Matthew McStravick

The method

Design thinking
for human change.

Design thinking covers a range of processes I've become an expert in over the last 20 years. One aspect of it, the Design Council's double diamond, is a framework for solving complex problems - used mainly to create and improve products and services. It works just as well for the most complex design challenge of all - designing the next version of yourself.

Problem spaceSolution spaceDISCOVERDEFINEDEVELOPDELIVERdivergeconvergedivergeconverge

PHASE 04

Deliver - build it - commit and iterate

Design thinking does not end with a plan. It ends with a new reality. This phase is about committed, iterative action - building the new version in practice, observing what shifts and adjusting, where we need to. The goal is not perfection. It is a designed life, built to your specification, tested against reality, refined over time.

  • What are the three things you will do in the next ninety days?
  • How will you know if it is working? What does different actually look like?
  • What small, repeatable practice will educate your unconscious that this is real?
  • What do you need to stop doing to make space for what you are becoming?

Why this works for change

The way forward is simple. Not easy - but clear. Design thinking gives us the rigour to find it.

LOW RISK

You prototype small changes before committing to large ones. Nothing is irreversible until you choose it to be.

HIGH CREATIVITY

The diverge phases open up possibilities you wouldn't reach by thinking alone. Constraint comes later.

ITERATIVE

You observe what shifts, adjust and go again. Change is a cycle, not a single decision.

YOU-CENTRED

No borrowed framework applied to your situation. The design is always built around what you actually need.

The double diamond

Originally developed by the Design Council for product and service design, the double diamond maps two fundamental moves: first understanding the problem deeply before defining it precisely, then exploring solutions widely before committing. In the context of identity and professional change, the same logic applies - most people skip straight to solutions before they have properly understood what they are actually trying to change.

Curious how this works in your situation?

The first session is on me. No pitch, no obligation - just a real conversation about whether this is your next right step.