Challenge B Substantive Post 2

The design process was interesting to read about and see differentiated into so many distinct approaches. For me, design had previously been something that seemed like it just sort of happened and the result of your design was your final project. To see it broken down into a systematic practice while not abandoning the creative aspect was really interesting and enlightening. Some of the things that stood out to me from the Design Process webpage were the characteristics of liberatory design, IDEO phases of design thinking, and the Addie Model (Granchelli, 2025). 

I think it is incredibly important to always consider the social context in which something is being released to the world and the underlying impact it may have. The Liberatory design steps allow us to consider how our social and political world is constantly changing around us and how that might affect our work. With this in mind, it is important to be able to look at old work and improve it to fit the current social and political standard and situation. The IDEO phases of design thinking made me reflect on my projects and realize I could have generated more ideas and pushed past the obvious answers (IDEO U, 2025). I think making a few prototypes of completely different ideas would have given me the ability to develop an even better final prototype and choose a project that had the most potential. The Addie model offered a detailed breakdown of how to engage in each step of the design process (Granchelli, 2025). The most interesting step was the implementation step. I found this intriguing because it specified that not only are you implementing your project, but you are more so treating it like a live prototype. This paired with the evaluation step shows how in real world situations, projects and media will continue to evolve and change. 

I think that seeing teaching materials as prototypes is really key to creating a maximally effective tool. I think being open to trying something that may not seem perfect, using the information gathered through an evaluation, and then revising the project is the best way to make a tool that actually works in the real world. It is easy to create something that seems perfect, but it is harder to create something that operates at a really high level. 

Granchelli, Adrian. (2025). Design Process. Educational technology UVic. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/10/06/design-process/

IDEO U. (2025, Apr 11). The Design Thinking Process Broken Down Step-by-Step. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McTh-xzxfRE&t=837s 

NationEquityProject. (2025, Jan 9). Components of Liberatory Design. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuiOrbd7k1g&t=40s