Design Thinking 101

In this episode, Indi Young joins me to deliver a micro-course on listening sessions. I’m experimenting with new ways to learn on the podcast.  Listeners will learn from Indi as we talk about listening sessions, what they are, how to do them, why they matter, and how to get the most out of them.  Let me know what you think of the micro-course format, and if I should do more of them.  Cheers, Dawan, Your Design Thinking 101 Podcast Host  Listen to learn more about: >> What listening sessions are and why they matter>> How to structure a good listening session>> Getting the most out of listening sessions>> The two questions that are always asked during a listening session>> Do’s and Don’ts of listening sessions Our Guest Indi Young is a researcher who coaches, writes, and teaches about inclusive product strategy. Her work is rooted in the problem space where the focus is on people, not users. Indi pioneered opportunity, maps, mental model diagrams, and thinking styles. She was one of the founders of Adaptive Path, the pioneering user experience agency. Her way of approaching the problem allows teams to truly pay attention to people without letting cognitive bias and assumptions creep in. She has written two books, Practical Empathy, and Mental Models, and is working on a third, Assumptions Aside, which will cover thinking styles. Indi builds knowledge and community via a series of online advanced courses about design research and the importance of pushing the boundaries of your perspective. Show Highlights [02:54] Listening is different from interviewing.[03:22] Listening is qualitative research.[04:35] Indi describes the knowledge creation / data collection template she uses.[05:05] Problem spaces and solution spaces.[06:57] In the solution space, much of the research is either generative or evaluative.[08:07] In the problem space, the research is neither generative nor evaluative.[08:54] The problem space is interested in the person and how they achieve their purpose.[09:19] A listening session asks the person what they were thinking as they were achieving their purpose.[11:25] Organizations are often only concerned with solution spaces; problem spaces tend to get ignored.[12:03] Why study problem spaces?[12:56] One solution does not fit all – there is no such thing as an “average user.”[13:50] Thinking styles vs. personas, and designing for archetypes.[15:03] An example from work Indi did for the University of Buffalo.[15:33] The benefits of using thinking styles over personas.[16:25] The bias problem in research.[17:10] Listening sessions must be framed by a purpose, and must have depth.[17:39] Surface vs. depth.[18:59] Depth is how we develop cognitive empathy with people.[19:34] The good stuff in a listening session is the inner thinking, the emotional reactions.[21:13] Indi describes the Mental Model Diagram.[23:27] Listening sessions start with a germinal question.[24:28] Listening sessions are audio-only.[26:49] The challenges that can come up in listening sessions.[28:47] The structure of a listening session.[30:27] Indi shares snippets of some listening sessions as examples of how to begin a listening session.[34:37] How Indi works with the results of a listening session.[35:14] Techniques used during listening sessions.[36:13] Listening session examples demonstrating techniques Listeners can use to build trust and rapport with the Speaker.[38:05] The importance of silence.[41:29] Listening session examples demonstrating how to encourage Speakers to open up and share their inner thoughts and emotions.[45:38] Indi talks about micro-reflections and shares some examples from listening sessions.[49:57] Why Indi likes the word “because.”[50:43] Listening session examples where the Listeners used time and place to help the Speakers dig deeper. [Note from Indi at 51:44] - “I forgot to explain that the grocery store example was because the Speaker got flustered and forgot her restaurant experiences. The Listener took her back to the grocery store she had mentioned so that the Speaker could be in familiar territory and relax. After that she remembered some more of her restaurant experiences.” [55:34] Indi talks about ways to simply encourage Speakers to continue talking.[57:12] Things not to do during listening sessions.[57:18] Avoid asking leading questions.[58:37] Avoid asking surface level questions.[1:01:08] Avoid conjecture.[1:01:51] Examples of conjecture from Indi’s listening sessions.[1:08:32] Avoiding complex reflection.[1:10:33] Indi talks about normal things that can occur during listening sessions.[1:12:13] Discovering your own verbal habits when reviewing your listening sessions.[1:13:35] Winding down listening sessions, and some examples of that from Indi.[1:13:53] The one closing question you should always ask.[1:16:40] Indi offers advice to those wanting to improve their listening skills and perhaps try using listening sessions.[1:19:44] Indi talks about some of the courses she offers. Links Here are the diagrams and transcripts we discuss in the episode. Indi on Twitter Indi on LinkedIn Indi on Medium Indi’s website and course listings 99% Invisible podcast episode: On Average Book Recommendation Listening Well: The Art of Empathic Understanding, by William Miller Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Problem Spaces, Understanding How People Think, and Practical Empathy with Indi Young — DT101 E6

