Design Explorer

Check out this service idea for Mumbai’s dabbawala’s...

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:43:00 +0100

Check out this service idea for Mumbai’s dabbawala’s in India. This is also inspiration for how to tell a story. I like the simple approach and powerful imagery, social + service design at ins informal best solving real world problems !

"Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear."

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:52:00 +0100

“Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear.” - Cheri Huber

We made out way to Rothesay again, this time armed with my...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:38:00 +0100

We made out way to Rothesay again, this time armed with my drawings that found life as workshop cards. Each card had small set of instructions on the back, encouraging people to think about issues that were important to them.

For example:

- If they were in charge of posting on the sign board for a week, what would they want it to say? How could this be useful for the community?

- The ‘Coat of arms’ card encouraged people to think about their identity over time and aspirations for the future.

Kevin, my classmate gave people disposable cameras and wanted to capture the tourist experience from the perspective of a local. It was an insightful exercise leading to the discovery of some beautiful and little known spots on the island. He also set up the tree that let people leave their ideas for Rothesay. Bibo and Yiru approached the project from the perspective of its architecture and visible facades while Qiang and Bohong focussed on gathering information about the visitor experience.

The workshop was certainly not all smooth sailing and there was an air of slight hostility. I wondered why, but then put myself in their position - If a few strangers walked into my community with my local councillors and expected me to be (naively) excited about the changes they were going to bring in a days workshop, I probably wouldn’t. I would be curious, as there folk were, but not easily convinced. So we had to work hard to warm to people, and explain to them why our approach was different and what we were trying to help them help us do!

What I learned so far:

- Throwing a design team at a social problem is not a solution in itself.

- Designers need to think about measurable outcomes and ways of communicating / delivering value.

- Being visual is our strength - building concepts, telling stories and using visual narrative. The least we can do on any project, is make a case for the issue and make it visual.

- The design process certainly needs to be iterative and i am excited to see what effect months of engagement can have overall several workshops and track that journey.

- I think my cards were too big and bulky to handle- and i am working on some postcard sized prompt cards for the next round!

Pixels and Poetry

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:16:43 +0100

fieldstudy: This was written for the forward of Kern and Burn, a Kickstarter funded book of...

Please...

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:02:46 +0100

Take the time to look around, realize what’s important. You can’t see where you’re...

"Service design is exploring the interconnectedness of people, workflows, tools, and products to..."

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:57:36 +0100

“Service design is exploring the interconnectedness of people, workflows, tools, and products...

"The only important thing about design is how it relates to people."

Sun, 05 May 2013 21:37:00 +0100

““The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.”” -...

Drawing from pictures,… thinking about how to get people...

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:09:00 +0100

Drawing from pictures,… thinking about how to get people to share their ideas and thoughts about an issue or place.

We began a new project on the island town of Rothesay, Isle of...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:22:00 +0100

We began a new project on the island town of Rothesay, Isle of Bute - off the west coast of Scotland. We get to work with the Argyll and Bute council and are going to be looking at ways to improve the visitor experience to Rothesay. On our first ferry ride over we got to experience this first hand and enjoyed being tourists for a day, observing, meeting with local council members and assimilating ways to engage with people to find out what they really want for their island home.

This is the first ‘social’ design project I am going to be working on and think the key to any effective or meaningful outcome is engaging with as many different people involved as possible and understanding that a small shift or increment can potentially have a ripple effect through a public system, community or place. Here are a few images from our first trip. (with my classmates Yiru, Kevin, Bohong, Qiang and Bibo)

Design and Communities

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:10:00 +0100

The more I talk to other designer’s who have worked in the context of ‘social’ design before, I...

Seven Steps for Developing Customer Journey Maps

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:55:15 +0100

Seven Steps for Developing Customer Journey Maps: knowledge-design: “Here’s an example of a CJM we...

Unleash your inner designer, by Think public

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:21:16 +0000

Unleash your inner designer, by Think public

Observing narratives from a walk in the park - thinking about...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:33:00 +0000

Observing narratives from a walk in the park - thinking about the way spaces and objects are used, the stories they tell and possible ways to get people to start a conversation about its future.

Garnethill, Glasgow

Design and the Social Sector

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:07:00 +0000

Design and the Social Sector: A Designer’s guide to partnering with the social sector. This...

designrising: mgekeler: roosalehtinen: Great picture about...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:33:28 +0000

designrising:

mgekeler:

roosalehtinen:

Great picture about roots of service design tools.

http://creativecompanion.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/business-design-tools/

Nice viz of the diverse roots of service design methods…

The links / sources that got left behind in the cross-platform re-blogging are also worth a look:

There are a lot of possibilities, tools and methodologies while working on your business model, online strategy, service design or ideation project. Here are some nice tools and online platforms for inspiration or to help you get started:

Business Design tools: www.businessdesigntools.com The design of a business is divided in 6 Phases where Designers, Clients and Customers should collaborate together in order to develop product/services that really address customers needs. The 6 Phases are: frame, explore, ideate, strategy, co-design, delivery.

Business Model Generation: www.businessmodelgeneration.com This is also a fantastic book and an iPad app is in development. In the meantime you can use the PDF download of the canvas and a nice presentation with the basic items to make a start.

Service Design Tools: www.servicedesigntools.org This website is the result of the research activity done by Roberta Tassi during her graduation thesis. Service Design Tools is conceived as an open platform of knowledge, to be shared with the design research community.

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:31:19 +0000

““Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”” - – Samuel...

750 words

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:38:36 +0000

750 words: nice liltle app for private writing and getting in the habit.

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like..."

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:29:56 +0000

““Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions...

Great resource for beginners or other who want to keep their...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 21:02:36 +0000

Great resource for beginners or other who want to keep their skills in check.

A few days in to a new design project (woohoo!) and all the new...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:01:00 +0000

A few days in to a new design project (woohoo!) and all the new information called for a wee brain dump.