Published on <a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/design-thinking-parallels-closet-reorganization-71991e02b953?source=rss----eb297ea1161a---4">| Prototyping: From UX to Front End &mdash; Medium</a> Kristin Myers Harvey 
What IS design thinking, anyway? Since it’s become more a focus and driving initiative at my <a href="https://www.ciscospark.com/">job</a>, I’ve been trying to understand it better by attending workshops and reading more about it. Yet, here’s the funny thing I’m finding: it’s *really hard* to nail down exactly what design thinking is by talking about it. It’s not like a user story, or acronym where you can pass on the knowledge over a quick [Cisco Spark] message.
In the past few months, it’s only been after I started *practicing* it that I’ve been able to see it with more clarity. Whether its <a href="https://design.cisco.com/">in context of work</a>, or looking <a href="https://designingyour.life/the-book/">more broadly at my own life</a>, it’s really much more effective to experience it in action or talk about it without examples.
And now my eyes are open — so of course I’ve started to see it around me with parallels in real world examples. As a creative exercise (and a bit for my own sanity) I will start to collect samples of this divergent/convergent thinking here in a series of writings. Here’s my first!
<h4>Design thinking is a bit like reorganizing your closet.</h4>
Or, no … it’s like hiring the professional organizers like <a href="http://lifeinjeneral.com/">Life In Jeneral</a> to reorganize your closet.
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*x0YhNfq1_7XiROh_huTmYw.png"><a href="https://instagram.com/lifeinjeneral">@lifeinjeneral instagram feed 😍</a>
Have you seen these guys? A friend introduced me to <a href="https://instagram.com/lifeinjeneral">their Instagram feed</a>, and I’m hooked. While I swoon at the beautiful pictures of perfectly organized pantries, bathrooms and walk in closets, I really actually prefer to follow the stories. Why? Process, process, process. From the the hopeless before shots, to the jaw-dropping line up at Container Store checkout line, all their staging and sorting — then the the final AFTER shot. Oh my — I’m obsessed!
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*5v49W8t4Gl4DfxrPb30FoQ.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*NENZl_e-aP2F9gX6XD5EtQ.png">
Why I keep coming back to go through their stories (and why I just LOVE them) is the process they seem to repeat at very client site, no matter the scale or room:
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*sR8M163pRNoWsrkfyIX1yw.png">
Step 1: No matter what room they are working in or the size of the space, they always take EVERYTHING out. I love this because it&#8217;s counter intuitive. It makes a mess — and blows up your room/house making the situation temporarily much worse than if you had just left things alone. You know you’ll keep somethings, so why not just take out what you know you don’t want? Wrong.
DISCOVER: This is the divergent process that design thinking requires. You have to let go of what you think you know — or of what you think should go in your space. This type of process (yes, disruption) is actually called ‘going broad’ and is fundamental to design thinking. In the organizing process it forces you to see the bones of your space with fresh eyes.
Is it overwhelming? Sure. Does it make a mess? You bet. Are you wondering if it&#8217;s worth it? Probably.
But I love how consistently the Life In Jeneral team does this — and they are so right. You can’t make the deep change in a closet or pantry that completely redesigns the space if you don’t start by taking everything out. What if coffee filters *didn’t* go there anymore? What if you didn’t cram your sweaters into this nook that will never be big enough? Once you go there — you can clean the space and start to discover the bigger picture with no strings (or sweaters?!?) attached.
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*1vXeGj7fBEg3CEGcR332JA.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*lPsCIfq0iC3XzdlUyhDTpw.png">
Step 2: After everything is out of its hiding spot and out in the open — its time to sort. Any food items past expirations get tossed, clothes get sorted into categories that make sense for the client.
DEFINE: While this might be overwhelming and probably emotional to take on, but it’s actually a pretty straightforward task. You’re starting to narrow down what you want to keep into predefined categories. Keep? Sell? Trash? (This is probably a where a professional can help you through the process).
But the further you get into this process, the closer you are to finally defining what you want to actually be in your space. Don’t want to wear black anymore? Gone. Need to get rid of old gluten products? Gone. So now, you’re starting to understand the problem at hand: what stuff do you actually need your storage space to organize?
<h3>Congratulations — you’ve just reached your problem definition.</h3>
Step 3: Strategize the best way to organize your space to hold your stuff. For Life In Jeneral, this usually means a jaw-dropping trip to the Container Store. (At first I couldn’t get over these images of baskets, bins, jars that never seemed to end. I think this is where their alchemy comes in because I don’t know how on earth they do this!)
DEVELOP: Now that we know the problem we’re solving (the stuff we actually need to store) we can work out the kinds of categories needed to organize it all. And the fun part — this team starts to find the storage accoutrements that will work for the room (since it&#8217;s empty and so, so, clean!).
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*dXJQOGjMkutCEFeEGfyJAQ.png">
Step 4: Install and put it all away, and take your beautiful after shot. Voila!
DELIVER: This is the holy grail — a finished outcome of an organized room! Take a deep breath and enjoy the peace that you have what you need, and simplicity that it’s exactly where it&#8217;s meant to be. Congrats!
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*iYvhIXchYd3lQMJvhWgf1w.jpeg"><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*-HrCfkVxTk-Wd6er-VRsMw.jpeg"><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*eCjUXVAI5krjw8RFOmlS5w.jpeg">
Here’s a quick sketch using the <a href="https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-process-what-double-diamond">double diamond</a> visualization for design thinking that shows a representation of this process:
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*JXhyijCU0eGNMnTUuOvkbw.png">
With design thinking — this process of going broad and then narrow several times, Life In Jeneral has addressed the real problem: These professionals didn’t just organize the space, but they went a step further to make sure the right STUFF was in the space.
First — they took everything out to really discover the space, then they worked with the clients to define the stuff that was going to stay and developed a strategy to organize it. Then delivered that beautiful after shot. That amazing feeling of having a clean and well organized space … what bliss!
That’s the power of design thinking (and a professional organizer).
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<a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/design-thinking-parallels-closet-reorganization-71991e02b953">Design Thinking Parallels: Closet Reorganization</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.prototypr.io">Prototypr</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Design Thinking Parallels: Closet Reorganization

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