I hope you enjoyed this episode. In these short Ask Like a Designer episodes on the Design Thinking 101 podcast, you’ll find new ways to explore the show’s stories and ideas about design-driven innovation. I'll share methods, templates, and ideas that have worked in my practice in teaching. This episode is about a question behind almost everything people do as they create growth and opportunity by seeing and solving like a designer. This episode is based on this article: ALD 002 // Design, and One Question to Rule Them All. Read the article and others like it on Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer. What did you think of this episode? Please send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ DawanDesign Thinking 101 Podcast HostPresident, Fluid Hive Show Highlights [00:50] The One Question to Rule Them All.[01:19] Solving the wrong problem.[01:41] What happens when you solve the wrong problem.[01:49] Why solving the right problem is actually impossible.[02:31] Lessons from a yacht crash.[03:10] What problem am I trying to solve is never “one and done.”[04:23] How do you find the answer to “what problem am I trying to solve?” [04:34] How-Might-We questions[04:45] Free Ask Like a Designer tool to help you choose your next problem to solve.[05:08] To design is to ask questions.[05:27] Design Thinking 101 Learning courses.[05:52] The Innovation Smart Start webinar. Design Thinking 101 Learning — Courses and More Design Thinking 101 Learning helps people start seeing and solving like a designer. Each training course focuses on a different collection of actions and skills critical to using design thinking effectively and getting the results you seek. Please join me in the first course, Design Thinking 101 — Framing: Creating Better Solutions by Finding More Valuable Problems to Solve.  Each course is structured to help your innovation actions create what you need for the people you serve, your organization and yourself. Grab your spot and start seeing and solving like a designer today. Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Ask Like a Designer 001 — DT101 E61 A Short Introduction to Design Thinking with Dawan Stanford — DT101 E32 Design Research + Tools for Thinking + Using Research Well with Terri Herbert — DT101 E55 Other Resources Download the Design-Driven Innovation Project Launch Guide — Guide to launching innovation projects and avoiding common innovation traps Design-Driven Innovation. Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused! Fluid Hive: Learn — A growing collection of courses, webinars, and articles for people expanding their design thinking, service design, and human-centered design skills.

Ryann Hoffman is a system designer and design leader specializing in design and complex systems and working with organizations to develop capacity in design thinking and innovation operations. Show Summary Ryann’s path into design came from an early love of music, playing classical piano, and music composition. She did freelance design projects for teachers while in high school. By the time she went to college, she had strong design and communication skills, and had learned the power of storytelling. Ryann started out with plans for a degree in English, but switched to Sociology and fell in love with it from her very first introductory course. After undergrad, she spent several years working in various fields, including nonprofits and a music tech startup, where she brought her digital communications and design skills to bear on projects like promotional videos, visual design for reports and collaterals, and systems design for music distribution. While in grad school for Public Administration, she took a class called “Coping with Wicked Problems,” where she was introduced to design thinking. After graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C. became a member of Design Thinking DC, and started what would become her career in systems design, leading to her civic design work today with cities across America and international organizations like The World Bank and the Government of Madagascar. Listen in to learn about: >> Design Thinking D.C.>> System design at the municipal and federal level>> Advice for launching a new design team>> The surprising way “tedium” can trip up a design project>> Innovation Transformation>> Helping design teams that are working with emotional, difficult topics>> Power and identity in design>> Post-traumatic growth and helping people find a path to it in positive ways>> The importance of designers learning facilitation Our Guest Ryann Hoffman is a systems designer most in flow working in complex problem spaces. She's built and led design work across industries and at organizations including The World Bank and The Government of Madagascar, Capital One, Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, and ConsenSys. Through leading and practicing design, Ryann found purpose in developing teams. She watched the most well-intentioned, competent teams struggle to create impact because they lacked the support and curriculum to imbue design beyond densely packed workshops or sprints, and into their daily workflows, collaborations, and mindsets. As a Design Coach and Instructor, Ryann has worked with Harvard University and the Bloomberg Foundation, AmeriCorps, ConsenSys, Sunrun, and other leading institutions leveraging design to make their respective dents in the world's challenges. Her circuitous route to this calling includes her Masters in Public Administration, a stint in the music industry, and an early foundation in digital media production and visual design. When she's not working, Ryann loves learning about the brain and aspires to be more mindful. Show Highlights [02:05] How Ryann’s love of music led her to develop digital design and communications skills.[03:57] Making the switch from English literature to Sociology.[05:14] Ryann’s post-undergrad work.[08:05] The graduate course on dealing with wicked problems that introduced Ryann to design thinking.[11:38] Moving to Washington, D.C. after graduation.[13:22] Ryann and Dawan talk about Design Thinking D.C.[17:44] Ryann talks about her work as a civic designer and facilitator.[19:48] What Ryann loves about working at the city level of design.[23:17] How working with cities helps designers build a varied and robust skillset.[25:30] How Ryann helps design teams learn and apply design thinking tools and methods in their work.[28:18] Ryann offers advice for getting a new design team off to a good start.[29:40] The area that is often overlooked by new design teams and organizations looking to innovate.[32:24] Innovation transformation and the 3 things critical for a design team to learn if they want to succeed.[34:23] On the need for organizations to not be afraid to try different methods and processes to see what works best.[36:06] One of the most difficult challenges for leaders when they start working with design thinking.[37:24] How power and identity can create challenges in design thinking work.[38:57] Ryann talks about early struggles with perfectionism.[39:36] Divergent and convergent thinking, and the importance of working with and supporting team members.[42:13] Why trust is so important for teams and the importance of creative conflict.[43:29] Ryann’s recent focus on stress on systems and the psychological field of post-traumatic growth.[46:16] Reframing how we think about the things that cause us harm and stress.[49:23] Why facilitation is an important skill for designers and anyone working in design thinking.[56:18] Lessons Ryann learned about remote work.[57:07] Remote work can make it easier to integrate design into an organization’s workflows.[58:14] Finding and learning the tools to help create an engaging online experience.[1:00:06] The difference between remote and in-person interactions.[1:03:47] Seeing areas of weakness as opportunities.[1:05:43] Where to find out more about Ryann and her work. Links  Ryann Hoffman on LinkedIn Staircase Strategy Psychology Today, “Why Virtual Communication Can Leave You Worn Out” Brené Brown, The power of vulnerability Book Recommendations Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder, by Nassim Nicholas TalebStronger By Stress: Adapt to Beneficial Stressors to Improve Your Health and Strengthen the Body, by Siim Land Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Design Thinking for the Public Sector + Building and Training Design Thinking Teams with Stephanie Wade — DT101 E14 Teaching Yourself Design Thinking + Innovating in Government with Amy J. Wilson — DT101 E19 Adding System Awareness to System Design to Your Innovation Stack with Julie Guinn — DT101 E43 ________________  Thank you for listening to the show and looking at the show notes. Send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Download the Design-Driven Innovation Project Launch Guide — Guide to launching innovation projects and avoiding common innovation traps Design-Driven Innovation. Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused! Fluid Hive: Learn — A growing collection of courses, webinars, and articles for people expanding their design thinking, service design, and human-centered design skills.  

