Quick questions on The design process: explore, develop, resolve (QCE Design Unit 3)

The explore phase is about understanding the problem before solving it. You investigate the context, identify the needs and wants of an identified person or group, and gather data using designing-with-empathy methods such as interviews, observation and immersive experiences. The phase produces three key artefacts:

The develop phase is where ideas are generated and tested. You use ideation strategies (brainstorming, sketching, mind-mapping, SCAMPER, morphological analysis) to produce a wide range of possibilities, then visualise them through annotated drawings, models and low-fidelity prototypes. The aim is breadth first, then convergence: generate many ideas, then narrow toward the strongest using the design criteria. Prototyping and testing in this phase produce evidence that feeds decisions - a prototype that fails a user test sends you back to explore or to a new idea.

The resolve phase refines the chosen idea into a final design proposal. You produce high-fidelity visualisations or models, evaluate the design against the criteria set in explore, and communicate and justify the response to the client or audience. Justification is critical in QCE Design - you must show how the final design meets the identified needs and why your decisions are defensible. This phase produces the design proposal that is judged in assessment.

The final design must be justified against identified needs. Presentation without linkage to the user scores poorly.