posted by Anna Fleet on August 10th, 2010
If you asked a designer at my agency, “How many designers does it take to change a light bulb?”, they would certainly answer: “Does it have to be a light bulb?”
Very funny I know, but seriously, the tendency to challenge the very essence of my question is innate in designers, or rather people engaged in design thinking. They tend to ask a lot of questions—especially those that challenge existing or stale assumptions.
And yes, these questions might be dubbed “stupid questions” by those married to a certain convention or strategy, but as author, Warren Berger, points out, asking those “stupid questions…is the starting point in the design process, and has a profound influence on everything that follows.”
If you don’t believe it, try and think of how many times you’ve been stalled over the same old issue at your business. The vintage FedEx commercial that shows how corporate insiders can get so stuck in a rut that they no longer think for themselves is a great visual explanation of what I’m talking about. Many times it does take an outsider (or someone willing to question those conventions) to see the situation clearly—while stating the obvious.
Berger found this out when he spent time studying the likes of Bruce Mau, Richard Saul Wurman and Paula Scher, the most respected designers in the biz, who constantly discussed the importance of asking “stupid questions”.
In his article this morning from the Harvard Business Review, Berger points to specific ways that people in business can learn from design thinkers by learning to question, care, connect and commit to a final idea.
Read Berger’s full article and find out why you should apply a little design thinking to your own small business problems.
Tags: design thinking for small business, design thinking process, design thinking strategy, glimmer book, graphic design thinking, harvard business review, warren berger
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
posted by Anna Fleet on July 28th, 2010
Last week I shared an article about how design thinking was used by a group of USU design students to solve a structural issue at the famed Great St. Bernard Hospice in Switzerland. Well, I can’t stop thinking about it…
So today, I’m giving you a little insight from Captain James T. Kirk. Why? Well, because, one, I’m a Trekie. And two, I’m drawn to this concept of design thinking because it challenges us to find alternative ways to solve problems—giving us more options to solve those problems with…
And this girl, she loves her options!
I was reminded of a phrase that James T. Kirk coined: the “third option”. If I recall correctly, this means innovating and creating new ideas and new technology, not just out of self interest, but also for the common good. Now, to me, that sounds a lot more appealing compared to being stuck with two undesireable choices. Maybe, just maybe, I’m on to something here…
The obvious three steps involved in problem solving are:
1. Firstly, step back from the immediate problem and take a look at the bigger picture. After all, the problem itself is usually ingrained in the larger system, so finding a solution is best approached by first understanding the larger whole.
2. Next, to understand the whole situation you’ll need to call on folks with different expertise—designers, artists, MBAs, technologists, sociologists, communications, etc. Regardless, they all add value because they approach the problem from different angles, with different backgrounds, and with different skill sets.
3. Lastly, get a fresh perspective on the situation. Breakthroughs in any field—medicine, technology, art—hardly ever occur if never approached with fresh perspective. And lack of fresh insight is responsible for many companies getting stuck in a rut (e.g., old patterns and politics). After working at the same company and in the same position for many years, we all come to accept certain patterns as part of our environment. However, newbies on the scene, tend to question everything—especially the obvious—because an outsider has permission to ask “stupid questions” that veterans don’t feel comfortable asking.
That’s when the magic starts to happen. Am I right?
Tags: design thinking, design thinking for small business, glimmer book, james t. kirk, new ways of problem solving, new ways of thinking, star trek, warren berger
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
posted by Anna Fleet on July 21st, 2010
I recently read Warren Berger’s, Glimmer, a book that details how design thinking can transform lives. So you can understand my interest in an article about a group of Utah State University students who went to Switzerland to study creative thinking. I must add that the article was tweeted by my colleague, James, a very talented graphic designer.
Many (like Berger) refer to this cultivation of right brain (or creative thinking) to solve problems and advance innovation as “design thinking”. And students are calling on the right sides of their brains, not only to solve problems, but out of necessity as well—to get a job when they graduate.
“There’s a new field emerging,” says Bob Winward, the graphic design professor who led the trip, “…today’s successful businesses are driven by innovation and creativity. The world is undergoing a huge shift—from a largely informational economy to a conceptual one where intuition thought will replace logic.”
I think Berger would agree wholeheartedly!
At this point you might be thinking that design thinking is a bunch of conceptual mumbo-jumbo, all well and good in theory, but not applicable to real life. Well the students found out otherwise as they traversed the Swiss Alps on snowshoes to the Great St. Bernard Hospice. Here monks tasked them with reconstructing gigantic kennels for the St. Bernard dogs—bred to rescue avalanche victims. The harsh conditions, risk of snow slides and 60-pound steel beams used to construct the kennels all had to be figured into the course of action.
But according to graphic design student Rich Wills, the students might have learned the most important lesson from the monks, “You have to learn how to understand other people if you’re going to design things for people.”
Tags: creative thinking tips, design thinking strategy, design thinking tips, glimmer book, graphic design thinking, warren berger
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
