Studio Matrx Monthly · Volume 1 · Issue 2 · July 2026
Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
A studio wall of clustered coloured sticky notes forming an affinity diagram beside a hand-drawn radial mind map and a journey-map curve on paper, markers on the ledge, bright light — design-thinking tools in use, no people, no legible text.
Unit IVDesign Thinking

Tools & Practices

Empathy maps, journey maps, brainstorming and SCAMPER — attributed right.

≈ 45 min + studio taskByAmogh N P· Architect & interior designer

Design thinking runs on visual tools — the empathy map, the affinity diagram, the journey map — and on idea-generation methods: brainstorming under Osborn’s rules, and SCAMPER. Attributions matter, and they are corrected here: SCAMPER is not an IDEO tool, the empathy map is Gray’s, the affinity diagram is Kawakita’s KJ method.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to — mapped to the course outcomes for Design Thinking:

1
CO5 · Apply

Use the empathy map, affinity diagram and journey map to synthesise research.

2
CO5 · Apply

Run a brainstorming session under Osborn's rules.

3
CO5 · Apply

Use SCAMPER to generate variations on an interior idea.

4
CO5 · Evaluate

Attribute the tools correctly and name the pitfalls of design thinking.

Empathy map · affinity · journey

Visual tools

Externalise and synthesise research — the says/thinks/does/feels map, clustering into themes, and mapping the user’s journey to find the pain points.[3, 4]

Empathy map — says · thinks · does · feels SAYSquotes aloud THINKSprivate beliefs DOESobserved actions FEELSemotions Surfaces contradictions — SAYS 'I love hosting' but DOES eat in the kitchen. (Gray / XPLANE, not IDEO.)
DiagramThe empathy map — says, thinks, does and feels quadrants around a user
Affinity diagram — cluster into patterns scattered notes group theme A theme B A synthesis (convergent) tool for Define — the KJ method (Jiro Kawakita, 1960s), not an IDEO invention.
DiagramThe affinity diagram — loose observations on sticky notes clustered into themes (the KJ method)

Says · thinks · does · feels

A canvas capturing four facets of a user — SAYS, THINKS, DOES, FEELS — to build a shared, externalised picture and surface contradictions (says 'I love hosting' but eats in the kitchen because the table is always covered). Attribution: created at the consultancy XPLANE by Dave Gray and popularised via Gamestorming (2010) — NOT an IDEO or d.school invention.[3]

Journey map — experience over time pain point arrivedaily usestudy timefestival dinner ☺ high ☹ low Plot the emotional highs and lows to find the friction — then design against it.
DiagramA user journey map — stages over time with an emotional high-low curve revealing pain points
Brainstorming & SCAMPER

Generating ideas — attributed right

Brainstorm under Osborn’s four rules, and use SCAMPER (Eberle, on Osborn’s checklist) to push a stuck idea sideways — plus surfacing assumptions and the pitfalls to avoid.[1, 2, 4]

Brainstorming has rules (Osborn, 1953) 1 · Defer judgmentno criticism while generating 2 · Go for quantitymany ideas — quantity breeds quality 3 · Welcome wild ideasthe unusual leads to breakthroughs 4 · Build on others'yes-and', not 'no-but' Nuance: solo idea-writing then pooling ('brainwriting') often out-produces a free-for-all group.
DiagramOsborn's four brainstorming rules — defer judgment, go for quantity, welcome wild ideas, build on others

The four rules

Brainstorming was coined and codified by the advertising executive Alex Osborn in Applied Imagination (1953). His four rules: defer judgment; go for quantity; welcome wild ideas; combine and build on others. A nuance worth teaching: solo idea-writing then pooling ('brainwriting') often out-produces a free-for-all group — the rules are sound, but how you run the session matters.[4]

SCAMPER — triggers for idea variations SSubstitute CCombine AAdapt MModify / Magnify PPut to another use EEliminate RReverse / Rearrange Eberle's mnemonic (1971), built on Osborn's checklist — NOT an IDEO tool.
DiagramSCAMPER — Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse
Interactive · Unit IV

Try SCAMPER

Tap a letter to see its prompt and an interior example on the running case.

SCAMPER · trigger idea variations

S — Substitute

Swap a component or material for another.

Interior example: Replace the fixed dining table with a wall-mounted fold-down top.

Eberle’s mnemonic (1971), built on Osborn’s idea-spurring checklist — a way to push a stuck idea sideways.

Myth vs reality

At a glance

AspectCommon beliefThe reality
Empathy mapMyth: a d.school inventionReality: Dave Gray / XPLANE (Gamestorming, 2010)
Affinity diagramMyth: an IDEO toolReality: the KJ method — Jiro Kawakita, 1960s
BrainstormingMyth: no rulesReality: Osborn's four rules (1953)
SCAMPERMyth: invented by IDEOReality: Eberle (1971), built on Osborn's checklist
RiskReal design thinking'Innovation theatre' if done superficially
Vocabulary

Key terms

Empathy map

A says/thinks/does/feels canvas of a user (Gray, XPLANE).

Affinity diagram (KJ method)

Clustering sticky-note observations into themes (Kawakita).

Journey map

The user's experience over time, with emotional highs and lows.

Brainstorming

Group idea generation under Osborn's four rules (1953).

SCAMPER

Eberle's mnemonic (1971) for idea variations, built on Osborn's checklist.

Post-it theatre

The pitfall of lots of sticky notes but no real change.

Apply it

Studio task

For a room you know, fill a says/thinks/does/feels empathy map for one occupant, then run all seven SCAMPER prompts on one fixed element (say, the storage) and keep the three most promising variations. Name one assumption you are making and how you would test it.

Check your understanding

Self-assessment

1. The four facets of an empathy map are —

2. SCAMPER was devised by —

3. Which is a genuine pitfall of design thinking?

In a nutshell

Recap

The empathy map (says/thinks/does/feels) is Dave Gray / XPLANE; the affinity diagram is Kawakita's KJ method.
Keep research on a project wall and map the user's journey to find the pain points.
Brainstorm under Osborn's rules (1953): defer judgment, quantity, wild ideas, build on others.
SCAMPER (Eberle, 1971, on Osborn's checklist) triggers idea variations — substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to use, eliminate, reverse.
Surface and test assumptions; and avoid the pitfalls — superficial empathy, skipped iteration, 'post-it theatre', over-claiming.
The evidence

References & further reading

  1. [1]Idris Mootee, Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation, Wiley, 2013 (tools and cautions).
  2. [2]Bob Eberle, SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development, 1971 (built on Osborn's checklist).
  3. [3]Dave Gray, Sunni Brown & James Macanufo, Gamestorming, O'Reilly, 2010 (the empathy map).
  4. [4]Alex F. Osborn, Applied Imagination, Scribner's, 1953; Jiro Kawakita, the KJ method (affinity diagram).

Further reading

  • Idris Mootee — Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation.
  • Dave Gray et al. — Gamestorming.
  • Alex F. Osborn — Applied Imagination.

Sources gathered and fact-checked June 2026. Published values vary by source, sample and method — treat as indicative and confirm against the cited standard before structural use.

A

The author

Amogh N P

Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.

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