The most common mistake a new designer makes is opening Figma and starting to design before the actual problem is understood. The Double Diamond is a simple, widely-used framework for the process that comes before and after that.
| Stage | Question being asked | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Discover | What is the real problem? | Research, talk to users, gather information — widening the view before narrowing it |
| Define | Which problem are we actually solving? | Narrow all that research down to one clear, specific problem statement |
| Develop | What are the possible solutions? | Sketch, wireframe, and prototype multiple different approaches — widening again |
| Deliver | Which solution actually works? | Test, refine, and ship the one solution that tested best — narrowing to a final answer |
Each diamond has a wide-then-narrow shape: widen first (explore broadly, don't settle early), then narrow (commit to one direction). Doing this twice — once for the problem, once for the solution — is what keeps a designer from solving the wrong problem beautifully, which happens constantly when the process is skipped.
For a small project, this can be a 20-minute mental exercise, not a week of formal research. The value is the order — problem before solution, exploration before commitment — not the amount of ceremony around it.
A fast personal check
Before opening any design tool, write one sentence: "The problem I'm solving is ___." If that sentence is hard to write, more discovery is needed before more design.