The idea of the methods cards is to make a large number of different techniques accessible to all members of a design team and to encourage a creative approach to the search for information and insights as their projects evolve. The intention is to provide a tool that can be used flexibly to sort, browse, search, spread out, or pin up. I find myself using the cards after a typical project briefing meeting, working my way through the pack as if in a game of patience and selecting the most useful set for that particular project in its various phases. When I meet with the team, I deal the set I’ve chosen and talk about why they might be useful in this context.

Each of the fifty-one cards contains explanatory text about how and when the method can be used and a brief example of its application to a real design project, with an illustrative and sometimes whimsical image on the other side. The cards are divided into four categories, ranging from the objective to more subjective—Learn, Look,Ask, and Try:“Learn” from the facts you gather, “Look” at what users do, “Ask” them to help, and “Try” it for yourself