VIDBE-Q Volume 69 Issue 4
Empathize
The first step in a Design Thinking framework is to conduct research to
understand the requirements of users (Gibbons, 2016). Since the co-design process
centers end users as designers as a first principle, this initial step requires that
Miranda's peers get to know her access requirements in using the stove in the
school kitchen as well as the barriers to use that she faces. This is an opportunity
for Miranda to use her self-determination skills as she articulates her requirements
and the design problem to the team.
Define
The second step in the framework requires the design team to define the user
requirements and begin to look for opportunities to innovate. Miranda and the rest
of the design team meet to identify the potential strategies, tools, and devices that
they may require to develop solutions to the design problem. Using her
compensatory access skills, Miranda shares the different types of tactile markers
that she uses on a regular basis (e.g., elastic bands for juice containers, bump dots
for microwave displays). Mr. Vargas also recommends some potential materials,
such as puff paint.
Ideate
The third stage is to ideate. In the previous stage, the team learned that some
of the tactile markers that they are interested in using are either permanent or semi-
