What is Design Thinking?

What is Design Thinking?

Wikipedia defines it as "a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success. Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a creative process based around the "building up" of ideas.

As with design, there’s probably no one definition of design thinking everyone will agree on. The word design can refer to nouns such as designers, physical products, and style. The word can be a verb, as in process, create, and make. For example, Charles Burnette in his IDeSiGN curriculum calls it, “…a process of creative and critical thinking that allows information and ideas to be organized, decisions to be made, situations to be improved, and knowledge to be gained.”

Lately many more people are talking and writing about the application of design thinking to intangible problems, design not only as a verb but as a way of — as Herbert Simon wrote — improving situations. I felt a need to review what has been said and define the term for myself before I could put it into use. Ways of thinking are always difficult to define, but I’m reminded of how Lao Tzu said “The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao” yet he still managed to write a book about it.

I have synthesized for myself what I understand design thinking to be…

• Collaborative, especially with others having different and complimentary experience, to generate better work and form agreement
• Abductive, inventing new options to find new and better solutions to new problems
• Experimental, building prototypes and posing hypotheses, testing them, and iterating this activity to find what works and what doesn’t work to manage risk
• Personal, considering the unique context of each problem and the people involved
• Integrative, perceiving an entire system and its linkages
• Interpretive, devising how to frame the problem and judge the possible solutions

I’m sure one could play with the language and categorization to find more or less characteristics, but I’m happy with just those six.

-Posted by Rahul

Introducing SPREAD

Conception:

 IDIOM is humbly today India’s largest multidisciplinary design firm in the country, In the last few years design professionals at IDIOM Design and Consulting, Bangalore have been using design thinking as a key strategic tool to help in the disproportionate growth of some of the most desired business houses in India. At Idiom we believe that this process could be used to create the same results of inclusive growth for the nation and beyond. Idiom has, in a short span of time, moved from the business of design to the design of business. Creating ideas for India that are taken from mind to market with skill, speed and imagination. Idiom is ‘more’ than a design firm. Design education does not address this need that we see in the market.
SPREAD was hence born as the design outreach program of IDIOM. Since its induction three years ago SPREAD has successfully worked with various institutions and business houses conducting workshops, seminar programs and lectures to make design a weapon to transform and grow our economy and to better plan our lives and environment.  Spread makes design thinking, tools and processes accessible to design and business students, practitioners and even school children.

Need:

As India strives to be the epicenter of the new creative economy. We at SPREAD realize two immediate challenges the nation faces for the desired growth.
India has a severe shortage of Design professionals when compared to countries like the USA or Japan and our education system has been structured to nurture production economy rather than creative economy.
Our aim at SPREAD is to create future thought leaders whose designs would tangibly transform businesses and life. We at SPREAD aim to ignite this thinking process to a wide range of audience from corporate / entrepreneurs / business houses / governance to school children to youth in colleges practicing different streams of specialization Young. We aim to make India’s creative future ready.
What we offer:
 Design education (Design thinking and Design doing):
Design as we see it, has two parts to it-process and skill. The process can be easily taught and applied to a wide variety of problem solving exercise. The process or design thinking as it is better known today is a way of seeing , observing , questioning and foreseeing a problem / demand to get a holistic solution.
Spread also plans to impart soft skill courses for the non designers.

Design research and consulting:

The design and ethnography researchers at SPREAD are constantly caning the market and society for viable insights and ideas that could lead to a sustainable growth opportunity.
Journey so far:
 In acknowledgement to our work in India, team from Idiom was invited to Parsons and Stanford D School in New York in the month of March this year to better understand the true potential of economic growth in India with design as the key driver. The visit resulted in  NODES (A network for design education) was set up as a platform to promote Design and Design thinking, collaboration between SPREAD (Idiom) and Design Knowledge Network (Parsons).   

Next step:

 NODES (Spread/ Idiom and Design knowledge network / Parsons new school of design, NY) will be jointly conducting the first series of workshops from 3rd to 10th of June 2010. Dr. Carlos Teixeira from Parsons will be leading this workshop.


  
Moving forward:

Design is not for the elite; it is for all and can be practiced by all for a truly conscious growth. Hence we must SPREAD Design.
We will be targeting education, consulting services and vocational training for schooling and graduate students, non designers, corporate, social entrepreneurs, governance, small and MSES.
We will also be looking to attract like-minded people, passionate about inclusive and conscious growth as partners and research sponsors on the NODES platform.

Key People:

Carlos Teixeira, Ph.D.

 Carlos Teixeira is an Assistant Professor and Director of Academic Affairs at the School of Design Strategies, at Parsons The New School for Design. He has a PhD in Design from the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA. His teaching centers on the application of design practices for innovation. He also leads a research lab on Design Knowledge Networks. As a practitioner, he has professional experience as a communication designer and strategic design consultant in the United States and Brazil.

Sonia Manchanda

Sonia is Founder and Principal Designer at Idiom Design and Consulting. She believes that design is and can be a potent tool for creating and recreating the world we live in and design is as much relevant to life, as it is to business. She has led teams and worked on large scale projects that are cultural in nature, created public movements, working with city stakeholders, created the thinking, culture and visual identities for some of India's largest and most recognizable retail brands, besides some truly Indian and successful corporate brands. Spread is an initiative that she launched along with Idiom cofounders, to find innovative ways to spread design as a way of thinking and doing things. She is a product of the premium school of design ,  National institute of Design , Ahmadabad and is in the program committee of EPIC an ethnographic conference to be held at Japan.

