Reflecting on our mutual journey this semester: My Experience & Main Learnings
I feel like most courses usually end once you feel “settled in”, knowing your classmates and professors, and (sometimes) having developed a passion for the topic. This has been especially true for Design Thinking for Social Innovation. I believe this is due to several reasons, but one of the most important factors is the connections we have built among each other and with our consultants. Yesterday, when I texted our consultant Ebrima to wish him all the best with his new job that is starting today, and he told me how stressed he was, I realised how invested I got in our project beyond the initial scope of the course.
Our Course Journey and Creative Process
When we started our journey in February, I did not know what to expect. The topic sounded exciting to me, and I was thrilled to explore if I had “talent” in design thinking. Having a mother and a sister who are art and design teachers, I felt like I had never been blessed with the same talent. I quickly realized that my initial doubts were unjustified, as design thinking is accessible to everyone, requires different strengths, and is used in many more areas than I had initially expected. What was most rewarding to me was realizing, that developing a solution for a problem does not only address that specific problem. Developing a solution can ultimately empower others to build upon your solution to create something bigger. This phenomenon is well described by my favourite designer, Bjarke Ingels, in a documentary about his work:
“Every time we change something, we ultimately change the status quo. Now think about the world our children will grow up in. What we perceive as the boundaries of innovation, will be the new normal for them. They will start at this new level and further challenge the boundaries of innovation.” Bjarke Ingels, Danish Architect
We started our journey by exploring different views on the creative process and social innovation. This lesson inherently changed my perspective on innovation and took my initially described fear.
Steven Johnson shared an enlightening perspective in this context: He claims that good ideas are about spaces that support them to emerge and offer us the opportunity to come together and collaborate. This is exactly what our class environment offered. I could always share any thought, idea, or critique, which is fundamental to the creative process.
“Good ideas usually come together from the collision of smaller hunches, so that they form something bigger. They take time to incubate.” Steven Johnson
Reflecting on our ideation process, I initially had rather mixed feelings. While it was great to see our idea creation evolving, I was afraid that our idea would not benefit our consultant Ebrima. This changed when I heard that he would start a new role as an assistant nurse at a hospital north of Lisbon.
What was unique this past semester was the diversity of methods we used, which meant that everyone could use their strengths and support their team at some point throughout the course. In turn, this meant that someone else supported that person at a different stage of the course. What I liked about this approach is that we learned how different tools can foster our creative thinking. They can, in contrast, also limit our ability to express ourselves. I had, for instance, never thought that Lego could limit the expression of creative concepts (Class 8). Similarly, I had never realized that sometimes it was exactly this kind of limitation that could force creative thinking. Furthermore, I discovered how exploring and playing with different methods can improve the effectiveness of our prototypes. The more you try and explore, the better the outcome is likely to be. It was exactly this myriad of methods that taught me that design thinking has the power to be used to solve almost any kind of problem I might encounter in my life.
My Personal Highlight
My highlight of the course was our visit to Talude. Before living in Lisbon, I always strived to explore neighbourhoods that I would typically not see in my everyday life. I did not have this kind of experience before visiting Talude while living in Lisbon. I’m therefore exceptionally grateful that we received this opportunity. Besides the welcoming people and special atmosphere, our visit to Talude broadened my horizons and gave me new perspectives that I could employ in class and beyond. In Talude, I learned that design thinking does not exclusively belong to fancy studios and consultancies in New York, Paris, or Copenhagen. While companies might be branding themselves using design principles, design thinking concepts are available to everyone, as seen in Talude. The community of Talude offers its residents a pleasant surrounding that provides the foundation for a thriving support network. This is because the community was built together with its residents, rather than for its residents.
My Main Learnings
As briefly touched upon in the introduction, my perspective on design thinking changed quite drastically. Before the course, I still had this picture in my mind that designers would be sitting in their basement brainstorming until the next big breakthrough. Throughout the course, I realized that the most impactful solutions are usually developed through the collective efforts of people who have been exposed to diverse experiences. Design thinking is about the way we want to utilize the tools and options we have at hand to create more impactful solutions. In my opinion, the Danish word for design: “formgivning” (“giving form to something”) describes this quite well. As a society, we must ask ourselves how we want to form the things that are already around us. By employing design thinking principles, we can develop more impactful, inclusive solutions and ultimately “form” our society to become something better. Design thinking concepts, such as the journey map, or the three lenses of design thinking, and principles such as working with rather than working for people can support that the way we form benefits everyone. While this might sound obvious to some, it’s not when analyzing decisions in the private and the public sector. To give an example, why do Copenhageners bike to work and Hamburgers tend to take the car? Are Hamburgers more sensitive to rain? Or are Danes more likely to switch to bikes due to high taxes on cars? From my perspective, the fundamental difference lies in design thinking. In Copenhagen, designers have worked with citizens for decades. In Hamburg, politicians keep claiming that studies have shown that separate bike lanes do not enhance security. Studies have shown that separate bike lanes do offer both actual security, and perceived security, which equally matters for the success of the design. Working closer with citizens and understanding their diverse needs could lead to more impactful decisions in my hometown Hamburg.
Furthermore, learned how thinking holistically and collectively can help us solve problems more effectively. Sometimes, taking a step back, and putting yourself putting yourself in the shoes of someone else can enable us to develop valuable solutions, that can ultimately create a wide impact across society. Also, I learned that good solutions take time to emerge. As mentioned in my second medium post, I believe we often develop solutions before understanding the entire problem, given that we are impatient and love “quick wins”. Employing a design thinking approach to a problem we face will therefore help to develop solutions with a long-term benefit. Not emphasizing with the people whom you are creating a solution, or rushing from the ideation to the testing phase, will likely reduce the impact of your solution. Context is key!
Team Dynamics and Diversity
One core element over the past weeks has been our collaboration as a diverse team, that was enlightening, challenging, and rewarding, and often everything at the same time. Each of us has different backgrounds, expectations, and opinions about the project, and brought a diverse set of strengths. As an individual, our ideas are limited, because our perspective is ultimately connected to the experiences we were exposed to. Working together with such a diverse group of individuals helped me to take an outside perspective and to question solutions that I may have taken for granted without my team. This has not only enriched our final product, but also helped me to foster my communication skills, deal with conflict, and create mutual enthusiasm and growth.
Project Based Learning and collaboration with consultants.
In my perspective, the most valuable element of this course was the project-based learning approach that not only made the concepts more tangible but also demonstrated the real-world impact of our solution. As we got to know Ebrima better and better, our prototypes and iteration improved. Moreover, I saw how everyone got more comfortable and open to sharing their opinion. Ebrima was a valuable contribution to our work, given his background and experiences, which were so different from the rest of the team. In addition, he has a great personality, which made our gatherings truly enjoyable.
Future relevance for my career and personal life
Throughout your academic career, I sometimes wonder: “When will I come across this ever again”? Fortunately, that’s not the case for design thinking. Understanding context, sharpening your senses, and testing what is right is fundamental to almost every decision we make in life. I’m passionate about the renewable energy industry and urban sustainability. As I strive to start my career in this field, I believe that design thinking will be a fundamental driver to design projects that support all stakeholders and communities most appropriately.
