process & strategy
Double diamond
A model of the design process as two diamonds: the first explores then defines the right problem, the second explores then delivers the right solution. Each diamond opens wide (diverge) before narrowing to a point (converge).
The demo
Step through the four phases. Watch each diamond widen as you explore (diverge), then narrow as you decide (converge) - the same move, twice.
What this demo shows (text version)
The double diamond splits design into four phases across two diamonds. Selecting each phase shows its description and whether it is a divergent (exploring, widening) or convergent (deciding, narrowing) step.
- Discover (diverge): open up the problem. Research widely, talk to people, gather the real needs before assuming you know them.
- Define (converge): narrow down. Synthesise what you found into one clear, sharp problem worth solving.
- Develop (diverge): open up again, on solutions this time. Generate many ideas, sketch and prototype them.
- Deliver (converge): narrow down to what works. Refine, test and ship the chosen solution.
The first diamond designs the right thing; the second designs the thing right. The shape's lesson is the diverge-then-converge rhythm, repeated - explore before you commit, then commit with discipline.
Stepping through the four phases, you felt the rhythm the shape is really about: open up, then narrow down - twice. The widening half is permission to explore before you commit; the narrowing half is the discipline to choose. Skip either diamond and you solve the wrong problem, or solve the right one carelessly.
The double diamond's best idea is the first diamond. Teams love to leap straight to solutions (the second diamond) and never properly discover and define the problem - so they build the wrong thing beautifully. "Design the right thing" comes before "design the thing right", and the first is where most projects quietly go wrong.
My rule: treat it as a rhythm, not a calendar. Real projects loop back, run the diamonds in parallel, and revisit the problem when the solution teaches them something. The value is the diverge-then-converge habit, not a tidy four-box timeline to march through once and tick off.