NEED-FINDING
What if the most valuable creative skill isn’t solving problems — but finding the RIGHT problem to solve?
CORE CONCEPT
IMPORTANCE OF NEED-FINDING
KEY KNOWLEDGE
1
Need-finding = discovering the specific problems, desires, or gaps in people’s experiences that are worth solving
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Your school has 50 problems: broken chairs, slow Wi-Fi, a boring assembly, bad canteen food, confusing timetables. But not all are worth solving the same way. Need-finding is figuring out which problem affects the MOST students the MOST often and has NO good solution yet. That’s the one worth your creative energy.
2
The best needs to solve are: important to people (they care), frequent (they encounter it often), and underserved (no good solution exists yet)
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Losing your water bottle at school happens once a year — annoying but rare. Struggling to find which classroom you’re in next happens EVERY DAY. One is a small inconvenience; the other is a frequent, important problem that nobody has solved well. A creative thinker picks the daily frustration over the rare one.
3
Needs can be functional (I need to get from A to B), emotional (I need to feel safe), or social (I need to feel connected)
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
A new student at school has three different needs on their first day: functional (“I need to find my classroom”), emotional (“I need to feel like I belong here”), and social (“I need to make at least one friend”). A school designed with empathy addresses all three — with clear signs, a warm welcome display, and a buddy system.
4
People can’t always tell you what they need — observation and empathy reveal deeper needs than direct questions
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Ask students what they want in the school canteen and they’ll say “better food.” Watch them at lunchtime and you’ll notice they rush through eating because the queue is too long and the break is too short. The real need isn’t better food — it’s a faster, smoother system so they actually have time to enjoy eating.
5
The “How Might We” question is a powerful need-finding tool: “How might we make [this experience] better for [these people]?”
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
“The school library is boring” is a complaint. “How might we make the school library a place where students actually WANT to spend their free time?” is a creative brief. Same frustration, but the HMW question opens up possibilities instead of closing them down. Suddenly you’re thinking about cosy seating, better lighting, a recommendations wall, quiet zones with music allowed.
6
A well-defined need gives your creative work a clear purpose — everything you make should address the need
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
If your need is “students can’t find the right classroom on their first week,” then every design decision becomes clear: big floor numbers, colour-coded corridors, a simple map on the school app. You don’t waste time designing a fancy logo or choosing cool fonts. The need keeps you focused on what actually matters.
7
Uber was born from a simple need: “Why is it so hard to get a ride?” Someone turned that frustration into a global company
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
On a cold Paris evening, two friends couldn’t find a taxi. Instead of just being annoyed, they asked: “What if you could tap a button on your phone and a car came to you?” That single frustration became Uber — a company worth billions. The difference between a complaint and a billion-dollar idea? Someone stopped and said “How might we fix this?”
8
What if the next time something frustrated you, instead of just being annoyed, you asked: how might someone design this better?
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Every time you struggle with a bad app, wait in a confusing queue, or get lost in a building with no signs, you’re standing on a goldmine of creative ideas. The only difference between you and the person who invents the solution is one question: “How might this be better?” Start asking it. Write the answers down. Your list of frustrations is your future portfolio.
Pro Connection
Design thinking teams spend significant time on need-finding before generating any solutions. When someone says “are we solving the right problem?” they’re questioning whether the need-finding was thorough. Product managers write “problem statements” that define the need before any development begins.
PROFESSIONAL TERMINOLOGY
CLICK TO REVEAL and CLICK TO COVER
The process of discovering what people truly need — the problems and desires worth addressing through creative work
What is
NEED-FINDING
A need that exists but isn't currently being addressed by any product, service, or solution
What is
UNMET NEED
A question format used to reframe needs as creative opportunities: "How might we [improve this] for [these people]?"
What is
HOW MIGHT WE (HMW)
A clear, specific description of the need or problem that creative work will address
What is
PROBLEM STATEMENT
A need that, once identified, becomes a chance to create something valuable and meaningful
What is
OPPORTUNITY
THE EMPATHY MINUTE
One minute. Someone different from you. One feature that would make their day better. That is design thinking.
what TO DO
Pick someone you know who is different from you in some way — younger, older, different interests, different daily routine.
Spend 1 minute imagining their day: when do they wake up? What frustrates them? What makes them smile? What do they struggle with?
Write down 3 things about their day based on your imagining — be as specific as possible.
Now imagine you are designing an app for them. Write down ONE feature that would make their day a little bit better.
Write one sentence: "I designed [feature] for [person] because [specific reason based on their day]."
CHALLENGE
DISCOVERY
You can use these SOFTWARES for this Discovery Challenge
FREE SOFTWARE : Google Keep, Apple Notes / Samsung Notes, WhatsApp
PAID SOFTWARE : Notion, GoodNotes 6