Mixing the ingredients
A personal project to explore the industrial design process step by step
Ah the ideation phase… A love-hate relationship I’ve had with this one since the beginning. For a long time, I thought I was alone in that feeling. But if you’re reading this and nodding… maybe I’m not. And honestly, let me know, that would be comforting.
I chose Industrial Design very young. I must have been around 10 or 12, right after realizing I probably wasn’t going to replace Salvador Dalí. I just loved creating things. And I had this quiet belief that maybe, one day, something I designed could help someone live better. Or at least enjoy using an object a little more.
From that moment on, I built a path around it: applied arts in high school, studying industrial design abroad, searching for the right internship, trying to prove myself to professionals. I believed recognition had to come with sacrifice: sleepless nights, endless revisions, saying no to friends just in case that day would be “the productive one.”
And in all of that, ideation was the most emotionally draining part. Because it felt personal. Every idea felt like a piece of me. And every “bad” idea felt like proof that I wasn’t good enough. Even when I eventually found something solid to develop, I’d still think: I could have done better. Especially when looking at the incredible work other designers are putting out there. It’s easy to start thinking you’re behind. Or not talented enough. Or just… not it.
And yet, ideation is also the phase where I have the most fun. It’s the freest moment in a project. No strict rules yet. No production constraints closing in. Just exploration.
With time (and a bit more experience), I’ve started to see it differently. Ideation is the hidden part of the iceberg: the messy sketches, the abandoned directions, the awkward attempts. The part designers rarely show.
We need the “bad” ideas. Not only to reach the good ones, but because sometimes the bad idea isn’t bad. It’s just unfinished. Iterated, reframed, pushed a little further… it can become the right one.
Back to the project
As a quick reminder, this project follows my personal 4-diamond framework:
1/ Discover - Define, 2/ Ideate - Select, 3/ Iterate - Develop, and 4/ Validate - Deliver
In the previous post, we were still inside the first diamond.
We explored the market, analyzed existing solutions, and clarified what really matters for this spice rack project. Capacity, visual calm, verticality, natural use… and we also defined a visual direction to guide the design language.
In short, we now have all the ingredients on the table.
Which means it’s time to move into the second diamond: Ideate.
Ideation
Ideation is the moment where you take everything gathered during the previous phases and try to create something new with it.
All the constraints, all the observations, all the references, all the intentions…
You mix them together and see what happens.
For my fellow 90s kids, I always think of it like the cake in Adibou.
You throw ingredients in, sometimes randomly, and suddenly something appears.
The most interesting results often come when you don’t follow the recipe.
What I like about ideation is that everyone has their own way of doing it.
There isn’t one correct method, and there shouldn’t be.
The goal at this stage is simple: Generate as many ideas as possible.
To enjoy this phase a bit more, I’ve learned a few guidelines that help me stay in the right mindset:
There are no bad ideas.
An idea that feels wrong today might become the best one with a small change… Or with different “ingredients”, if we keep the recipe analogy.Not everything needs to work yet.
If you only allow ideas that you already know are realistic, you stay stuck with what you already know. Something that feels impossible today might become possible later, or with someone else’s input. So show it anyway.Don’t judge yourself.
And if you work in a group, don’t judge others either.
Ideation needs a safe space. Ideas grow much better when they’re not immediately criticized.Use whatever tool helps you think.
Sketches, collage, rough 3D, AI, notes, screenshots… it doesn’t matter.
At this stage, the idea matters more than the form. Refinement will come later.
How I like to do it
When it comes to ideation, my process is pretty messy.
I don’t usually start by sketching the product directly. Instead, I look at shapes, objects, or projects that have nothing to do with the subject. Sometimes a form used in a completely different context can become interesting if you tweak it a bit and adapt it to your problem.
I start thinking with a pen in my hand, and the first sketches are always very rough. Just enough to get the idea out of my head. If the direction feels interesting, I refine the sketch slightly so it becomes understandable for someone else looking at it.
At this stage, I don’t like spending too much time making the sketches look nice. No colors, no shadows, no clean rendering. I prefer moving quickly to the 3D phase, where I can test volumes more accurately.
Honestly, that’s probably because I’m impatient… but it also helps me stay in the exploration mindset instead of getting stuck polishing something too early.
Over the past few months, I also started integrating AI into my ideation process.
I tried it when image generation tools first appeared, and to be honest, it wasn’t very useful. I gave it another try recently, and the tools have improved a lot. It’s still far from perfect; AI still struggles with real proportions, ergonomics, and functional logic, but I found it can be very helpful to generate starting points, and make the first “move” overall.
What works best for me is using AI after creating my own moodboard(s).
By feeding it references I selected myself, I can get variations that sometimes push me toward ideas I wouldn’t have thought of alone.
I don’t see it as a replacement for sketching, but more like another tool to help break the writer’s block.
I also defined the possible footprints for this rack on my kitchen counter.
Even if I chose not to use them directly to avoid getting stuck, I kept them as a reference for proportions, just to have them in mind.
What came out
With the constraints defined in the previous phase: capacity, visual calm, verticality, natural use, and the visual direction in mind, I started exploring different ways this spice rack could exist. At this stage, the goal is not to find the right idea immediately.
It’s to open as many doors as possible, even the weird ones. Some of these directions won’t go anywhere. Some will evolve. Some will disappear completely.
Here is a sneak peek of how ideation went :
While I haven’t selected a direction to iterate yet, I think I’m more drawn to the “low-tech” ideas I explored. Without drawers or complex mechanisms: something simple, easy to clean, easy to understand.
I’m still not fully convinced about the footprint of the concept in the top-left corner, but I like the faceted look and the idea of lids hiding the spices I don’t use as often, as well as the oil bottles that tend to clutter the space.
I think the next step is to move to cardboard models and rough 3D, to better understand proportions and see how I can reduce the footprint.
That’s it for this post! It was pretty hard to cover everything in one article, so next time I’ll focus more on visuals: cardboard and 3D printed models, quick rough 3D exploration, more sketches… We’ll enter the Iteration phase.
I hope you enjoyed reading this one. What does your ideation process look like on your side? Where do you find inspiration? What tips and tricks work for you?
I’d also love this project to feel collaborative. Do you have ideas? Thoughts? What would you do differently?
—
I’m traveling to Japan in a few days and I’m so excited. Japanese industrial design is one of my biggest sources of inspiration. Because of the trip, the next post might be a bit late (again, sorry)… or I might write about what I discover there in terms of design.
Do you have any recommendations to see in Japan?
Anyway, can’t wait to share the next step with you. See you soon!
