Being Designerly: Think Critically

In this series of posts about Being Designerly, we explore ways to be more creative by thinking, feeling, and acting like a designer. The previous posts discussed how successful designers Put People First, Cultivating Curiosity and Notice & Observe;  this one is about Critical Thinking.

Think Critically: Intentionally evaluating information, ideas, or situations from different perspectives to understand, and decide how to act on it.

Earlier this year, around the coronation of King Charles III, the image above went viral on LinkedIn. It looked like an advertisement showing a white circular beer head with soft peaks resembling a crown against a completely black background, with the coronation date, and a former Guinness tagline: “Good things come to those who wait.” With millions of views and likes and comments, posters were praising this “advertisement” by Guinness celebrating the coronation.

It wasn’t.

It was just a clever idea by Australian brand designer Anthony Smith. And even though this was revealed, the clever visual still made the rounds for many days later, still being referred to as a Guinness ad, by posters not taking a minute to do some critical thinking. Or for that matter, not spending a few seconds to read the comments where this was debunked before reposting.

Good researchers and designers apply critical thinking throughout the design process. Design involves people, and their inputs, opinions, and feedback, and critical thinking plays a big role in the entire design process. Designers are always asking questions, looking for evidence, and really understanding things. Faced with a design opportunity or “problem”, they don’t dive into a solution without first taking time to understand the real problem, which may lie layers below the stated problem

How do you think critically?

• Apply designerly curiosity: Ask "why," "how," and "what if" questions to delve deeper into ideas, arguments, and situations.
• Analyze information by breaking it down into smaller parts and identifying key points, evidence, and assumptions. Evaluate the credibility and reliability of sources.
• Consider Multiple Perspectives: Train yourself to view issues from different viewpoints, to get a more comprehensive understanding and balanced view of a topic and recognize potential biases.

Developing critical thinking is an ongoing process that takes time and practice. Start by incorporating these techniques in your daily life, and gradually you'll find yourself becoming more adept at analyzing information, making informed decisions, and engaging with complex ideas.

This post on critical thinking wraps up the designerly skills related to the head (thinking). In two weeks, we will focus on empathy, one of the designerly skills related to the heart (feeling). You should also sign up for curated content on the topic every other week at news.beingdesignerly.com. I hope these will help you, designer or not, be more creative and innovative by being designerly!