Why Design Thinking?

Welcome to this course!

This is a little introductory video where we summarise the content of the course, and where I tell you a little bit about myself and my background, and what brought me to creating this particular course.

Additional information:

Francesca Zampollo’s website: https://www.fooddesignthinking.org/

Francesca Zampollo’s Instagram handle: @fooddesignthinking

Online School of Food Design: http://onlineschooloffooddesign.org/

Where does Design Thinking come from? When and how is it born? Who contributed to creating Design Thinking?

In this lesson, we'll see how the history of Design Thinking is much deeper and rooted in Design than what most people think. Design Thinking was not created by someone specific, but it is the direct and seamless result of decades of Design research, that can not be traced back to one designer or researcher.

The articles mentioned in the lesson can be found in the PDF titled "Design Thinking course Literature Review"

Additional Information:

Stanford's version of the Design Thinking Timeline: https://www.dschool.fr/en/notre-histoire/

IDEO video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KK958OkD6g

Part 2

Where does Design Thinking come from? When and how is it born? Who contributed to creating Design Thinking?

In this lesson, we'll see how the history of Design Thinking is much deeper and rooted in Design than what most people think. Design Thinking was not created by someone specific, but it is the direct and seamless result of decades of Design research, that can not be traced back to one designer or researcher.

The articles mentioned in the lesson can be found in the PDF titled "Design Thinking course Literature Review"

Additional Information:

Stanford's version of the Design Thinking Timeline: https://www.dschool.fr/en/notre-histoire/

IDEO video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KK958OkD6g

What’s the difference between the terms tool, technique, method, process, methodology? These are all words used almost interchangeably by many people, but that have very different meanings. Since these words are the pillars of the conversation we'll have in this course, and all conversations you'll ever have about Design Thinking, we take the time here to look at the definition of each one of them.

What is Design Thinking? Above everything else, Design Thinking is a creative process, but it is not a universal process. In this lesson we'll see how different researchers and practitioners have created their own version of the Design Thinking process, we'll observe how these are different and similar at the same time.

Visualizations of the Design Thinking process:

https://designthinking.ideo.com/

https://www.ideou.com/pages/design-thinking

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Phases-of-the-Design-Thinking-process-with-emphasis-on-the-beginning-Source-David_fig16_335391703

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-process

http://scrumptioustech.com/2021/05/19/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-process/

https://www.stephaniebaseman.com/design-thinking-process

https://tofasakademi.com/design-thinking-2019/

Additional Information:

Food Design Thinking: https://www.fooddesignthinking.org/

Service Design Thinking: https://www.thisisservicedesigndoing.com/methods

What are Design Thinking methods? How many are there? What do Design Thinking methods do?

In this lesson, we'll discuss the variety of Design Thinking methods available, and their role within different Design Thinking phases. This lesson will give you an understanding of the role of a Design Thinking method in the overall process and will prepare you to choose your own methods.

Additional Information:

Websites with lists of methods:

https://www.designthinking-methods.com/en/

https://www.designkit.org/methods

Design for social systems resources: https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources?tag=Program:%20DSS&category=Designing%20for%20Social%20Systems

Service Design Thinking: https://www.thisisservicedesigndoing.com/methods

Books with Design Thinking methods:

- Design Thinking Process & Methods 5th Edition by Robert Curedale

- This Is Service Design Methods by Marc Stickdorn, Markus Edgar Hormess, Adam Lawrence, Jakob Schneider

- The Design Thinking Toolbox by Michael Lewrick, Patrick Link, Larry Leifer

- 101 Design Methods by Vijay Kumar

- Food Design Thinking DIY by Francesca Zampollo

- Health Design Thinking by di Bon Ku, Ellen Lupton

What are Collages? In this lesson, we'll discuss why Collages is one of the most useful and productive Design Thinking methods available. We'll have a look at how the method works and its fundamental steps, so that you'll be ready to use it as soon as you can!

What does Brainstorm mean? What does it mean to "do Brainstorming"? In this lesson, we'll discuss how Brainstorm is a specific, structured Design Thinking method, and not a verb... used often in sentences like "we brainstormed ideas...". Here we discuss the specific rules to adopt in the method Brainstorm.

How to use Brainstorm?

1) A facilitator formulates a question in the format "How can we...?"

2) Following the Brainstorm RULES, the group gives free rein to its creativity and generates a large number of ideas

3) All ideas are individually captured with a sketch and a sentence or two to explain what is not possible to show visually. Capturing each idea in an individual post-it can be useful later on in the process when ideas are analyzed, discussed, and selected.

4) End your Brainstorm session as soon as the energy of the group goes down. Boredom and low energy are not conducive to creativity. Stop and resume at another time if necessary.

What is Roleplay? How and when should we use it?

In this lesson, we look at the Design Thinking method Roleplay and we discuss the reasons why this is an important and very useful method to generate ideas, as well as evaluate ideas.

Now that you understand that there is a variety of Design Thinking methods available for each phase of the Design Thinking process, how do you choose?

In this lesson, we discuss various things you should consider when choosing the Design Thinking methods for your processes, remembering that each process is going to be different, so each one could require different methods.

Since Design Thinking developed intrinsically from design research and practice, and since design itself developed into, and through, various philosophies and ways to consider and use creativity, there are different approaches that can be applied to Design Thinking, or, in other words, depending on the design philosophy and the principles a certain designer believe in or aligns to, the Design Thinking process changes. When the Design Thinking' supporting principles change, then consequently, the process itself and its methods change. Therefore, being aware of the design principles and philosophy you align to, will inform your methodological choices, and - amongst other things - which Design Thinking methods you will choose. It is important therefore to take a moment to discuss some of these approaches so that you can *critically* make methodological choices.

Additional Information:

User-centered D: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/user-centered-design

Participatory D: https://medium.com/sixberries-labs/participatory-design-in-the-agile-process-5d28cb48d4bb

Speculative D: http://speculative.hr/en/introduction-to-speculative-design-practice/

Appreciative Inquiry: https://positivepsychology.com/appreciative-inquiry-process/

Design Driven Innovation: http://www.verganti.com/books/

Disruptive Design: https://medium.com/disruptive-design/what-is-disruptive-design-5988e290ad88

Probably the most important aspect of successful Design Thinking is the MINDSET of the designers. In this lesson, we'll discuss the essential aspects of the Design Thinking mindset. You will develop this mindset by doing Design Thinking, and that's why we say that designers develop superpowers. These superpowers will become the essential aspect of your success in Design Thinking.

Good Design doesn’t happen in solitude, because design it a collaborative process.

In this lesson, we'll discuss why collaboration is so important and some of the collaboration best practices.

You're set to go! But maybe you're wondering... "Where do I start from?".

In this lesson, I want to give you a few areas or topics where I personally think Design Thinking is most needed today, and where it can definitely help us achieve wonderful solutions. Enjoy!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! Or just to say hi :)

my website: https://www.fooddesignthinking.org/

my Instagram: @fooddesignthinking