Insight combination is a method that transforms raw research data into actionable design ideas by blending meaningful insights and trending patterns. It’s a creative, generative process that helps teams quickly ideate innovative solutions.
What is Insight Combination?
At its core, Insight Combination is a method that builds on insights and established design patterns to create initial design ideas. What makes this method particularly powerful is its ability to be both systematic and creative simultaneously. The process has five key characteristics:
- Detailed
- Divergent
- Nonlinear
- Generative
- Biased (in a way that acknowledges our personal perspectives and experiences)
The Three Core Components
1. Insights
An insight is defined as "a clear, deep, meaningful perception into human behavior in a particular design context." These insights come from ethnographic research, contextual inquiry, questionnaires, and interviews. What's particularly interesting about insights is that they're provocative statements of truth – and as Kolko notes, they may be wrong. This acknowledgment of potential fallibility keeps the process honest and open to iteration.
2. Design Patterns
Design patterns are trending paradigms that describe invariant qualities, referencing history and similar solutions. These can range from technological trends to cultural shifts, and they provide a framework for understanding how solutions have evolved over time.
3. Design Ideas
When insights and patterns combine, they generate new design ideas. These ideas are creative concepts that are somewhat facilitated by existing design paradigms but push beyond them into new territory.
How to Perform Insight Combination
The process is surprisingly straightforward, though it requires discipline and rapid iteration:
- Identify Insights
- Examine your research data
- Constantly ask "why"
- Write insights on yellow cards
- Include reference numbers to your research
- Aim for 8-10 key insights from 4-5 contextual inquiries
- Identify Patterns
- Look for trending topics in culture, technology, or society
- Write patterns on blue cards
- Aim for 15-20 patterns
- Can be directly related to your context (for "safe" ideas) or completely unrelated (for "wild" ideas)
- Combine and Create
- Physically move the yellow and blue cards around
- Force combinations to create new design ideas
- Write each new idea on a green card
- Limit yourself to one minute per idea
- Use a reference system (e.g., "22-G" combines insight #22 with pattern G)
Best Practices
- Work in groups when possible
- Use small cards to force concise writing
- Time yourself (one minute per combination)
- Use this at the beginning of your ideation process
- Don't self-censor – even "wrong" insights can lead to valuable ideas
