Diving Inside Yourself to Think: How to Find the Seeds of Ideas

When thinking about new projects or new products,
there is a strong desire from the creator, such as wanting to make things convenient for the user,
wanting to do something about a problem they are facing,
or being happy if it can be useful to society.
Coming up with that project or idea is the first step of design.

As the definition of design states,
it is about finding a “purpose = issue” with people at the center and achieving it.
I do not believe that design is just about making things look pretty or adding cool colors.

It is said that we live in an era where there are many things.
Problems have been solved, and life has become richer and more convenient.
However,
there are still many inconveniences and many things that trouble us.
The “always thinking with people at the center, finding a purpose” part of the definition of design is the seed of an idea. I will introduce my own way of finding these seeds of ideas, which is how to find that purpose.

Looking at “myself”: Diving inside yourself to think

When thinking of ideas, just vaguely wondering “is there anything I’m troubled by?” will not necessarily lead to ideas.
What should I make?
I can’t come up with a good idea.
If you try to do this and that, you end up getting lost, and the ideas that emerge tend to be half-baked.

At such times,
I focus on “myself”, “things I like”,
“things I dislike”, “things I do even though I don’t want to”,
“things I am interested in”. I recall my 24-hour life,

the state of my heart
, and how I feel, and dive inside myself to think. I am also a user. I am a consumer. First, I look around my own life.
When I do that,
I understand what I, as a consumer, am seeking.
Instead of vaguely grasping why I dislike the things I dislike,
by breaking them down and thinking about them, hints for ideas are born.
I think of myself as a consumer to generate ideas.
I write down my life, starting from waking up in the morning,
and I am sure to find one or two things like “I’m troubled by this” or “this is inconvenient.”

Thinking about how to “solve” that leads to ideas and inspiration.
Moreover, because those ideas are

“personal”

ideas, they are very persuasive. Engaging the heart, what truly brings joy, what makes the heart tremble, and what adds excitement to life—these


“thoughts” that led the thinker to that idea
become the foundation of the idea.

Looking at “people”

Girls wear red school bags.
Because he is a man... Because she is a woman...
The era when we judged things so uniformly... is nostalgic (laughs).

We have come to think about products according to the way of life,
lifestyle,
values,
and life path that each person cherishes.
Market segmentation by lifestyle is now common sense.
And we analyze the trends of the clusters we are seeking, read the preferences of consumers, and design products.

That means...
the seeds of ideas are born from looking at people well and observing them closely. Now, people have started purchasing things for themselves and to spend their time richly.
There is no longer just one way for a product to fit the person seeking it.
Even for products with the same functions,
by carefully observing who uses them and how,
it becomes an idea that

can resonate with the thoughts of the target person. When it is a field I don’t know,
I observe their actions and interview them about the feelings and thoughts they had at that time to find

seeds of ideas that resonate with people’s thoughts.

Looking at the “flow”

Now that the flow of the times is moving very fast, reading the flow of the times is an important point for knowing consumer needs and wants.
Needs (necessity) are desires that consumers clearly feel.
Wants (latent desires) are desires that people don’t usually notice until they are presented, at which point they say, “This is convenient!”
I imagine the future ahead of the times and use it as a seed for ideas.

I collect information on “what the current market is like” from “who” is purchasing “what kind of products”
and “what kind of products are being evaluated.”
And from the trends and survey results on life, I predict the “future” and imagine the “image of products that will be sought.”

At such times, surveys conducted by government agencies or clear survey results from industry associations are useful for roughly knowing the trends of the past “flow.”
Speaking of surveys with clear sources, there are the “White Papers” issued by various government agencies.

White papers contain trends in population, life, and so on.
You can read the changes from the past to the present.
A representative example would be the movement of population composition.
In addition to population, surveys are conducted on various aspects such as economic growth, GNP, industrial structure, trends in sports and leisure, and household expenditures.
Household surveys and the like are interesting because you can read the “flow” of changes in the times.

Some government agency surveys are also published online.
In addition, so-called research institutes conduct various surveys, so I actively use them.

The goal is not to collect data, but to analyze it, determine the direction of the “flow” of the times, and use it as information to plan products that are ahead of the curve.
Read carefully what these data are saying.
I value imagining the future from that,
and I look for seeds of ideas from them.
Using the internet has made it possible to collect information from all over the world.
Compared to the era of information provision via paper, the quality and quantity have changed significantly.

Even with the same data, if you change how you cut it or your perspective, you can make new discoveries.
I decipher materials with eyes that can look at information from a new perspective and eyes that can find trends, and use them as seeds for ideas.

“People” are always at the center

When looking for the seeds of ideas, the one thing you must never forget is
the existence of "people."
Embracing people, being kind, and showing gratitude to both the users and the creators.
Will that seed of an idea be useful to someone, or will it make someone happy?
Will it make them smile?

If I am going to go to the trouble of creating something, I want to make someone smile. That is what I think.
Of course, myself included♪

Educational toys I designed and planned

I also ended up making a toy for my own child (laughs)

About my work in product design

I work as a product designer at ICI Design Laboratory in Osaka.

In corporate product development,

・Organizing plans
・Design planning
・Prototyping
・Manufacturing support

I am involved in these processes by working alongside clients from the initial stages of development.

"I want to create a new product, but I don't know where to start organizing."
"I want to develop a product that utilizes our company's technology."

I often receive consultations like these.

If you have anything you would like to organize regarding product development,
please feel free to consult with me.

ICI Design Laboratory
https://www.ici-design.co.jp