Discover IxDF
I’ve come late to design thinking after several careers that included corporate training, church administration, government user support, marketing and territory development and working with developmentally disabled adults, goat farming, TV and theatre. A checkered past some would say but it prepared me to see the application of design thinking to nearly every aspect of the economy and society. Seeing places where it fit that I’d been unaware of before enrolling in the IxDF.
Since becoming a member of the Interactive Design Foundation ( IxDF) and joining in the many discussion channels and discovering our vast collective presence your contributions have been essential to my success.
I hope you see something of your story in mine.
As I grew in business and social experiences my career choices increasingly reflected my need to see mirrored values. My journey through the Interactive Design Foundation course material has been one of discovery. That first course offering, “Design Thinking — The Beginners Guide.” introduced me to a powerful process that builds out from each of the five components in increasingly overlapping, inclusive and complex areas of nearly every human interaction. That process has continued to expand in every direction for me. I trusted that, with the Design Foundation mindset, I could develop in any direction that appealed to me and be relevant to my work community in a beneficial and satisfying way.
I’ve not been disappointed.
As I worked my way through the courses I began to discover the rich diversity of material.
Resources reaching into every aspect of design, links to other resources, templates, literature on every topic that are breath taking in scope.
I felt privileged to study with industry respected mentors.
Our educators at IxDF lead the world in Design.
I have developed a love of Service Design then, and see its focus on user research and collaborative methods as a useful approach to social and political issues as well as useable technology and successful designs.
I’ve begun a clipping file from the national paper and business section looking for design fails and successes.
“See,” I would say to myself, “That’s a design fail.”
Or, “Now that worked, didn’t it?”
And file it away, knowing that I would never have seen it without the course work and also knowing that it will become an initial part of my portfolio or any future pitch.
I paid particular attention to the sections dealing with ROI and the contribution of design to the business because the ecosystems of world trade, domestic product, social services, health care and education, technology and human development, each have, somewhere in their structure, a bottom line . It may be called by many different things and determined in many different ways but there is always, somewhere, within the organization a function that pays attention to value, however it’s defined, with the concerted intention to increase it.
Since that is an intention of most human organizations then, Design Thinking has much to contribute. Everywhere.
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Often company worth is based solely on accounting values but we quickly move into more elaborate structures with the increase in size and complexity of the organization.
The corporate world seems on the threshold of addressing climate related issues.
Attempts are few and tentative as yet but they are a movement in a healthy direction where design thinkers can help. Business and government understand that “No World Left” is bad for business.
Here’s where I pause for a check on my messianic impulses.
Attempting even a few words of the native business language encourages the locals’ attention. They appreciate the effort because even though the world is changing under their feet, they still operate within an ecosystem that must pay attention to the ROI and all its many forms.
Adds cred too.
I already understood an income statement and balance sheet. A little ratio analysis just to keep management honest and I got annual reports of some companies of interest and checked out the back pages where we often find the “adjustments”. It can be very useful once you see what you’re being told about the business. It’s where we may see the Pain Points and the tussle of conflicting directions and the opportunities for well designed solutions.
Then there are the Accounting for Innovation methods. This makes it so much easier for decision makers to commit time and resources. They like it when you make it easy for them to say yes.
The Foundation also sends me the Daily Discussion Digest and your contributions always capture some aspect of design so perfectly.
The level of insight is penetrating and insightful. It’s a little intimidating actually. C’mon ! This is an amazing and unique community . I’m not lurking, just taking notes.
I appreciate the gripping too. Your challenges to the structure of the courses, timings and the burden of expectation, both yours and theirs. It isn’t easy. Making a career decision, changing a career direction, eat, walk the dog, try to deal with stressors. Family’s add additional challenges. I think it’s worth it. The flexible timetables saved me.
I’ll continue in the course work, growing my perspectives in design thinking because the focus is people and has much to do with empathy. It’s right there, at the very beginning of every project. That first risk taking into another life with imagination and emotional presence. I like doing that. I like who I am doing that.
So that’s my story. It’s been interesting watching how my intuitions have led me through the course work that’s led to a clarification of my direction. I want to continue to grow in design perspectives and I am so encouraged by your daily participation in the discussions. You are such an amazing group. You’ve been a support for my efforts by the breadth of your participation.
If it’s true that there are only two mistakes on the way to mastery: one is not starting and the other is not going all the way then we’re already half way there. Yea. I don’t see where Design Thinking ever stops being useful.
I would even like to see an arm of the Design Foundation that invites clients to present various real-life problems to the design students who could then recommend methods, offer technical insights, develop effective and usable solutions and any modest fees would provide reduced membership costs and could even lead to temporary placements. A kind of extended interview. So we both can take a more relaxed view of each other. This may already be happening. Ask.
What am I talking about? An apprenticeship program? Maybe a formal design company made up entirely of IxDF students who sell the business to the next wave. Thoughts?
Rikke may never invite me to offer opinions again.
