Basics Design: Design Thinking

Target groups

Royal Mail (facing page)
Pictured is a presentation pack for an issue of stamps celebrating British cinema.
Due to recent closures of many Post Offices in the UK, the new packaging was
designed to help expand the market for commemorative stamps. The pack
redesign separates the stamps from the pack, thus facilitating their sale in
supermarkets and other retail outlets (such collections would traditionally only
have been available at Post Office branches). The stamps feature original poster
artwork from films such as the Carry Onand Hammer House of Horrorseries.
These required text to be redrawn at small scale as simply reducing a large
Design Thinking poster to stamp size would result in the text filling in.

Research

Target groups

The research stage identifies and provides

rudimentary classification to the different

groups of consumers or users in a sector

and their characteristics.

Once target groups have been identified, they can be further researched to

acquire a greater level of detail about their composition and habits, providing

both qualitative and quantitative information. For example, the sex, education

and income level profile (quantitative information) and the motivations, likes,

dislikes and aspirations (qualitative information) of the groups.

This may involve putting oneself in scenarios typical of that group and recording

thoughts and observations. Other effects can also be used to simulate the

experiences of younger or older users or users with disabilities.

Detailed research allows the design team to construct a target user profile and

create a fictional ‘typical user’ to add colour to the profile. This provides a basis

for creating design solutions at the ideate stage.

Checklist:

What are the sex, age and socio-economic demographics for the group?

What education and income level do they have?

What are the lifestyle aspirations of the group?

What media do they buy/consume?

Where do they shop, eat out and take holidays?

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