Internet Librarian 2010 - Using Design Thinking to Enable Innovation

How to Use Design Thinking to Enable Innovation
Presented by
Kimberly Silk, MLS, Data Librarian, Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto
Jeffrey Veffer, MBA, Partner, Brandsential

Agenda
What is Design Thinking?
What does Design Thinking have to do with innovation?
Why librarians are design thinkers and innovators
Design Thinking in the business world
Using Design Thinking everyday
Q & A

What is Design Thinking?
Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, a globaldesign consultancy, popularizedthe concept of “design thinking”, or, “thinking like a designer”;
Resist the urge to identify a solution
Understand the problems absolutely, and the solution will present themselves;
Observe the world around you: what can be improved upon? What will change?

Design Thinking and Innovation
Creativity : The process of having original ideas that have value
Innovation: Applied creativity!
(Sir Ken Robinson)
But why should I care?
As problems move from complicated (a series of steps with a “Central Command” function, completed in order- eg Apollo 11) to complex (many possible linkages and less central hierarchy eg peace-keeping in Afghanistan), sequential processes we have relied upon break down.
Need a new approach at looking at situations
Image Courtesy: Larry Cuban

A Design Thinker’s Personality Profile
Empathy- imagine world from multiple perspectives
Integrative Thinking- see all (even contradictory) aspects of problem
Optimism- Even with constraints there is a better solution than the status quo!
Experimentalism- Not just making existing process better, but explore creative ways that might go in entirely new directions
Collaboration- Need interdisciplinary skills to solve complex problems
Source: Vijay Kumar

Pick out the Designer
Is this a Designer?
Image Courtesy: Tom Kulbowski
Image courtesy: Evan Sharboneau
Image courtesy: Chrys
Or this?
We can all be Designers
It just requires different ways of looking at situations that are not necessarily linear

Design Thinker = Information Professional
Empathy – we have for those who need us
Integrative thinking – new ways to solve problems
Optimism – our desire for the collective “good”
Experimentalism – we learn by trial and error
Collaboration – we rarely work alone

Design Thinking in the Business World
Roger Martin at the Rotman School of Management has been leading the charge to apply Design Thinking in the business world;
“In a global economy, elegant design is becoming a critical competitive advantage. Trouble is, most business folks don’t think like designers”
Roger Martin
But why does business need design thinking? Products can easily be copied (eg early MP3 players) but based on a deep understanding of users needs yields an experience that is holistic and hard for other companies to duplicate (eg iPod and iTunes)
Source: Peter Foret

Design Thinking in Our World
Using Design Thinking in non-design environments is a new way of thinking – we’re just at the beginning
We can focus on our users’ experiences – how can we pay close attention to what they experience, so we can improve on it?
As a profession, we must stop focusing on content delivery;
To remain relevant, we must focus on creating a valuable, unforgettable user experience.

Think: Design + Creativity
Exercise - What problems can you identify
that are preventing you from providing
a great user experience?

References
Brown, Tim. “Design Thinking”. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 2008.
Martin, Roger. “The Business of Design”. Fast Company, April 2005.
Martin, Roger. The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage. Cambridge: Harvard Business Press, 2009.
Roger Martin’s definition of Integrative Thinking at http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/integrativethinking/definition.htm.
Kelley, Tom. The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm”. New York: Currency/Doubleday, 2001.
Pine, Joseph B. and Gilmour, James H. “The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre and Every Business a Stage”. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999.
Bell, Steven J. “Design Thinking”. American Libraries, January/February 2008.
The Blended Librarians Online Learning Community - http://blendedlibrarian.org/
Designing Better Libraries - http://dbl.lishost.org/blog/

Q & A(and, Thank You!)
Kimberly Silk, MLS, Data Librarian, Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Torontokimberly.silk@martinprosperity.org
Jeffrey Veffer, MBA, Partner, Brandsentialjeffrey.veffer@brandsential.com

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Internet Librarian 2010 - Using Design Thinking to Enable Innovation

by Kimberly Silk on Nov 01, 2010

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Internet Librarian 2010 - Using Design Thinking to Enable Innovation — Presentation Transcript