The 90 minute crash corse in design thinking school from the d.school from Stratford University is a very fast paced experience. Every step of the design thinking process is done under 10 minutes. Usually the process of coming up with and idea or solution for a client takes days, weeks, or months. This process was perfectly smashed into a fast paces, organized, crash course. Here is how it worked.
First, my partner and I exchanged our gift giving experiences. We both asked questions and got to know the other person within 8 minutes. Then, in a second interview, we went deeper into an emotional side of giving a gift to another person. After the interviews, I took what I learned and put it into a point-of-view statement. My problem-statement was “John needs a way to give back because he feels good when making other people happy”. Next, I came up with different ideas to help John give back to the community. I created the ideas of a teleportation watch, happy machine, and the problem remote. All of these ideas are very out-of-the-box and not very practical, but they would solve John’s problem. Then, after creating solutions, we had more interviews with our clients/ partners to talk about the products. After the collaboration, it was time to pick one solution to the problem. I chose the teleportation watch. The purpose of the watch is to teleport yourself to your friends when they are in trouble or just need a friend to talk to. Next, it was time to build my teleportation watch. I constructed it out of pipe cleaners, foam blocks, and tape. The magical combination of all the supplies created the colorful and stylish watch for teleportation. Lastly, I showed the watch to the client and we collaborated again to see what can be improved.
Throughout the process of design thinking, using the feedback from the client made the product so much better. Unfortunately, the product was never finished because the crash course was so fast. It felt uncomfortable and embarrassing to show a client unfinished work. On a positive note, the fast paced experience made me focused on the task and allowed me to get the product 75% done. Usually when I work, I take my time on the problem and take time to develop a solution. With this crash course I was able to think on my feet and helped me develop better critical thinking skills. If I could incorporate any element from the design process it would be the critical thinking skills and the communication skills. Both thinking and communicating is very important in coming up with a product that will fit the clients needs.
If I had to change anything about this process it would be my problem-statement. I think I could have come up with a better and more creative statement like “John needs a way to make people smile because he is the type of person to make someones day 100% better”.
Lastly, the d.school asked its participants to answers questions and share experiences on social media using #Dgift. One of the participants tweeted @skemp “Taking on the #designthinking process”. here.
This hashtag also represents the power of social media and how it can help connect people with similar experiences. For more information about the d.school check out their blog
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