Exploring Creativity and Collaboration: My Journey Through Design Thinking
As a Business Analytics student, I generally feel most comfortable around numbers and raw data. However, when I first enrolled in Design Thinking for Social Innovation, I was hesitant and even feared about stepping out of my comfort zone. Yet, despite my initial worries, I soon discovered the value of design thinking and how it can be applied to my daily life.
I still like to think back to several sections from the course: Sketching for collaborative ideation highlighted the value of visual communication in generating and documenting ideas. It was very interesting to see the unique solutions each group came up with for the bridge scenario, despite some shared ideas. An important takeaway is that visual representation can be more effective than verbal explanation in showcasing solutions.
Also, I really enjoyed the presentation on prototyping by Francisco Tenente from 3DWays, which emphasized the importance of continuous learning, iterating, and incorporating the feedback from your users. The main lesson that stuck with me is to not be afraid of failures, as trying and learning from our mistakes ultimately leads to more robust and successful solutions. And in the end our mutant puppy ultimately won all fights!
In Week 11, so our very last lecture, we dived into the concept of managing as designing and discussed the value of design thinking in management practices. I found it fascinating to observe how design and management interacted because it made me realize how closely related the two fields are. I learned from the presentations that on the one hand designers should stay humble because they must always adapt to various domains and sectors. On the other hand, managers should learn from designers about the more qualitative human-centred apporach, rather than to focus on numeric reports only. While it is difficult to be an expert in all areas, it is essential that qualitative and quantitative elements complement each other rather than conflicting, in order to achieve a holistic understanding.
An then there was our group project: “Nourish2Thrive”, focused on enhancing equitable access to healthy food in Serafina. Honestly, it took us longer than initially expected to find a clear direction, the plethora of primary and secondary research really paralyzed us at first. But after the initial uncertainties, we managed to set up a successful prototype by selling vegetable baskets and providing recipe ideas at the main street in Serafina. Through this experience, we learned the value of adding to the needs of a community. More about our struggles, key findings and further outlook will be shared in the upcoming final exhibition!
In conclusion, I must say that through the lectures as well as the group project, I have come to appreciate the importance of visual thinking, prototyping and hands-on learning. I have realized that even someone with a more analytical background, like myself, can benefit from these methods to explore ideas quickly, collaborate with others effectively and iterate on concepts. These experiences have helped me to become more open-minded, accept failure as a learning opportunity, and critically evaluate the entire design process. I am looking forward to putting these teachings into practice in my future career in order to continue developing as a well-rounded professional and, hopefully, future innovator.
