2. STAKEHOLDER SAY THINK FEEL INSIGHTS PROBLEM
PROFILE STATMENT
RACHEL HENDRICKSON
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
+ EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
The Stakeholder, Paul, is a
senior in a graphic design pro-
gram who is currently working
2 entry-level production jobs
as he goes to school full-time
through the fall.
3. STAKEHOLDER SAY THINK FEEL INSIGHTS PROBLEM
PROFILE STATMENT
RACHEL HENDRICKSON
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
+ EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
The Stakeholder, Paul, is a
senior in a graphic design pro-
gram who is currently working
2 entry-level production jobs
as he goes to school full-time
through the fall.
“I learned a lot in the art school, but I’m not sure I’d say it was
perfect. I feel like a lot of what I did was on my own. “
‘I think college is mostly about what you learn outside of the
classroom.”
“I kind of want to start my own [design] firm, but i don’t really
know how to get there in the next few years so in five years I
will probably still be at another firm.“
“i wish that school enforced more what you do afterwards.
Our school doesn’t encourage you to enter competitions or
put yourself out there or get any exposure.”
“i felt overly prepared for college... i wish I could have left
college with that sense of overwhelming confidence. Where as
high school is supposed to be a college prep, I feel like college
is supposed to be a career prep.“
“Where a college campus provides you a platform to network
horizontally, it doesn’t really provide you a platform to network
vertically. They don’t make it that easy to make friends in the
design system.“
“I feel like most of my teacher’s don’t even know how to work
in the professional world.”
“It’s very odd to me that the teachers curate this environment
to make things, but they don’t curate a real world environment
to make things. It’s like a bubble, they make a bubble.”
“There’s never a roadmap, only advice given in passing. There’s
this lack of guidance. ”
“There is this definite lack of preparation for sending work to
production. One huge point of design is to be able to send
things to materialization or prototyping. ”
“Even if teachers would provide some platform to create
something through the industrial design department, that
would at least get a student prepped for the the idea of
creating that network and making that realtionship where
I have to prepare something for someone else to meet
deadlines.
“I think it’s really a testimate to how determined Cal State
students are, because all the people in the program are
amazing despite the fact that they aren’t taught how to do
these things, but I don’t think it’s very ‘real world.’”
“My concern is that it seems completely new to me. The world
outside of college is so blurry to me. “
“There need to be classes to tell you what’s going on, or
seminars.”
“It would be great if we had an alumni program where the
alumni could talk to students who are trying to get new jobs.“
“I feel like there is one step that i am going to need to take
to start a successful career and I don’t know what that step
is. I feel like I will get into the working world... but that bridge
between networking on a college campus and networking in
the real world.”
4. STAKEHOLDER SAY THINK FEEL INSIGHTS PROBLEM
PROFILE STATMENT
RACHEL HENDRICKSON
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
+ EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
The Stakeholder, Paul, is a
senior in a graphic design pro-
gram who is currently working
2 entry-level production jobs
as he goes to school full-time
through the fall.
Paul thinks...
that he may have to make up for pitfalls in his education on his
own time.
that his lack of professional preparation might temporarily set
him back in his career.
that teachers should do more to provide students with
resources for ‘real world’ work.
he has a personal responsibility to fill in the gaps in his
professional knowledge.
faculty members should try harder to keep the design program
relevant in the community (to aid in vertical networking).
Paul thinks...
schools should provide better tools/road maps to guide
students to success after college.
production skills should be just as valuable and relevant as
curating thought processes in curriculum.
design programs should focus on more than what goes on
within the campus; they should consider what goes on in the
community as well.
5. STAKEHOLDER SAY DO THINK FEEL INSIGHTS PROBLEM
PROFILE STATMENT
RACHEL HENDRICKSON
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
+ EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
The Stakeholder, Paul, is a
senior in a graphic design pro-
gram who is currently working
2 entry-level production jobs
as he goes to school full-time
through the fall.
Paul feels...
inadequate in his preparation for the “real world.”
he doesn’t have the same networking competitive edge as a
private school graduate with the same degree.
as if he should be getting more from faculty who are more
involved in the industry.
he should be getting more out of both the campus community
and the greater outside design community.
the curriculum at his school has not provided him with an
adequate perception and plan for the working world.
6. STAKEHOLDER SAY THINK FEEL INSIGHTS PROBLEM
PROFILE STATMENT
RACHEL HENDRICKSON
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
+ EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
The Stakeholder is a senior
in a graphic design program
who is currently working 2
entry-level production jobs as
he goes to school full-time
through the fall.
7. STAKEHOLDER SAY THINK FEEL INSIGHTS PROBLEM
PROFILE STATMENT
RACHEL HENDRICKSON
DESIGN THINKING ACTION LAB
+ EMPATHIZE & DEFINE
The Stakeholder, Paul, is a
senior in a graphic design pro-
gram who is currently working
2 entry-level production jobs
as he goes to school full-time
through the fall.
