Design Thinking Landscape

GOOD STUDIOS BUILD GOOD WALLS

It is important when you walk into any studio that you feel as much as see what is being built — the studio should crackle with creative energy. Specifically, I believe you can determine the health of any design studio simply by looking at its walls. The benefit of getting work up and out of your computer and onto the walls of a studio are as follows:

Increases Visibility: Walls move work from the virtual to the physical world, allowing it to become even more visible, interactive, tangible, and environmental. Facilitate Conversations: Walls facilitate conversation and informal reviews because people naturally gather in front of them. Grows Collective Ownership: Walls create a culture of collective ownership because they invite people to literally build upon the ideas of others. Facilitates Iteration: Walls with heavy layering reflect healthy projects because they show that there have been several iterations to the work. Clarifies Ideas: When Walls get too complicated they can be torn down and re-built again. What sticks, sticks. Creates Connections: Walls also allow people to draw connections in non-linear ways because they allow you to see areas of tension, synergy, and overlap that you might not see otherwise. They allow you to see the whole picture through its individual elements. Simplifies Thinking: Other times, out of the seemingly visual complexity of images, the wall flips and a singular vision emerges. Inspires: When people are trying to envision new things they draw from the well of what they know. Often times ideas blossoms from our immediate environment such as walls or the bric-a-brac on desks.

What do facilitators do?

Toolkits

d.school Bootcamp Bootleg, by d.school

AC4D Design Library, by AC4D 

IDEO Human-Centered Design Toolkit, by IDEO 

IDEO Method Cards, by IDEO

Frog Collective Action Toolkit, by Frog 

Lockton Design with Intent Toolkit, by Dan Lockton and friends

Foresight & Innovation Method Cards, by Stanford

Books

101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization, by Vijay Kumar

Universal Methods of Design: 100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions, by Bella Martin, Bruce Hanington

Co-creating and Co-thinking Landscape