I’m not the average person who would be interested in purchasing the newest edition of the Harvard Business Review but walking around the airport in September, the newest addition caught my eye. The title of the September 2015 issue was The Evolution of Design Thinking and immediately I was intrigued and branded it my flight reading material. As an advocate for the use of design thinking principles, I was impressed to see such a human-centered approach being highlighted in Harvard’s corporate public fora.
Design thinking at its core is about empathy with users, a discipline in prototyping, and a tolerance of failure. This approach has been championed by those focusing on product design, but in more recent years this approach has been adapted to everything from corporate consulting to how governments interact with citizens and how we deliver humanitarian aid. There has been an undeniable shift and it’s hard to ignore the benefits of incorporating design thinking into our process. And no I’m not just saying this because the Harvard Business Review is now behind the idea. We’ve witnessed how these tools can transform the user experience and can create successful models to examine complex problems.
You’ll see on the front page of this website the quote “UNHCR Innovation partners with people inside and outside of UNHCR to innovate with and for refugees.” That second with is very important and at the core of our mission to keep our end users (refugee and displaced communities) at the center of the design process.
Evidently, design thinking is here to stay. It has the potential to grow past an approach associated just with products and (now) corporate strategies. If incorporating these principles into the humanitarian sector is as successful as we hope, design thinking will transform into a powerful tool for social good.
For those of you unfamiliar with the approach, I’ve rounded up seven essential resources for anyone interested in becoming a design thinker.
A virtual crash course in design thinking in 90 minutes
Instead of binge-watching your new favorite show, why don’t you take a 90 minute deep dive into the innovation process? This virtual crash course uses videos, handouts, and facilitation tips to take you step-by-step through the process of hosting or participating in a design challenge.
The crash course is a product of Stanford’s D-School and you don’t need any previous design experience to enrol in the virtual crash course. After 90 minutes, you’re expected to take away a basic understanding of the principles of design thinking and start to adapt them into your personal and professional routines.
I’m not the creative type: You can prototype anything
People are sometimes confused about prototyping and the innovation process. This short zine was created by a few designers in New York to help explain the nuances of the prototyping process in a way that is interesting and useful. The first addition of I’m not the creative type is a space for those unfamiliar with the prototyping process to let loose and better understand how you can really prototype anything.
IDEO Human-Centered Design Toolkit
The Human-Centered Design (HCD) Toolkit was created by international design and consulting firm IDEO – the company that has pioneered design thinking since 1991. The toolkit is sort of a holy-grail for those wishing to better understand the people they’re designing for and ultimately arrive at more creative solutions for your end-users.
The HCD Toolkit was designed specifically for NGOs and social enterprises that work with impoverished communities. The free kit walks users through the human-centered design process and supports them in activities such as building listening skills, running workshops, and implementing ideas. The process has led to innovations such as the HeartStart defibrillator, CleanWell natural antibacterial products, and the Blood Donor System for the Red Cross—all of which have enhanced the lives of millions of people.
Best of all? This insightful and comprehensive toolkit is available for free.
Frog Design’s Collective Action Toolkit
Frog Design is a global product strategy and design firm with a mission to inspire design thinking outside of the design world. Frog set out to prove that the practice is universal by creating this toolki: a set of resources and activities to help people accomplish a tangible outcome through a set of guided, non-linear collaboration activities.
The goal? To help communities generate solutions, connect to resources and pool knowledge to solve a wide range of challenges, and create real change. The toolkit is open source and under license with creative commons, so anyone can adapt the kit to their needs to share with others.
The Bootcamp Bootleg
The Bootcamp Bootleg is an overview of some of the Stanford D-School’s most-used tools. While originally intended for graduates, the Bootcamp Bootleg has become a go-to resource for those looking for an introductory experience to design thinking,
Stanford describes the the Bootcamp Bootleg as “more of a cook book than a text book, and more of a constant work-in-progress than a polished and permanent piece.“ The toolkit actively encourages readers to go out in the world and test dozens of specific methods to do design work. They also highlight seven different mindsets – from embracing experimentation to radical collaboration – that they believe are vital attitudes for any design thinker.
Service Design Toolkit
Service design is a method for improving the quality of your service (this might be a little obvious). Those improvements are directed at both the users and people within an organization. While innovating in services is not new, this toolkit takes a new approach to service design in a human-driven way.
In this method, the toolkit starts from the needs of users and looks for solutions together with these users and other stakeholders. The toolkit is full of tools and materials that will help you fully embrace design thinking, including: workshop material, posters, an extensive manual to design, and a set of technique cards explain how to best use each of these methods.
An Ethnography Primer
Once you feel comfortable with the concept of design thinking, this ethnography primer is a great way to take your understanding of the role of people in design to the next level.
Ethnography at its core is the study of people in their natural environment rather than a formal research setting. Great design always connects with people and, to truly connect, a designer needs to have a strong level of compassion and empathy for their audiences. The Professional Association for Design created this toolkit to help designers understand the importance of observing the people they are designing for in their own environments.
This simple and straight-forward primer highlights the crucial role that ethnography plays in designing and touches on the cornerstones of design thinking.
Did we miss any of your favorite design thinking resources? Tell us in the comments below.
We’re always looking for great stories, ideas, and opinions on innovations that are led by or create impact for refugees. If you have one to share with us send us an email at [email protected]
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