Our unique 10 step process identifies, empathises, and designs for an exceptional person who is currently excluded from a product or service due to a physical, cognitive, or contextual constraint and yet stands to benefit emotionally if given access.
The Exception Method is underpinned by our six principles which unearth innovation that benefits all.
Discover an exceptional person
An exceptional person is someone who is currently excluded from what your product has to offer but stands to gain the most, emotionally, if given access.
Form an emotional bond
Time leads to understanding, that leads to insight, which leads to innovation. The more time you spend immersed in an exceptional person’s world, the stronger and deeper your empathy for their challenges will be.
Hold the design accountable
People do not fail at products - products fail people. People should not blame themselves for failing to use products properly, it’s up to you, to push the design until it is doing all the hard work for them.
There is an unimagined brief
You’ll never end up anywhere new if you always start from the same place. Immersing yourself with an exceptional person will uncover design challenges you never knew you needed to solve.
Typical users lead to lazy products
Products get complacent when designing for the average. A typical user will find a work-around; so comfortable are they in solving a product's design flaws that the design itself stops improving.
Design for one and create for all
The exceptional person’s challenges exaggerate the ones we all face. Their demands reveal a widespread need, and they allow us as designers to finally see those challenges clearly. With their help we can design for one and create for all.
Our unique 10 step process identifies, empathises with, and designs for an exceptional person who is currently excluded from a product or service due to a physical, cognitive, or contextual constraint and yet stands to benefit emotionally if given access.
The Exception Method is underpinned by our six principles which unearth innovation that benefits all.
Discover an exceptional person
An exceptional person is someone who is currently excluded from what your product has to offer but who stands to gain the most, emotionally, if given access.
Form an emotional bond
Time leads to understanding, which leads to insight, which leads to innovation. The more time you spend immersed in an exceptional person’s world, the stronger and deeper your empathy for their challenges will be.
Hold the design accountable
People do not fail at products: products fail people. People should not blame themselves for failing to use products properly, it’s up to you to push the design until it is doing all the hard work for them.
There is an unimagined brief
You’ll never end up anywhere new if you always start from the same place. Immersing yourself with an exceptional person will uncover design challenges you never knew you needed to solve.
Typical users lead to lazy products
Products get complacent when designing for the average. A typical user will find a work-around; so comfortable are they in solving a product's design flaws that the design itself stops improving.
Design for one and create for all
The exceptional person’s challenges exaggerate the ones we all face. Their demands reveal a widespread need, and they allow us as designers to finally see those challenges clearly. With their help we can design for one and create for all.
The Exception Method breaks away from the traditional focal point of designing for the many or the average, and instead we look to those excluded to solve for their need and transform the learnings into universal benefits.
Facilitated by Studio Exception’s Method Leads we work together with internal product teams specifically selected across design, research and engineering.
We use a combination of ethnographic studies, design research, insight development, customer co-creation and prioritisation exercises to produce new inclusive product ideas and features.
0. Discover an exceptional person
Identify someone that would benefit from your product or service but who has been excluded from it.
1. Meet your Exception
Start the journey with your chosen exception. Spend time to get to know them them and forming an emotional bond.
2. A new perspective
Understand the world from their point of view. Listen, watch, and learn an entirely fresh perspective on the way a product is used.
3. The Unimagined Brief
Define the hidden design brief, ask questions you've not asked before
and reveal insight into new opportunities.
4. Design for one
Constraints inspire creativity. Ideate and create new ways to solve the hidden brief for this one person and nobody else.
5. Universal opportunities
Connect your thinking to the widespread need. The exception's challenges mirror the micro-challenges we all face.
6. Design for all
Develop a solution that benefits all customers, integrating the inclusive learnings into your design.
7. Connect with core customers
Co-create with core customers, validating and developing the ideas for as wide an audience as possible.
8. An exceptional idea
Channel all the learnings and development into a final proposition that will disrupt and excite.
