Convergent thinking is an ideation mode which designers use to analyze, filter, evaluate, clarify and modify ideas they have generated in divergent thinking. They use analytical, vertical and linear thinking to find novel and useful ideas, understand the design space possibilities and get closer to potential solutions.
“The best way to have good ideas is to have lots of ideas and throw away the bad ones.”
— Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize-winning chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author and educator
Convergent and divergent thinking
After design teams generate as many ideas as possible in the divergent thinking part of ideation sessions, convergent thinking helps them systematically see whether their ideas might work as real-world solutions. The structure is to:
Sift through ideas.
Group them into themes.
Find common threads.
Decide on winners and losers.
Convergent thinking helps tighten your focus when evaluating each idea. For example, if your design problem concerns users with errands, one idea might be an app for users to control their cars remotely to send/collect goods. You’d then examine it through three lenses:
Desirability – “Would users want this?” (Or would they fear accidents, hacking, theft, etc.?)
Viability – “Could a brand mass-produce and support it?” (Or would it be unsustainable/too expensive?)
Feasibility – “Is it doable?” (Or would security, sensory and emergency-backup features take years/decades to perfect?)
Then, considering state-of-the-art technology and other factors, you might abandon this idea as impracticable or shelve it for future consideration.
Convergent thinking isn’t a clinical process that automatically results in optimal solutions. Rather, you need a careful, creative mindset to:
Look past logical norms (which we use in everyday critical thinking);
See how an idea stands in relation to the problem; and
Understand the reality/dimensions of that problem.
As you work more insightfully, you can begin to understand the idea in the context of what’s going on in the problem domain. And only with an accurate understanding of the problem can you determine the best criteria to judge an idea with. Otherwise, it’s easy to overlook the problem domain’s complexity and apply just your existing knowledge (e.g., “It looks like something that a mega menu could help with.”). Some dimensions of it may be unlike anything you’ll recognize. By studying problems and ideas on their own terms, though, you can avoid misidentifying them with assumptions.
Thinking convergently helps overcome many obstacles, even if alternative ideas can also cause problems. Sometimes, a clearer understanding might show you the best solution straightaway. Or you might use that understanding to generate new ideas and newer understandings. Whether you’re fine-tuning novel ideas through thought-provokingly fresh lenses or suddenly finding yourself inspired to work on a prototype to test, convergent thinking helps advance your creative process. That’s why it’s vital in a design process such as design thinking.
© Teo Yu Siang and Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Some techniques to help you focus creatively are:
Externalization – You sketch ideas to make all the tacit knowledge and underlying assumptions about your project visible and then identify that knowledge (including its limits) to help understand the problem domain.
Three-Way Comparisons – You compare three similar products to see how each differs from the other two.
More Specific and More General – You place some temporary constraints on your project to get a more specific overview to help you generate ideas, and you stand back to get a more abstract overview.
Embrace Opposites – You find overlaps between different categories or opposites to spot new design opportunities.
Multiple Classifications – You compare aspects of items using a matrix to widen your inspiration, spot market gaps, analyze trends and rules and examine related qualities.
Teasing Apart, Piecing Together (TAPT) – You break down an experience into its elements, reconstruct it with a better understanding of what’s involved and re-imagine it in a new context.
Take our Creativity course featuring convergent thinking and many templates.
This SEEK blog nicely shows how convergent thinking fits into ideation.
Read about convergent thinking at work in Prism Studio’s ideation process.
Convergent thinking matters in design because it helps teams move from many ideas to the best ones. After generating a wide range of concepts through divergent thinking techniques, designers use convergent thinking to narrow down the list, evaluate options, and make decisions. Convergent thinking brings focus, structure, and clarity to the creative process.
This phase asks: Which ideas solve the problem? Which are practical, desirable, and feasible? Without it, teams risk getting stuck in endless ideation or choosing ideas that don’t meet user needs. Convergent thinking connects creativity with strategy—it turns potential into progress.
For example, IDEO uses this shift from open exploration to sharp decision-making in design sprints to deliver real, impactful solutions.
Watch as Author and Human-Computer Interaction Expert, Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Take our course Creativity: Methods to Design Better Products and Services.
Convergent and divergent thinking serve different but equally important purposes in design. Divergent thinking is all about generating ideas. It opens the door to possibilities by encouraging wild, creative, and varied thoughts—think brainstorming, sketching, or mind mapping. This phase values quantity over quality and pushes past obvious solutions.
Convergent thinking, on the other hand, helps narrow down the field. It involves analyzing, evaluating, and picking the best ideas based on feasibility, desirability, and impact. After the “dust” has been blown about during brainstorming, this phase brings structure and focus to what your group has generated. It turns creative chaos into clear direction.
Designers need both. Divergent thinking fuels innovation; convergent thinking delivers results. IDEO and Google use this dual approach in design sprints to keep creativity grounded in real-world impact.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Take our course Creativity: Methods to Design Better Products and Services.
Convergent thinking isn’t always about finding “the” answer; it’s about finding the best answer based on clear criteria. In design, there’s rarely a single perfect solution. Instead, convergent thinking helps teams evaluate options, weigh trade-offs, and choose the most promising path forward.
While “traditional” convergent thinking, like in math or logic, tends to seek a single correct result, design adds complexity. Designers need to consider user needs, technical limits, business goals, and aesthetics. That means the “right” answer is usually the one that effectively balances all these factors.
This kind of thinking turns a sea of ideas into focused action. It often takes some work and careful consideration of many factors, but it's how design teams move from imagination to impact.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Take our course Creativity: Methods to Design Better Products and Services.
