designfragen

Designfragen is a German term that designates the core questions guiding a design process. It is used to frame and structure inquiry across stages from problem understanding to solution evaluation, balancing user needs, technical feasibility, business goals, and social context. The concept appears in multiple design disciplines, including product design, user experience, architecture, and service design, and is common in design education and brief development.

In practice, designfragen are formulated at various levels. Early in the process they focus on problem framing: What problem are we solving? Who is affected? What constraints exist? As concepts develop, questions shift toward envisioning outcomes: What would a successful solution look like? How will it be used and by whom? During implementation and testing, questions address feasibility and impact: How can we build it within the given constraints? How will we measure success? Ethical and sustainability considerations—privacy, accessibility, environmental impact—are often integrated throughout.

Designfragen are typically organized into briefs, checklists, or collaborative workshop exercises to align stakeholders, delimit scope, and guide decision-making. They are reinforced by methods from design thinking and human-centered design, such as user research, scenario creation, journey mapping, prototyping, and usability testing. While not a formal theory, the framework serves as a practical heuristic to ensure that design choices remain oriented toward user value and context, rather than solely technical or aesthetic concerns. The exact phrasing and emphasis of questions can vary by project, discipline, and organizational culture.