Insight for design novices
Design is a completely new field to me. As a Political Science major at Stanford, I have never taken a Product Design class, d.school class, or been taught the tenets of design thinking. Before joining the d.school, I knew that the d.school approached problems differently, learned differently, and tried to think differently. How they did that was a mystery to me, but I wanted to work in a place that challenged the way I think and work. As the new student writer for the d.school, I have been trying to piece together my own idea of what human-centered design means — and how I can use design thinking in my academic field.
The process has been fascinating; I have had the opportunity to sit in on talks, attend events, and talk to the d.school staff. However, my conversations with alumni proved to be an especially illuminating introduction to the d.school thus far. One alumni I talked to had a particularly amazing experience with the d.school. As we spoke, I began to understand the impact and influence the d.school is able to have on students both during their time at Stanford and when they leave.
Emily Song, Product Design ’13, “basically grew up in the d.school”. She answered three fundamental questions I believe are important in understanding the d.school: how the d.school changed her Stanford experience, how design thinking has played into her current job, and the most valuable gift the d.school gave to her.
How did the d.school change your Stanford experience?
“The d.school always encouraged to be the authentic self and pursue the version of me that I wanted to become. I was encouraged by the fact that people do build and create here. I saw a future for myself where I could create the product or the person I wanted to become.”
How has design thinking played into your current job?
“I work for a talent agency in Hollywood. I think of my job as enabling creators: the people that I work with are actors, musicians, athletes — they create for entertainment. I think having been a creator myself at the d.school allows me to embrace the mindset of a creator, even in the form of entertainment. For me to know how a creative person thinks and how to best enable them helps me better earn their trust.”
What has been your greatest takeaway from the d.school?
“When I was graduating I had the choice between conventional jobs as a Project Manager in tech firms in the valley and one unpaid internship at a Broadway theatre in San Francisco. I went to David Kelly and said, my dream job was to become a Product Manager at a tech firm, but I also have this unpaid internship that I really really want to do. And he said to me — I’ll never forget this — he said Emily you always make unconventional choices and that makes you an interesting person. You have to continue being interesting. Don’t care about what other people think.
I went for the unpaid internship.
That led me to a full-time job at the theatre and that led to Facebook. David Kelly freed me from caring about what the conventional path should be. There’s no ‘should be’. There’s no path that I should take. I give myself the freedom to make choices.”
After talking with Emily, it became clear that the d.school imparts more than just an untraditional class structure. There is a mindset shift, a new way to view life outside of standard expectations. I am subject to the classic Stanford frame of mind — work and work until you arrive at the “dream” end goal. While this mindset has inspired my work ethic and motivations, I wish I were pushed to make the unconventional choice. The d.school encourages you to broaden your scope, to attempt a field different than your own, to adopt interdisciplinary approaches to thinking. Design thinking offers you a new way to view your academic field — and your life.
The d.school’s emphasis on interdisciplinary work has made me curious to learn how alumni from other majors continue to interact with design thinking. In what other fields has design been applied? What is the impact of design thinking intersecting with these fields? And most importantly, how do I, and all other students, get started incorporating design into our everyday life and decision making?
