The following TED talk by Sheena Lyengar on making choosing easier brought home some exciting concepts for inclusion in the process for designing learning spaces. Her research shows the more choice we have, the harder it is to choose. This choice overload reduces engagement, decision quality and satisfaction of the person making a choice. With this in mind, the narrowing of choice is an essential part of the process.
While she discusses cutting the extraneous, the application to creating learning spaces is within the convergent thinking process following the divergent thinking phase described by (Seidel & Fixson, 2013). Having a design team reduce choice to options which support and empathise with the goals of the end-user helps to create learning spaces which support learning. This reduced choice upwardly manages decision-makers if the final decision doesn’t rest with the team.
The process of concretisation Lyengar spoke of relates to prototyping within designing learning spaces. Early low-cost prototypes concretise concepts for both the team and decision-makers if separated from the design team. A prototype transports ideas from the abstract to the concrete and allows all to see the potential consequences of choice. This step is an important one in generating an iterative approach to design (McKinley, 2016; Seidel & Fixson, 2013).
Several other lessons came from Lyengar’s TED talk. The idea of categorisation of choice came to the forefront as this makes the decision process more manageable. For example, there are hundreds of educational furniture manufacturers with their own point of difference. Still, designers must ask questions such as, what are the requirements of the end-user and how will this piece meet those requirements. Categorising furniture (tables, chairs, breakout spaces) allows comparison with like for informed decision making.
The final lesson from Lyengar was on scaling complexity. Achieving this is done by moving the choice number from low to high. This scaffolding of choice is another lesson in upwardly managing and the presentation of options to wider a design team.
The final quote from Lyengar also struck home with me. “Be choosy about choosing. It makes us better at choice”, Lyengar (2011).
References
Lyengar, S. (Producer). (2011). How to make choosing easier. Retrieved from https://embed.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose
McKinley, T. (2016). Learning design thinking: Lead change in your organization. Carpenteria, CA: lynda.com.
Seidel, V. P., & Fixson, S. K. (2013). Adopting Design Thinking in Novice Multidisciplinary Teams: The Application and Limits of Design Methods and Reflexive Practices. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30, 19-33. doi:10.1111/jpim.12061
