Magic Happens Together

We call the first step in developing a solution the concept phase. The objective of this phase is to produce great ideas, to refine them into concepts and for the client to feel ownership for these. Working closely together with our clients is key to secure that our ideas are both creative and relevant. Creativity with a purpose is our motto and why we treat idea work with great care.

The following steps need to be considered in the creative process – no matter the method:

• Need definition and goals (both sender and receiver needs)
• Idea generation (structured methods to trigger and collect ideas)
• Idea selection (structured methods to evaluate and prioritize ideas)
• Concept creation (make the concept concreate, sketching, visualizing and writing)
• Concept test (make a mock-up, pilot or presentation of concept)
• Evaluation and adjustment, budgeting for production and distribution

The Design Sprint Framework – inspired by Google and Design Thinking – is a successful method for quickly producing communication and learning concepts. It’s a five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping and testing ideas together with target groups.

A design sprint requires:

• Extensive pre-work and commitment; purpose and goal of the sprint clearly defined
• Professional facilitation by a team from Symbal
• Allocation of time and relevant resources by/from the customer
• Trust in the six-step process

Sometimes great ideas pop-up instantly and in the most unforeseen places or situations, such as reading an article on the train or meeting new people. At other times we need time to retract and reflect – and to share, discuss and debate our reflections with colleagues and friends before making any decisions. In such cases the idea process needs to be spread out over a longer period – especially when the objective is not clear to everyone. It’s Symbal’s responsibility to design the process according to customer needs and preconditions.