Nimesh Pilla

Nimesh Pilla is the Leader Learning at SPREAD Design and a consultant on design strategies to Idiom Design and consulting, Bangalore. He has masters in Design strategies from Politechnico Di Milano , Milan and specializes in design innovation and management linked to new product service systems. He is a visiting faculty to School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi where he had done his graduation as an architect. He has worked as an architect and design strategist in India and Italy.

India discovers a new TREASURE at Treasure Island

Two weeks after the pilot-launch (March 26, 2010), Treasure Showcase at Treasure Island mall, Indore was opened to the public on Sunday, April 11, 2010. The launch was a grand event.

Treasure Showcase is a new and unique concept in modern retail and introduces about 60 brands into mall retail across apparel, accessories, footwear, cosmetics and home, creating an inclusive modern retail environment and a platform for local/regional manufacturers to take their products, brands and ambitions national. Based on a unique partnership model and a NO RENT initiative, Treasure Showcase aims to create the next generation of brands for a whole new generation of consumers. Idiom had earlier conceptualized and designed the NO RENT initiative in July 2009 and a series of road show events that followed, to launch the idea of Treasure Showcase and invite prospective brand partners.

The prototype store was launched by Mrs. Malaika Arora Khan, the face and brand ambassador of Treasure Showcase in a grand premier launch called FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW. The launch included a high decibel media campaign in all mainline English and Hindi dailies of Indore and supported a very unique and innovative on-ground activation promotion where walk-ins are induced to not only shop then and there but schemes that promote repeat visits and repeat purchases were created. The grand bumper prize will see one lucky shopper walk away with home appliances worth 2 lakhs on June 30, 2010, while other lucky winners will receive gifts ranging from cash vouchers worth Rs. 50,000 to gift coupons and more.

Treasure Showcase Indore is the prototype for what creates ‘RETAILOCRACY’ - an inclusive modern retail environment and a level playing field between what is considered traditional retail and what is construed as modern retail. Expand the market for modern retail, by promoting consumption and innovating retail thus enabling emerging and aspiring manufacturers and brands to enter malls.

Indore will soon be followed by Nanded, Ujjain, Lucknow, Agra, Amaravati, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhilai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Mohali, Pune, Raipur, Thiruvanathapuram, Udaipur and Vadodara in the months that follow to set up 20 Treasure Showcases by 2011, across the emerging towns and cities of India – the REAL INDIA.

The initial response to Treasure Showcase has been encouraging and positive. Change is here to stay. Indore can now look forward to a whole new shopping experience at Treasure Showcase and exciting promotions over the coming weeks.

Posted By Sumeet

Folding plug wins Design award

An innovative folding electric plug has beaten a final collection by late fashion guru Alexander McQueen to land a top design award

The folding plug is less than a centimetre thick when folded

McQueen, who committed suicide last month, had his latest spring/summer catwalk range placed on the shortlist for the title of Brit Insurance Design of the Year just days after his death.

It lost out to London student Min-Kyu Choi's reinterpretation of the plug, which folds flat for storage.

His design beat more than 90 international nominees who were shortlisted in seven categories.

The winners of the categories went forward to the final judging stage and Choi was presented with his title by judging panel chairman Antony Gormley at a gala dinner held at the Design Museum in London.

Panellists included designer Tom Dixon, editor of Wired magazine David Rowan and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter.

Gormley said: "Thought-through, responsive and modest, the folding plug shows how intelligent, elegant and inventive design can make a difference to everyone's life."

The winning design was inspired by having to carry around a hefty plug to power the world's thinnest laptop, a MacBook Air.

Choi drew praise when he showcased the plug at the Royal College of Art's graduate show in 2009.

Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum, said: "It's great to see such a practical but elegant demonstration of what design can do to make everyday life so much better. Min-Kyu Choi is a designer just setting out on his career and he clearly has a great future ahead of him."

Posted by Elizabeth

Wellness turns over a new leaf

On Sunday, March 21, 2010, Kochi woke up to two exiting pieces of news.  As the newest entrant to the IPL bandwagon. And as home to the newest and most comprehensive wellness experience that Kerala has ever seen.

Ela – The World Spa was officially inaugurated yesterday by Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Shashi Tharoor.

Air Travel Enterprises, better known as the ATE Group, is one of Kerala’s most reputed and well established companies to have redefined travel and hospitality to create a total services sector.

The company saw an opportunity in setting up a world class spa and salon, offering the best wellness experience possible. The location was Kochi – the melting pot of cultures and home to travelers of yore, from far and wide. The Greeks, Romans, Jews, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, British – they’ve all come here at some point and left a distinct mark on the Kochi we know today. Today, the city is home to an amalgamation of the five senses. And brings with it wellness forms from across the world. From Europe to the Far East; India and the Middle East.

Ela brings alive the magical lightness of being. As if we could trade places with the fresh green leaf that flirts with the breeze, embraces sunlight, drenches itself in rain and plays with dew. A complete experience of the five senses, that transforms you into a lighter, fresher, more relaxed individual.  An island of tranquility in the hustle bustle of a mall.  Ela offers world spa experiences from Sweden to Thailand and Bali along with Ayurveda and Hammam. To complete the experience is a salon, gym, café and retail, all housed within a 4000 sq.ft. space on the fourth floor of Oberon Mall, Kochi.

Walk into Ela and you are instantly taken over by the freshness of nature. A water screen welcomes you. Explore the fluid pathway that leads you in, from the salon to the Hamman to the gym. The café overlooks the city of Kochi, while the Ayurveda and World therapy rooms transport you into another world of calm.

Ela has seen an encouraging response from visitors to the mall, since its soft launch in January 2010. The Group hopes to take this further to truly create a world class spa experience for Kochi, and other city that would follow.


Posted by Sumeet