9. An inclusive vision
Illustrate a new inclusive future driven by the exception's story.
10. Share the story
Be part of the movement! Generate change in your organisation through inclusive innovation.
The Exception Method breaks away from the traditional focal point of designing for the many or the average, and instead we look to those excluded to solve for their need and transform the learnings into universal benefits.
Facilitated by Studio Exception’s Method Leads we work together with internal product teams specifically selected across design, research and engineering.
We use a combination of ethnographic studies, design research, insight development, customer co-creation and prioritisation exercises to produce new inclusive product ideas and features.
0. Discover an exceptional person
Identify someone that would benefit from your product or service but has been excluded from it.
1. Meet your exception
Start the journey with your chosen exception. Spending time to get to know them them and forming an emotional bond.
2. A new perspective
Understand the world from their point of view. Listen, watch, and learn an entirely fresh perspective on the way a product is used.
3. The Unimagined Brief
Define the hidden design brief, ask questions you've not asked before
and reveal insight into new opportunities.
4. Design for one
Constraints inspire creativity. Ideate and create new ways to solve the hidden brief for this one person and nobody else.
5. Universal opportunities
Connect your thinking to the widespread need. The exception's challenges mirror the micro-challenges we all face.
6. Design for all
Develop a solution that benefits all customers, integrating the inclusive learnings into your design.
7. Connect with core customers
Co-create with core customers, validating and developing the ideas for as wide an audience as possible.
8. An exceptional idea
Channel all the learnings and development into a final proposition that will disrupt and excite.
9. An inclusive vision
Illustrate a new inclusive future driven by the exception's story.
10. Share the story
Be part of the movement! Generate change in your organisation through inclusive innovation.
The Exception Method uses a combination of ethnographic studies, design research, insight development, customer co-creation and prioritisation exercises to produce new product ideas and features.
Facilitated by Studio Exception’s Method Leads we work together with internal product teams specifically selected across design, research and engineering.
This process leads to
- Fostering inclusive innovation in new and existing products and services, by including the excluded.
- Inspiring internal teams to represent wider demographics and deliver solutions that are better for everyone.
- Powerful storytelling throughout the organisation and publicly to effect change and embed a new design standard.
Fostering inclusive innovation in new and existing products and services, by including the excluded.
Inspiring internal teams to represent wider demographics and deliver solutions that are better for everyone.
Powerful storytelling throughout the organisation and publicly to effect change and embed a new design standard.
Talks
To serve as inspiration and an introduction to inclusive design. We share its commercial and human impact, as well as real life examples of the benefits designing for one exceptional user can have to create an exceptional product or service.
Workshops
To inspire and discover your exceptional person. Unpack your product offering with teams across your organisation, highlighting areas of exclusion to develop a new project brief through the lens of inclusivity in a half-day workshop.
Implementing the Method
Uncover the hidden potential of your team and product offering when designing for one. Guiding you through our unique 10 steps, we will idenitfy and work closely with your exception, generating new inclusive ideas to share across your organisation.
Talks
To serve as inspiration and an introduction to inclusive design. We share its commercial and human impact, as well as real life examples of the benefits designing for one exceptional user can have to create an exceptional product or service.
Workshops
Be inspired and discover your exceptional person. Unpack your product offering with teams across your organisation highlighting areas of exclusion to develop a new project brief through the lens of inclusivity in a half day workshop.
The Exception Method
Uncover the hidden potential of your team and product offering when designing for one. Guided through our unique 10 steps we will idenitfy and work closely with your exception, generating new inclusive ideas to share across your organisation.
We continually adapt and evolve the framework of The Exception Method to fit different teams, making each story unique. We work with different timelines, with different departments, creating different experiences to ensure we always reach exceptional results.
We continually adapt and evolve the framework of The Exception Method to fit different teams, making each story unique. We work with different timelines, and different departments, creating different experiences to ensure we always achieve exceptional results.
