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Design Thinking has evolved over the past decade (or two), and even though there are a variety of flavors, the basic elements are quite consistent. Today Design Thinking has soundly grounded itself in most design environments. Gone are the days where studios conceived ideas in a vacuum, without validation, user-testing and the input of the targeted users. Regardless of the flavor, the core principles are rooted in research, design exploration and then evaluation – before any real development is carried out. It is an iterative process who’s goal is to maximize usability and user fulfillment. It is only through this design-cycling that a more perfect solution can be achieved.

I have found that the most challenging and impactful stage lies in the ideation. This is where the core concepts are born. Based on user input, data point analysis and key insights, a seed is planted. The ideation stage is where the seeds are explored and cultivated. This is the stage in which I focus. Although the other areas are artful in their own processes, these areas can be easily taught. But exceptional ideation is driven from within, much like an artist. One must be willing to take risks to develop innovative ideas and push the envelope. This is why I emphasize design sketching. Make no mistake, this is an art and has little to do with aesthetics, rather visualizing ideas through “making marks” – words, marks, sketches, notation, arrows, pointers, etc. If you think design sketching is drawing, you are way off.

One final point about “design” and concept development – the real challenge is simplifying complicated cognition and visuals into its most simple form. Doing this can streamline user-experience and maximize usability. Perception and visual information comprehension is an art. In parallel examples, Picasso understood this and changed the world of art. Steve Jobs understood this and changed the course, not only of computer history, but of human society itself.

An artist, creative problem solver, and dedicated mentor, David Edwin Meyers has embraced the power and awe-inspiring possibilities that digital technologies provide to the individual since the launch of the Apple MacIntosh and dawn of the GUI.

Meyers’ experience includes leading the creative visions at boutique and mid-sized creative houses which developed some of the first commercial websites and UX practices in the Midwest.

He has had creative positions at global corporations and was the owner of two digital production firms. Specializing in the entertainment, technology, and philanthropical industries, his clients have included Paul McCartney, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Grand Ole Opry, Microsoft, HP, and more.

As an illustrator, his works appeared among the first digitally-created artworks appearing in print, in the early issues of MacWorld (1985), just after the introduction of the Mac. His instructors and mentors included illustration legends and New York Society of Illustrators Hall-Of-Famers Joe Bowler, David Passalacqua, Herbert Tauss, David Grove, Bob Peak, and Murray Tinkelman.

His fine art paintings and films have appeared in juried exhibitions and private collections around the world. As a young watercolorist, he corresponded with American artist and icon Andrew Wyeth. To this day, he continues to paint in a variety of traditional and digital mediums.