Diamond 1: Activity Examples

Divergent Thinking Exercises for the Discover Phase (Double Diamond Model)

Unpacking the First Diamond: A Facilitator’s Guide to Expanding Thinking Before Solving Problems

At the heart of design thinking lies a deceptively simple shape: the double diamond. But within its first half—a phase of exploration, curiosity, and challenge—lives the most critical work a facilitator can guide. This article dives into the first diamond, offering practical, people-centered activities to help teams diverge with purpose and converge on the right problem to solve.

Here are some examples of facilitated exercises utilised through one of my favourite frameworks, the Double Diamond:

Diamond 1:

🔍 EMPATHY & USER DISCOVERY

1. Empathy Map Jam
   Teams map out users’ thoughts, feelings, pains, and gains to deeply understand their emotional and cognitive experiences.
2. Persona Collage Creation
   Create visual collages that represent key user types, helping teams connect with real needs and aspirations.
3. Stakeholder Safari
   Roleplay or research diverse stakeholders to uncover hidden needs, pain points, and overlapping perspectives.
4. Storytelling Circles
   Team members share user anecdotes to surface themes, emotions, and recurring challenges.
5. Assumption Busting Interviews
   Conduct interviews to identify and challenge team-held assumptions about user needs.
6. Extreme User Roleplay
   Adopt exaggerated user personas (e.g., elderly, tech-phobic) to uncover edge-case needs.
7. A Day in the Life Sketches
   Visualize a typical user’s day to identify emotional highs/lows and unmet needs.
8. Walk a Mile Mapping
   Map a user’s journey physically or visually to increase perspective-taking and empathy.
9. Shadowing Role Swap
   Pretend to live a day in the user’s shoes; imagine work, frustrations, and decisions.
10. Quote Wall from Real Users
    Create a visual wall of user quotes to keep insights human, grounded, and top of mind.

💡 CREATIVE INQUIRY & PERSPECTIVE SHIFTING

11. “What if” Scenario Storming
    Brainstorm radical scenarios by asking “what if” to break current reality constraints.
12. Reframe the Problem
    Practice rewriting the problem in multiple ways to unlock fresh perspectives.
13. Six Thinking Hats
    Adopt six thinking modes (logic, emotion, caution, optimism, creativity, control) to explore ideas diversely.
14. Different Lens Challenge
    Solve the challenge as if you’re someone else entirely (e.g., artist, surgeon).
15. Superpower Perspective Mapping
    Imagine how superhuman abilities would approach or solve the current problem space.
16. Reverse Brainstorm
    Ask, “How could we cause the problem?” to surface root causes and vulnerabilities.
17. Blind Drawing Exercise
    Pair up and draw a concept without looking, then decode each other’s interpretations.
18. Lateral Thinking Matrix
    Use a lateral thinking grid to mix unrelated concepts into surprising solutions.
19. Outrageous Questions Generator
    Pose deliberately absurd questions to stretch the team’s creativity.
20. Problem Remix Relay
    Each person rewrites the problem statement; the next builds off or twists it.

✨ WILD IDEATION & UNCONVENTIONAL THOUGHT

21. Crazy 8s Drawing Sprint
    Draw eight fast concept sketches in 8 minutes to surface raw ideas quickly.
22. Worst Idea Contest
    Award the worst, most ridiculous ideas to reduce fear of failure and unlock novelty.
23. Oblique Strategy Prompts
    Use creative prompts (e.g., Brian Eno cards) to provoke unusual associations.
24. Random Word Association
    Pick a random word and relate it to your challenge for fresh metaphorical connections.
25. Surrealist Brainstorm (Dali-Style)
    Create wildly surreal solution sketches inspired by abstract art and dream logic.
26. “Yes, and…” Idea Chains
    Build ideas cooperatively with a “yes, and…” mindset to encourage idea fluency.
27. Metaphor Mash-Ups
    Use mash-ups like “customer service as a jungle” to surface new analogies.
28. Time Traveler Challenge
    Imagine solving the problem in a past or future era to surface historic patterns.
29. Brand Brainstorm (solve as Nike or LEGO)
    Ideate solutions as though you’re a bold brand with a distinct voice.
30. $1 vs $1M Idea Battle
    Contrast ideas for extreme budgets to surface creativity across financial constraints.

🧠 SENSORY & ENVIRONMENTAL EXERCISES

31. Soundtrack Brainstorm
    Assign a soundtrack to user challenges or ideas to evoke different emotional interpretations.
32. Smell Association Mapping
    Connect problem themes to smells to evoke different emotional and sensory responses.
33. Blindfolded Feedback Loop
    Team members provide input on a topic while blindfolded to heighten focus and trust.
34. Object Prompt Brainstorm
    Use random physical objects to inspire unexpected ideas and metaphors.
35. Out-of-Office Walkstorm
    Take the brainstorming session outdoors to break patterns and invite serendipity.
36. Change the Room Challenge
    Redesign the physical space to reflect user needs or idea themes.
37. Mood Board Creation
    Use imagery to express and refine emotional or thematic elements of the challenge.
38. Mind Garden Mapping
    Create a visual garden metaphor to represent growing, seeding, and pruning ideas.
39. Tactile Exploration
    Manipulate materials (clay, fabric, etc.) to surface physical interpretations of abstract challenges.
40. Sticky Note Sculpture Storm
    Build conceptual sculptures from sticky notes to embody and evolve ideas physically.