WAYS TO ENGAGE
DESIGN SPRINTS
A FAST, EFFECTIVE WAY TO PROTOTYPE SOLUTIONS TO YOUR BUSINESS’ MOST IMMEDIATE NEEDS
Heist created design sprints to apply our strengths to the most critical challenges our clients face. At the end of a 2 to 3 week engagement, Heist delivers a prototype that has been tested in-field, with real users. Many of our clients in industries ranging from Financial Services to Food and Beverage have gone on to develop and launch new products and services based on their Design Sprint prototype.
A Design Sprint works like this: We work with you to quickly align on the problem to be solved, develop concepts, create prototypes, and conduct in-market testing. In each phase, we are continually investigating and iterating our ideas, uncovering new cultural insights that add to the viability of the final prototype.
In a Design Sprint, we seek to create practical, easy-to-implement solutions that will match with organisational priorities. We often work side-by-side with our clients to impart the tools of design research and prototyping, and integrate in-house knowledge and considerations into the prototypes we hand over.
BESPOKE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
A HOLISTIC, STRATEGIC DESIGN SOLUTION THAT MAPS TO YOUR ORGANISATION’S MOST COMPLEX CHALLENGES.
Entering a new market, creating a new category, transforming a company culture: These are examples of some of the most complex, challenging undertakings Heist clients face. When design is used to address a problem that touches multiple stakeholders – including end users and consumers – we create a Design Programme for our clients that addresses multiple layers of needs.
Every Design Programme is custom-tailored to the challenge at hand, and can span anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. During the length of our engagement, we take a deep dive into each stage of the design process, ending up with a rich map of prototyped solutions that are often ready to begin the go-to-market process.
Embarking on a Design Programme gives your organisation the opportunity to deeply integrate its own knowledge and ambitions with Heist’s entrepreneurial, expert take on design research and concept and prototype development. The result is nothing short of transformative: A project that simultaneously lifts up your people and culture while providing a multi-faceted solution to the problem at hand.
DESIGN RESEARCH
A Heist design research project is always bespoke, and aimed at finding the sharpest, most timely insights possible. We collaborate closely with our clients to shape a brief that will allow us to reach the right demographics, subcultures, communities, and range of users that are core to understanding the future. We focus our work on identifying how behaviours and needs will evolve, and what that means for our client’s business and the industry as a whole.
OUR APPROACH
Heist takes a human-centric, design-led approach to helping its clients address their most pressing and complex challenges. With a methodology rooted in ethnography and user’s needs, in designing our solutions we always put the end user first.
Research
Research, and in particular, ethnography, are at the heart of every project. Heist’s deep regional network of local guides and designers are key to helping us gain access to local communities, and quickly building trust with those we seek to design for. We are more than observers: We aim to get under the skin of every place we go, understanding the challenge at hand from the perspective of locals.
Defining Opportunities
Powered by our in-field research and cultural insights, we start to draw out common patterns of behaviour. Themes for the project are formed and translated into design opportunities, which could range from creating a new product feature to designing a new experience. These opportunities serve as the basis for the next steps in the process.
Concept Development
The output of this phase is a set of ready-for-prototyping concepts. In this phase, Heist first works alongside its clients to review the insights and opportunities, and define the path ahead. Together, we embark on a series of structured, creative ideation exercises that lead to the development of multiple, early-stage concepts, which can range from written ideas to paper prototypes. Ideas are mapped to business objectives, and prioritised accordingly. Finally, the lenses of technological feasibility and organisational readiness are applied.
Prototyping
Prioritised concepts from Phase 3 are brought to life through sketches, rough physical prototypes, service interactions, and apps. The prototypes are then brought to the field, and put into the hands of users. A new cycle of iterating and testing commences, until the solution meets the needs of the key target user and our client’s business.
Curious where Heist can take you? Call us today.