Gifts. We receive them when it is our birthday, celebrating a holiday and accomplishment. They are part of our yearly routine. When gifts are given there tends to be a deeper meaning behind it. The question that I have been wondering is what motivates people to give a gift.
To solve this I went back to the basics and created my own Design Thinking Crash Course. The process took about ninety minutes. During that time, I ask a friend of mine, we will call her Jane if I could dig deeper into what motivates her to give a gift.
Part 1: Empathy
As I began my journey to understand more about the gift-giving process I asked Jane a few questions.
Q: What was the last gift you gave?
A: A Dunkin Donuts gift card
Who did you give the gift to?
My sister’s friend, I guess she is my friend as well.
What was the occasion of the gift exchange?
We were both graduating from the same University.
Why did you choose a Dunkin Donuts gift card?
Honestly, I’m not sure. We both love Dunkin and I wanted to get her something that she would like and use.
How did you feel when you gave your friend the gift?
Happy. I knew she would love it. Just seeing her smile made me feel good. However, something was missing.
Conclusion: Jane gave her college friend a Dunkin Donuts gift card for graduation because she knew she would love it. After giving the gift Jane felt happiness but also felt like something was missing.
To figure this out, I went to define Jane’s problem.
Part 2: Reframe
After digging deeper into Jane’s thoughts about her gift-giving moment. I realized that while she felt joy for giving a gift to a friend, her enjoyment of giving a gift was not satisfied.
Jane needs a way to give the gift of a gift card because she struggles to make the gift card feel meaningful.
Part 3: Ideate
Once I figured out Jane’s problem, I grabbed a pencil and paper, set a timer and started to find a solution. I came up with five very different ways to meet Jane’s problem.
#1 – A Note 
#2 – Smile 
#3 – Travel mug with a gift card 
#4 – Coffee Basket 
#5 – Thank you app
- Note. I thought maybe Jane could write a note and attach the gift card to it.
- Smile: Jane’s smile should smile more when giving the gift, and tell a story with it to the receiver.
- Travel mug with a gift card: A gift card could be attached to a travel mug.
- Coffee Basket: A basket full of coffee and favorite treats of a receiver.
- Thank you app: An app that allows you to give thank yous whenever you want.
After I sketched the five ideas, I presented them to Jane to get her opinion. All but one, her face lit up with a smile. I immediately knew that it was the idea to continue forward with.
Iterate
As the travel mug with a gift card idea continued to move forward I began to redesign the old sketch. I asked myself, how would this solve Jane’s need to feel more satisfaction in giving a gift card? I looked back at my daily activities, since I am a big coffee drinker, and then it dawned on me. When I use my travel mug, I have to juggle my money, coffee, keys, and a bag. That is when the idea became clear. There should be a slot in the bottom of the mug that would allow a user to “hide” their money or cards. A travel mug with a secret compartment, that the user only has access to.
Build and Test
Now that part one through four is complete I was able to build a prototype. As I built the prototype I started to change the design from two previous sketches. I realized that the design needed to be upgraded because I was struggling with its design.
During these processes, I asked Jane if she could tell me what worked and what could be improved.
What worked is a place to store cards/money and a way to personalize a gift.
What could be improved is a way to protect from theft.
Other feedback:
- What if you leave it in public, is there away to get it back?
- Could we lock the cup or have a tracker on it that can be used via app?
At the end of the ninety minutes, I was able to:
- Create a solution of Jane’s gift-giving problem, by creating a new way to give a gift card
- Figure out what motivates someone to give a gift
Design Thinking helps designers solve challenges/problems that arise in the human-centered world. This process allows us to constantly create and evolve solutions that are new and updated to help the modern world.
Download the full process of the Design Thinking Crash Course below.
thinking out loud 