The document explores the concept of design mindset, emphasizing its role in problem-solving across various design fields. It contrasts traditional design approaches with a more iterative, user-centered mindset essential for startups, advocating for questioning established norms ('sacred cows') to innovate. The importance of design thinking and collaboration tools is highlighted as crucial for navigating complex problems and fostering customer-focused solutions.

1. Design Mindset
& HOW TO APPLY TO STARTUP THINKING

2. Hi!

3. Mindset
The established set of
attitude held by
someone
For most professions, can be divided into two
parts.
First being skills, which is what designers train
for in design schools and use in their day to
day ‘designing’ activities.
Second being mindset, this is the way of
thinking that is a comes as a part and parcel
of the profession. This can be understood and
applied anywhere…

4. WHAT IS
DESIGN?

5. Graphic Design
Product Design
Photography
Fashion Design
Automobile Design
LifeStyle & many more

6. De•sign [dəzajn]
is a method of problem solving.
Design was understood or rather
misunderstood as a way to design something
rather than a process to solve a problem.
Definitions have give a better picture.
The simplest definition. Design is so many things,
executed in many different ways, but the function
is always the same. Whether it’s blueprints, a clever
UI, a brochure, or a chair – design can help solve a
visual or physical problem.

7. DESIGN TRANSITIONS
PRODUCT
PERCEPTION
MANAGEMENT
Tangibility
What you speak?
Visibility
Who are you?
(and hence who
are your
customers)
Looking Good
Here you can see how design progressed
over the years and shift in the mindset of
the designer?
What are you
standing up for?
THINKING
What does the
customer want?
How do we fulfill
needs and wants
better?
How can we arrive
at the ideal
solution for the
customers?

8. PRODUCT
FOCUSED

9. PERCEPTION
MANAGEMENT

10. THINKING
ORIENTED

11. WHAT IS
DESIGN
MINDSET
?

12. MINDSETS FOR DESIGN THINKING
Business Thinking
Design Thinking
Creative Thinking
Left Brained
Using both sides of the brain to
solve problems
Right Brain
Rational & Structured
Switching at will between
rational & structured to a more
emotive & intuitive
Emotional and intuitive
Focus on Analysis
Iterating between analysis and
synethesis
Focused on synthesis
Dealing with well defined
problems
Dealing with ill-defined
problems
Dealing with undefined
problems
A problem is something to get
out of the way
A problem is the start of the
process
There is no problem
Mistakes are not tolerated
Mistakes are learning
experience
There are no mistakes
Analyse > Decide
Analyse > Ideate>Prototype>
Evaluate> Decide
Percieve > Ideate > Decide
Focused on the parts of the
problem
Zooming in and out, taking the
problem apart to reassemble it
in a different way
Holistic Focus

13. DESIGN HAS EVOLVED FROM
DESIGN AS A OUTCOME TO
NOW, A THINKING MINDSET
AND METHODS

14. Challenge
Insight
Opening
New Accounts
Rounding up change
for convenience
REFRAMING THE PROBLEM
Can a bank a partner with customers to help
them save better?

15. Keep the Change
Save automatically with everyday purchases.
A free service – Only from Bank of America

16. Keep the Change
After Bank of America’s extensive testing,
refinement, and validation of prototypes, Keep
the Change launched in October 2005.
In less than one year, it attracted 2.5 million
customers, translating into more than 700,000
new checking accounts and one million new
savings accounts for Bank of America.

17. The Sex Profile // Case Study
http://vimeo.com/32788295

18. Why
STARTUPS
+ DESIGN?
(or for that matter, anything + design)

19. WHY?
BECAUSE
Startup problems have unique
problems which most often requires
reframing …

20. WHY?
BECAUSE
Startups usually are into the process
of ‘founder-centric design’ than user
centric design….

21. WHY?
BECAUSE
Startups are more focused on ‘lets
feature fill the product’ than ‘lets
design a service that would really
matter to my customer’

22. WHY?
BECAUSE
Startup business landscape is
dynamic and they require iterative
process to sail through….

23. WHY?
BECAUSE
Because startup need more faster
methods and visual tools that help
everybody be on the same page

24. Toolkits
Problem Reframing
Sacred Cows
Mindmapping
User Research
Co-creation
Design Thinking
Collaboration
Ethnography
Iterative Process
Service Design Thinking
Customer Feedback Sessions
Visual Tools like Business Model
Canvas

25. Excercise
(this is the fun part)
Form small groups of 6
Take up a small industry /
service / product category that
you use
And lets do a ‘sacred cow’
exercise to look at some new
opportunities
WHAT IS A ‘SACRED COW’?
Every idea or thought is based on assumptions
and pillars of thought, without which we think it
would not exist or work. What innovators and
game changers understood that every pillar that
we look at that supports any industry today is
only bound to change with time… and hence
they tend to question these very pillars in hope
to come to something new.
WHATS THE EXERCISE?
Take anything, industry and take a note of the all
the ‘sacred cows’ that people say are given for
that industry …. Like at a time, that we would
surely remember … starting up meant having an
office space. Today a lot of startups, only have
only spaces or virtual offices.
The idea is to question these norms to get to
something new. Also understand, sacred cows is
not the same as competitors. Its not used to
create differentiation with your competitors… its
done to innovate.
(For fun, try the same exercise but not with industries or professions,
do it with your friends or relationships… you’d find interesting ideas … )

26. Traditional approaches fall short of problem solving in a complex
world wherein problems are dynamic and complex, a designers
mindset gives the required lenses or perspective to sail through
smoothly.

27. Thank you
© Vizen Design & Consulting 2014 | www.vizen.in
Francis Xavier | Principal Designer / Vizen Design & Consulting | francis@vizen.in