What should designers focus on during the ideation step?

During the ideation step, designers should prioritize generating a large quantity of ideas. This approach fosters creativity and encourages innovative thinking. The goal is to explore a wide range of possibilities without being overly critical or judgmental at this stage. By focusing on quantity, designers are more likely to discover unique solutions that can later be refined and improved.

This phase is about breaking free from constraints and allowing thoughts to flow, which can lead to combinations of ideas that might not have emerged under stricter criteria. It sets the stage for selection and refinement in subsequent phases of the design process, where quality and structure become more relevant.

In contrast, concentrating too much on the quality of each idea at this stage can inhibit creative thought, while polished prototypes and overall structure should come later in the design process when the ideas are more developed and need to be tested and validated.