Applying Design Thinking SE1
Rechtsgeschiedenis (RGPRG00105)
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
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Applying Design Thinking Tim Brown begins his article Design Thinking with the example of invention of the light bulb (Brown 2008). creation is an apt representation for innovation, not only because the light bulb has become the symbol for an idea, but also because it encapsulates three key elements of applying design thinking. First, that creative designs are aggregate, are built upon, and are continually improved more and more second, that effective designs are inherently brought to life with people in mind, and that design thinking is interdisciplinary, as it requires not only the conception of a good or service, but the conceptualization of that same good or service within a marketplace or within a whole system. The invention of the light bulb would not have been possible without the harnessing of alternating current (AC). But this invention paved the way for harnessing electricity and rendering it usable people. At its core, applied design thinking is more about innovation than it is about invention. It is about adapting existing technologies toward a more efficient product. Brown also uses the example of Edison to dispel the myth of the genius arguing instead that approaches to innovation are more productive and successful (Brown 2008). Thus, these romanticized views are quite antithetical to applied design thinking, which is done in group settings and reinforces the sentiment of successful designs as continually built up others. Applied design thinking is fundamentally aimed toward making products more convenient and efficient for human use. Applying design thinking at this stage means that a given problem must be analyzed at the human scale. In the case of the Europapark project, the human interactions with the built environment are far more important than the built environment itself in the creation of a master plan. Pedestrian flows and densities of activity reveal subconscious decisions in interactions with the built environment. elephant tracks, paths that have been developed simply a threshold of people walking on them, display that often, people can interact outside the context of a mobility plan within a site. listening to wishes for the betterment of a good or service, designers can ensure they are not acting as outside technocrats, but rather as people. Finally, applied design thinking links innovation back to the marketplace as a whole. Kees Dorst opens his article stating that design is always in the context of a need or problem (Dorst 2008). Creative thinking does not exist in a void, thus is it critical to identify and to understand the problem at hand to best develop toward its solution. This inherently means that a design is born from the context of a problem into the context of the marketplace or the world around it. In terms of the Europapark project, a problem, such as a lack of usable public green space, could be solved a small recreational park or eating places along the waterfront, but these spatial creations would also have distinct interactions with the surrounding area. Thus, the application of design thinking is critical in the creation of effective and creative plans. But what is design thinking? Brown outlines several key characteristics in design thinking: empathy, integrative thinking, optimism, experimentalism, and collaboration (Brown 2008). Each of these characteristics are crucial, as the creative process must involve people, various functions of a marketplace at once, the ability to grow from criticism rather than wilting, the desire to use approaches to achieve the ends, and to always collaborate. Ultimately, however, design thinking is a pragmatic process that shapes a project from start to finish. It involves not only observation, which leads to hypotheses, which ultimately inform the problem and lead to results, but also frames or layers of the problem, which ground it in a particular reality (Dorst 2011). A studio example is the utilization of separate analysis layers to move towards solutions to problems that would otherwise be unreachable. Dorst posits three pillars of design thinking: the ability to frame a problem, as has been discussed, the ability to distil themes from these frames, and most importantly, the parallel development of the product and its of or its context (Dorst 2011). This is what separates applied design thinking from basic reasoning, which operates within a fixed marketplace and does not attempt to change the boundaries. The true challenge comes from only knowing the end value you wish to reach, and it goes without saying that this parallel development is achieved through tireless testing and focus group sessions to ensure it is a wholesome and meaningful contribution (Dorst 2011). Applying design thinking is critical to the group process in the Europapark project. Without this paradigm shaping how analytic decisions are made, the project would be a series of unconnected designs rather than a cohesive and innovative master plan for the area. Already, using design thinking has proven effective in its ability to foster group work, to ensure that all designs are made with users in mind, and to ensure that seemingly insurmountable problems are approached dynamically and positively. Further, design thinking is a continuous process. Returning to a previous stage is just as natural as repeating the entire process after the plan has been implemented. In fact, returning to previous layers gives groups an opportunity to apply something they discovered further along the path, ensuring the design process is as fluid as it is constructive. Just as innovation comes from tweaking existing designs, so too must the cycle of innovation continue after designs are implemented to make a healthier and more world. References Brown, T. (2008) Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review, June 2008, p. Dorst, K. (2011) The core of and its application. Design Studies, 32 (6), p. 1
Applying Design Thinking SE1
Vak: Rechtsgeschiedenis (RGPRG00105)
Universiteit: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
