Blog Posts About: designing explanations

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When you hear the word "design" you might think about fashion, art, graphics, or devices, and that's accurate. Apple is famous for its emphasis on design as a competitive advantage. It might seem that design is the sole domain of professionals with experience and degrees, but I beg to differ.

I believe we are all designers. That's because design, in its simplest form, is identifying a problem and planning a solution. In this way, design can be simple (planning a meal) or extremely complicated and rigorous (planning a VR headset). If you've ever built a campfire, you've used design skills to achieve the desired outcome.

Design Thinking - A Primer

Professional designers often use a concept called "Design Thinking" to guide the design process. It's human-centered and creates a foundation for thinking through the steps and big ideas that lead to a good design. The main steps are:

• Empathize - Who is the audience, and what do they need?
• Define - What problem needs to be solved? Why?
• Ideate - What is likely to work?
• Prototype - Quickly create or build something that can be tested
• Test - Show it to people, ask for feedback
• Iterate - Make changes based on feedback

These steps are also a useful guide for designing explanations:

• Empathize - Who is the audience, and what do they need?
• Define - What needs to be explained? Why?
• Ideate - What is likely to work? Analogy? Visual? Example? Video?
• Prototype - Write a script, develop a presentation
• Test - Share a draft script, ask for feedback
• Iterate - Make changes based on feedback

This may seem like a lot to consider for an explanation and in most cases, that's true. But some explanations are important enough to deserve planning and design thinking.

If you're going into a job interview, introducing a new product or service, communicating a new policy, or asking for funding or support, clarity is essential. Your success depends on your audience understanding what you have to say and without planning, the task becomes more difficult.

The best, most impactful explanations are designed. They are premeditated. They are explanations in the first degree and an essential skill for the 21st century. Soon we'll take more steps in this direction.

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Over the last couple of years, my focus at the Explainer Academy was how to make animated explainer videos. I created a new course called Ideas in Motion that teaches every step of the process. I'm a little biased, but I think it's pretty great.

While explainer videos can be powerful, they aren't for everyone. But you know what is? Clear and understandable communication. Explanations help us earn respect and attention. They help us collaborate and iterate. The right explanation at the right time can move mountains.

Unlike videos that require tools, these explanations happen in conversations, meetings, and presentations. They solve a problem we all face: helping our audience understand an idea.

For a lot of people, an explanation is just something that...happens. We don't often step back and consider what makes an explanation work, or how to improve. In my 2012 book THE ART OF EXPLANATION, I used this analogy:

It's a little like dancing. Your grace on the dance floor may mean that you take dancing for granted: it just happens when there is a rhythm. But even the best dancer can only get so far without defining specific dances, such as what makes the samba the samba and the waltz the waltz. These definitions create a standard form and shape that can be honed and refined. Only by defining the standards of the dance can we hope to improve it.

I want the skill of explanation to have a form and shape in your mind. I want you to see that explanation is a creative act that can be planned and executed in almost any context.

How? By connecting the skill of explanation to the basics of design thinking. I will share a method for designing explanations that solve specific problems for specific audiences. You'll learn how designers approach their craft and how to use those lessons for your explanations.

More coming soon!