Designers can use several effective methods to support convergent thinking. Using them, they can turn a flood of ideas into focused, actionable solutions. Some typical ones are:
Dot voting: Each team member gets a set number of votes to mark their favorite ideas. It’s fast, democratic, and highlights top concepts quickly.
Impact-effort matrix: This tool helps teams rank ideas based on their potential impact and the effort needed to implement them. It’s perfect for spotting quick wins.
Prioritization grids: These frameworks let teams score ideas using specific criteria like usability, feasibility, or business value.
Decision matrices: More structured than grids, these assign weights to different factors to help teams make informed, strategic choices.
Affinity mapping: Teams group similar ideas to identify themes and patterns—great for spotting overlap and narrowing focus.
For example, Google and IDEO use these methods in design sprints to bring clarity after creative chaos.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Take our course Creativity: Methods to Design Better Products and Services.
Design constraints play a critical role in convergent thinking, helping teams filter, focus, and choose the most viable ideas. Constraints—like budget, time, technical limits, user needs, or brand guidelines—set the boundaries that shape decision-making. They don’t block creativity; they sharpen it.
In convergent thinking, constraints act like a lens. They guide teams to evaluate which ideas are realistic, useful, and worth developing. Without constraints, the process could feel shapeless or scattered. With these filters to run ideas through, teams can make smarter, faster decisions that align with real-world conditions.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Enjoy our Master Class Harness Your Creativity to Design Better Products with Alan Dix, Professor, Author, and Creativity Expert.
When thinking convergently, adopt a focused, analytical, and decision-driven mindset—but still open to new possibilities. Shift from exploring ideas to evaluating them. Look for what works, what aligns with your goals, and what’s feasible within your constraints, such as budget.
You don’t need to be critical in a negative sense, but you should be thoughtful and strategic. Ask: Which ideas solve the real problem? Which fit the user’s needs, budget, or timeline? Stay objective and resist the urge to pick favorites too soon; sometimes convergent thinking can take a while to arrive at the best solution.
Think like a designer and a strategist. Great design thinking means balancing creativity with clarity, and that’s exactly what convergent thinking demands.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Enjoy our Master Class Harness Your Creativity to Design Better Products with Alan Dix, Professor, Author, and Creativity Expert.
Several mental blocks can derail convergent thinking and prevent teams from arriving at clear, confident decisions. One common block is confirmation bias, which is favoring ideas that support what you already believe while ignoring better alternatives. Another is fear of risk, where teams avoid bold choices and settle for “safe” but weak ideas.
Groupthink is another trap. Groupthink occurs when teams agree too quickly just to keep harmony, and they overlook stronger options. Also, perfectionism can paralyze decision-making by pushing people to wait for the “perfect” idea instead of choosing a good one to develop.
“Perfect is the enemy of good”
-- an Italian proverb quoted by the French philosopher, Voltaire
To fight these blocks, stay objective, use clear evaluation criteria, and encourage honest discussion. Design leaders like IDEO tackle these issues by creating psychologically safe environments and using structured tools to guide decisions.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Take our course Creativity: Methods to Design Better Products and Services.
To handle disagreement in convergent thinking sessions, frame it as a strength, not a problem. Disagreement often means your team cares and is thinking critically. To start, set ground rules that promote respect and active listening. When conflict arises, refocus the group on shared goals and decision criteria—like user needs, impact, or feasibility.
Use structured tools like decision matrices or impact-effort charts to ground debates in facts instead of opinions. If a stalemate happens, try dot voting to see where the group stands, or assign someone to explore each top idea further.
Great design teams view disagreement as a creative catalyst. When managed well, it sharpens thinking and leads to better solutions.
Watch as Professor Alan Dix explains convergent thinking and some techniques:
Enjoy our Master Class Harness Your Creativity to Design Better Products with Alan Dix, Professor, Author, and Creativity Expert.
Frich, J., Nouwens, M., Halskov, K., & Dalsgaard, P. (2021). How digital tools impact convergent and divergent thinking in design ideation. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–14. Association for Computing Machinery.
This study investigates how digital tools influence designers' cognitive processes during ideation. By comparing analog and digital media, the authors found that digital tools tend to promote convergent thinking, leading to more focused idea development. Conversely, analog tools were associated with greater divergent thinking, fostering a broader range of ideas. The findings suggest that the choice of tools can significantly impact the balance between divergent and convergent thinking in UX design processes.
Goldschmidt, G. (2016). Linkographic evidence for concurrent divergent and convergent thinking in creative design. Creativity Research Journal, 28(2), 115–122.
Goldschmidt's research challenges the traditional view that divergent and convergent thinking occur in separate phases. Using linkography—a method for analyzing design processes—the study reveals that designers often engage in both types of thinking simultaneously. This concurrent approach allows for more dynamic and flexible problem-solving, which is crucial in UX design where creativity and practicality must coexist. The study underscores the importance of supporting both thinking modes throughout the design process.
Kelley, T., & Kelley, D. (2013). Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential within Us All. Crown Business.
Tom and David Kelley explore how individuals and organizations can tap into their creative potential. The book discusses the balance between divergent and convergent thinking in the creative process—encouraging the generation of numerous ideas followed by critical evaluation to select the best ones. Through anecdotes and case studies, the authors illustrate how this balance leads to innovative solutions. For UX designers, the book offers insights into fostering a creative mindset while systematically refining ideas to enhance user experiences.
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Here's the entire UX literature on Convergent Thinking by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:
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