More about Design Thinking.

I asked 15 people at my work about these terms:

            Innovation • creativity • art • design • design thinking  

We talked about what each word meant. Every single person had a different understanding of these terms. Some wanted to combine terms. One colleague suggested, “innovation and creativity is the same thing.” Others wanted “art” off the list. Stating, “art had nothing to do with the other terms.” One person removed “design” from the list because “all design uses design thinking.” Once they felt comfortable with the terms and the associations between them I asked my colleges to categorize the terms with one word. They came up with these:

·      Excellent product / product

·      Design thinking

·      Unique skill set / modern skill set / professional skills

·      Vision

·      Process / design process

·      Innovation

·      Invention

·      Project

·      Civilization

·      Creativity

·      Problem solving

I’m curious about the things I do. Where is the value? When people come to me for design and it turns into a brainstorming session, is that what they expected? Are they happy with the results? It seems my ideas get used frequently but it’s hard to tell in a collaborative field. I do my work by using innovation, creativity, art, design, and design thinking. In my experience renderings, creating in low phi, wire framing, and concept mapping create the visual representation of the ideas in the room. It gives something for people to see. It’s through the creation of “sketches and models that clarify the characteristics of the product, helping to form a specific line of thought that facilitates the development process and forms the basis for the design thinking process.” (Razzouk 2012) Having a design and artistic background then can be considered as vital in the development of a product. Other skills associated with design thinking highlighted in the article What is design thinking and why is it important? are:

·      human- and environment- centered concern,

·      ability to visualize,

·      predisposition toward multifunctionality,

·      systemic vision,

·      ability to use language as a tool,

·      affinity for teamwork, and

·      avoiding the necessity of choice.

I ask my colleagues opinions because I’m curious about what they think the role of the designer is on the various projects. I want to identify when design is happening because it helps me recognize what comes next in the process. I’m not quite sure how I prove design thinking is happening however, I know projects evolve with iteration often from scribbles collected on sticky notes. While reports claim, “we have found no valid performance-based assessments of design thinking skills,” (Razzouk 2012) I look to show that these things are indeed happening and I have the proof to show for it at every iteration.

Resource

Razzouk, R., & Shute, V. (2012). What Is Design Thinking and Why Is It Important? Review of Educational Research,82(3), 330-348. doi:10.3102/0034654312457429