes crazy ideas turn out to be the most successful!).
The best way to get rid of labels is first to allow all participants to make suggestions, and only then share their impressions. This type of brainstorming is called “circular brainstorming,” and it helps to drown out those participants who impose their opinions on others far too often. It helps diversify opinion.
Rule 4. In this case – quantity over quality.
When proposing ideas, try to offer as much as possible in the minimum amount of time. And always remember: bad ideas do not exist!
The point of this approach is to propose ideas so quickly that there is no time left for making complex assessments or taking back words. This allows team members to reveal their creative potential and not be afraid to express bad ideas.
Rule 5. Record everything
The main thing to do at any meeting is to keep a record. This rule is held for brainstorming as well. However, you should not require participants to write down practical or feasible ideas only.
Do not rush to choose the best idea so quickly – you can always separate more successful thoughts from the less successful ones.
Afterwards, always make sure that every member of the discussion has access to all of the ideas that were thrown around. You can reflect on the ideas with your UX Agency and start to filter the best and most practical ideas from the less useful ones.
All of this should happen after the brainstorming session is over, of course.
Rule 6. Allow each participant to add their ideas later.
After brainstorming, the creative impulse mustn’t fade. But what if an idea proposed by someone inspires an incredible idea from another UX/UI specialist, but in the days later?
Allocate 10-20 minutes every day, or on particular days, in the weeks that follow so that participants can share new ideas that have emerged after the initial brainstorm and exchange of ideas.
Be careful – it is important not to stretch out this process indefinitely. Set an exact deadline so that team members know how much time they have left to think about a particular idea or idea, and when work on the project in question needs to begin actively.
Conclusion
We hope you have found this article about Brainstorming For UX/UI Designers helpful. By attracting employees or team members to participate in the brainstorming process, you can improve the processes and the quality of products you make.
Conducting regular brainstorming sessions using the tips and techniques mentioned above increases the efficiency and effectiveness of UX/UI designers. This also allows participants to have an important outlet and direction for creative impulses that are essential for effective design.
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