The double diamond design process is a framework that designers and other teams use to think through problems and solutions.
In this article, you’ll learn what the double diamond design process is, what its four phases entail, and how to apply it to your ecommerce venture.
What is the double diamond design process?
Popularized by the British Design Council in 2003, the double diamond design process is a structured approach to solving complex design challenges.
It’s driven by a problem-solution framework in which designers discover a problem, define the problem, develop the solution, and deliver the solution. No solution, the process posits, can really be that good if it was built around a problem the designer didn’t fully understand.
The visual representation of the double diamond model contains two diamonds placed side by side. The first diamond represents discovering and defining the problem. The second diamond represents developing and delivering a solution.
Divergent thinking vs. convergent thinking in double diamond design
The double diamond creative process encourages designers to start with clearly defined problems in order to get to possible solutions.
The diamond shape represents the cycle of divergent and convergent thinking that undergirds all iterative design. Divergent and convergent thinking are two distinct but related approaches that, together, create the double diamond’s unique power.
Divergent thinking expands the scope of the project as designers and teams ask questions, brainstorm, research, and iterate on multiple ideas. This is the free-flowing, intuitive part of the creative process. The idea here is to let the mind wander, listening to different viewpoints and trying new things. In the double diamond process, the “discover” and “develop” phases are divergent.
Convergent thinking reduces potential answers as teams coalesce around solutions and deliverables. This is the linear, structured, grounded process that focuses on delivering outcomes. Confident that they have considered all possible approaches, teams can narrow their ideas down to those that have the most merit. The “define” and “deliver” phases of the double diamond design process are convergent in nature.
Of course, there is some structure to the creative process and some creativity to solution-building. For example, user research often follows standard operating procedures, and many visual designers will systematically work through every possible layout to land on the best one. The double diamond process is heuristic, and real creative or development processes contain more detail and messiness than the neat diagram implies.
4 phases of the double diamond design process
The double diamond design process is composed of four distinct phases: discover, define, develop, and deliver. Let’s look at each of them through the lens of developing a product.
1. Discover
The “discover” phase, in the first half of the first diamond, focuses on understanding the problem you’re hoping to solve. The main goal of this phase is to gather insights about your hypothesis. Much like in any user experience (UX) research or UX design process, teams conduct user interviews, gather user feedback, stage focus groups, and review past research from other similar projects during this stage.
If you’re developing a product, discovery will include understanding your target users’ needs and the gaps in the market. For example, let’s say you’re a parent and entrepreneur who notices that it’s hard to find STEM toys made from high-quality materials for five- to 10-year-olds at a reasonable price. During the discovery phase, you speak to parents to understand what they’re looking for and what they’d be willing to spend. You also look at existing products and pricing strategies.
At the end of the discovery phase, you should have a large volume of findings, ready to be distilled during convergent Phase 2.
2. Define
In the “define” phase, you’re in the convergent thinking area of the first diamond. You synthesize the insights gathered from Phase 1 to understand what’s significant and map the market to see where you can find opportunities and deliver value. The goal is to define a concise problem statement and the tools you plan to use to arrive at a solution.
At this stage, some teams create user personas, or archetypal profiles of their target users, to refer back to as they hone their product. Others will set key performance indicators (KPIs), defining outcomes to measure whether the solution has solved the problem.
In the children’s toy brand example, you might define the problem you’re trying to solve as the lack of value-for-money STEM kits for children in the five to 10 age bracket.
3. Develop
In the “develop” phase, you’re in the solution space, focused on problem-solving. This is another divergent thinking phase, in which design teams throw ideas at the wall to test potential solutions to the problem defined in the previous step.
Depending on the problem, the process of trying different solutions could look very different, but it often involves considering multiple ideas and a variety of perspectives. For example, for an app or website design, it might include looking at different layouts and low-fidelity prototyping. The goal of this phase is to come up with several possible solutions to the problem, ultimately landing on one coherent iteration.
When developing your STEM kit, you may take inspiration from high school science experiments and come up with ideas that would teach those concepts to a younger audience. At the end of this phase, you may decide to create a science experiment kit targeting five- to 10-year-olds, in which each part has multiple uses and can be used to conduct a range of experiments, thus delivering a value-for-money product.
4. Deliver
The “deliver” phase is the convergence phase of the solution diamond. The goal of this phase is to test and prepare your product, website, or store to reach a final version.
During this phase, you might undertake high-fidelity prototyping of a website design, A/B test ideas, and create small batches of your products to test with audiences, discarding ideas that aren’t working to arrive at a final product.
In the children’s toy brand example, this is when you’d create two or three versions of your science experiment kit and test it out with children in the target age group, getting responses from them and their parents on what parts of the kit work best, what isn’t working, and whether the price point is one they’d accept.
Limitations of using the double diamond design process
The double diamond design approach can be a simple way to go from ideation to solution, but it has certain limitations. The process, though iterative, lacks a feedback loop for measuring success, as noted by a retrospective analysis by The Design Council.
The team also acknowledges that with the advent of AI and content generation tools, ideation can more easily happen at any stage, and a linear model such as the double diamond design process may be too simplistic and not in keeping with the fast-paced nature of projects today. Instead, the Council suggests a new approach: the systemic design framework.
Double diamond design process FAQ
What is the double diamond approach in design?
The double diamond design is a four-step process that emphasizes defining a problem clearly before developing solutions. It alternates between divergent and convergent thinking, broadening and narrowing the scope of a project to reach the final iteration.
What are the four phases of the double diamond process?
The first diamond, the problem space, includes the first two phases: discovering and defining. The second diamond, the solution space, includes the second two phases: developing and delivering.
How do you use the double diamond model?
You can use the double diamond model to solve any kind of consumer problem, from updating a website design to creating a new product. The four phases walk the creator through the process of brainstorming, identifying the problem, thinking of possible solutions, and narrowing down the options to create a final iteration.
What is the difference between design thinking and the double diamond design process?
Design thinking and the double diamond design process are both frameworks for solving complex problems with creative solutions. The design thinking framework was popularized by the design firm IDEO and has five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. The double diamond design process was developed by UX designers and has four stages: discover, define, develop, and deliver.
