A crash course designed to introduce students to the design thinking process, presented during innovation week at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah.

1. DESIGN THINKING @ AURAK
CRASH COURSE
Kai Bruns American University of Ras Al Khaimah
21 November 2016

2. DESIGN THINKING
• Strategy for innovation: complex problems
• Human centered design process
David Kelley
“Try to understand what people really value”

3. CREATIVITY
• How many of you think of yourself as creative?

4. CREATIVE CONFIDENCE
Ability to take on problems
that do not have a clear
answer

5. DESIGN THINKING EXPERIENCE
• Artistic vs creative ability
• Ability to take on new things
• Present unfinished ideas
• Collaborate and share
information
• Focus on unlocking potential

6. REAL PROJECTS • Stanford Medicine
• Problems: child mortality in
India
• Incubators too expensive?

7. INNOVATION IS NOT AN EVENT

8. INNOVATION IS A (DESIGN) PROCESS

9. DESIGN THINKING PROCESS

10. INNOVATION PROCESS
ANALYTICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING
Focus
Flare!
Key: separate
them!

11. BABY

12. DOOR

13. HOUSE

14. INNOVATION

15. LET’S GET STARTED

16. DESIGN THE IDEAL WALLET
Design a BETTER wallet (2 min)
Sketch your best idea here

18. EMPATHY: WHAT?
Intellectual identification with
emotions, thoughts and
attitudes
When you FEEL what another
person is feeling. When you
can MIRROR their expressions
& hopes

19. DESIGNERS APPROACH EMPATHY…
• Without judgment
• With a beginner’s eye
• With curiosity
• Optimistically
• Respectfully

22. WHAT DOES HE NEED?

23. “IF I HAD ASKED THEM WHAT THEY WANTED THEY
WOULD HAVE SAID A FASTER HORSE” (HENRY FORD)

24. NEEDS…
About physical and emotional necessity
Capture goals of the person who you
design for
Are verbs not nouns (opportunities not
solutions, ladder vs reach)

25. INSIGHTS…
If need = verb, insights = why response to needs
The why response to the need
Apply your expertise and make inferences (not a faster horse!)
Give an actionable direction
Lead to novel solutions
??? What are some of the insights based on the needs uncovered in
your interviews???

26. INVENTORY POSSIBLE NEEDS &
INSIGHTS
1. What are the things they are trying to do (needs)?
2. In ways they want to feel (insights).

27. Design Thinking is about designing for the individual

28. INDIVIDUAL SOLUTION: LESSON FROM OXO
Who are the extreme
users?

29. POINT OF VIEW STATEMENT
User Description
Teenager
Need
To eat healthy
Insight
Certain nutrients are necessary for physical and cognitive health
development

30. POINT OF VIEW STATEMENT
User
14 years old girl in a new school
Need
To feel socially accepted while eating healthy food
Insight
In her crew a social risk is more dangerous than a health risk
Specific user
Deep need that is
hers, not ours
Surprising finding rooted in empathy work

31. EXERCISE
Draft a point of view statement (problem statement) based on interview
User Description
…
Need
…
Insight
…

33. FOCUS AND FLARE
Focus
Flare!
Brainstorming is the height of your flare
activity!

35. BRAINSTORM: HOW?
Defer judgment
Go for volume
ONE CONVERSATION at a time
Be visual
Headline
Build on ideas of others
Stay on topic
Encourage wild ideas

36. BRAINSTORM
Sketch 3-5 radical ways to meet your user’s needs (3 min)
Sketch your best idea here

37. FEEDBACK
Share your solutions + capture feedback (3 min)
Capture your feedback here.
What do they think of it?
How would they do it differently?

38. PREPARING THE PROTOTYPE
Take your favourite idea + add feedback received (3 min)
What would your prototype look like as a product or service?
What do they think of it?
How would they do it differently?

39. BIAS TOWARDS ACTION

41. RAPID PROTOTYPING AND TESTING
Build a prototype (8 min)
Build

43. NO USED CARS SALESMEN
APPROACH

44. SHARE YOUR PROTOTYPE
Share your solution

45. PRESENTATION OF PRODUCT
Customer: Do we have one person who wants to present what was
build for his/her needs?
Designer: What is the story behind?

46. DESIGN THINKING WITH RAK WASTE
MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
Upcoming project:
• 2 months project, starting in January 2017
• AURAK students work to find recycling
solutions
• Restaurants & wedding halls