How to craft your problem statement in a design challenge
I’ve participated in several design competitions, challenges, and hackathons over the years to gain more exposure and gather validation as supporting materials for my O1 visa application. But beyond the accolades and portfolio additions, these experiences are also about connecting the dots in the problem-solving process. In this article, I’ll explore how to craft a compelling problem statement that can guide your design process and elevate your projects.
Crafting a Compelling Storytelling
In a standardized design portfolio, we typically follow a structured process: conducting exhaustive research and then posing the question — how might we solve this problem with a design approach? After identifying the question, we provide mobile interfaces or other forms of prototypes. This is the format recruiters prefer, and it often helps you get through the resume round.
However, in a design competition, you usually have only 1–2 weeks to complete the entire process. For the UX Design Award contest, I asked myself a series of questions:
What is the problem I am trying to solve?
Who is affected by this problem?
Why is this problem significant?
Answering these questions helped me define the problem, identify the target audience, and clarify the reason for designing the product.
In this UX Design Award, I adhered to my design principle: “I design for people who cannot.” There is a saying that human-computer interaction is a more visually compelling form of communication studies, and I couldn’t agree more. Caring for the minorities in society and promoting social justice is one of the responsibilities of design. Hence, we chose children with ADHD as our focus group. While hospitals and treatment centers offer professional treatments for children with ADHD, as designers, we can build an inclusive and friendly community for them and help them lead better lives. That’s why we designed this product to include a platform for parents and teachers to interact.
“How Might We …
design an engaging product that enables children with ADHD to improve their social behaviors and organizational skills, allows parents and teachers to help tackle their challenges of social stigma and record-keeping for ADHD diagnosis?”
Once you’ve completed the entire thought process, you need to embody the story in your design process. Tell this story in a vivid way so that your users, audience, and judges feel the genuine need for this product.
Define the Scope
A problem statement acts like an elevator pitch, highlighting the main issue you aim to address beneath the surface. As a product designer, you can’t solve all problems. Take ADHD as an example — it’s a medical condition, and design isn’t a magic cure for it. Therefore, it’s essential to establish boundaries and clarify which factors are within your control when defining your problem statement and product features.
During our research, we discovered that a significant portion of a child’s K12 education occurs at home and school. This is often a substantial amount of time during which we can’t directly improve a child’s symptoms. Consequently, we chose children aged 5–10 with ADHD as our study group and provided them with an immersive and interactive community experience. Through this process, I learned that ADHD manifests in three types: primarily hyperactive and impulsive, primarily inattentive, and combined. In each of these groups, we observed issues with inattention, impulsivity, and organizational skills. To address these challenges, we designed physical toys to aid in the improvement of primary school students aged 5–10 with ADHD.
I’m happy to chat and share more of my design experience! As we see, the problem statement sets the stage for your project, guiding your efforts and ensuring that your solutions are focused on addressing a specific issue. I hope everyone gets better in the next design challenge!