Thank you for listening to this Ask Like a Designer episode of the Design Thinking 101 Podcast. In these short Ask Like a Designer episodes on the Design Thinking 101 podcast, you’ll find new ways to explore the show’s stories and ideas about design-driven innovation. I'll share methods, templates, and ideas that have worked in my practice in teaching.  This episode is about six people: six designers whose different roles and favorite questions drive how I serve clients, teach, and develop as a designer. This episode is based on this article: ALD 001 // Ask Like a Designer. Read the article and others like it on Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer. What did you think of this episode? Please send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ DawanDesign Thinking 101 Podcast HostPresident, Fluid Hive Show Highlights [00:32] What is the Ask Like a Designer series?[01:08] The Six Designers and their purpose.[01:44] Why “ask like a designer?”[02:43] Designer 1: Builder[03:06] Designer 2: Scout[03:39] Designer 3: Tinker[04:19] Designer 4: Facilitator[04:52] Designer 5: Traveler[05:14] Designer 6: Pro[06:01] How to work with the Six Designers[06:05] Free Ask Like a Designer thinking tool for download at Fluid Hive to help you work with the six designers.  Design Thinking 101 Learning — Courses and More Design Thinking 101 Learning helps people learn, lead and apply design-driven innovation. Each training course focuses on a different collection of actions and skills critical to using design thinking effectively and getting the results you seek. Please join me in the first course, Design Thinking 101 — Framing: Creating Better Solutions by Finding More Valuable Problems to Solve.  Each course is structured to help your innovation actions create what you need for the people you serve, your organization and yourself. Grab your spot in the course early. Use this code FRAMING20 to get 20% off the course if you register by January 22, 2021. Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Humble Design Leadership + Design Agency and Experience Design Evolution with Aleksandra Melnikova — DT101 E33 A Short Introduction to Design Thinking with Dawan Stanford — DT101 E32  Learning and Leading Design for Healthcare + Innovation Teams with Paolo Korre — DT101 E20  Other Resources Download the Design-Driven Innovation Project Launch Guide — Guide to launching innovation projects and avoiding common innovation traps Design-Driven Innovation. Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused! Fluid Hive: Learn — A growing collection of courses, webinars, and articles for people expanding their design thinking, service design, and human-centered design skills.

Denise Ho and Andrew Baker are our guests today. Denise is a design researcher practicing in the design space since the early 2000s and the Director of Design at Hope Lab. Andrew Baker is living and working at the intersection of technology and experience design. He’s the Vice President of Product at Grit Digital Health and teaches Experience Design at the University of Colorado. Denise and Andrew collaborated on a way to combat loneliness in college students. We talk about designing for mental health, Nod, an app that is helping young people avoid negative health outcomes associated with loneliness, and how college students were involved in creating Nod. Show Summary Denise and Andrew had very different entry points into design. Denise’s journey began with a love for people and cultures. She started her undergrad as an anthropology student, but she wanted to not just study culture, but to shape it. That led her into design. She studied product design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and landed an internship at IDEO, where she ended up staying for eight years while also teaching design at the California College of Arts. Denise opened her own design practice and started doing design research into younger generations — not just designing products for them, but also working to understand their way of seeing and experiencing the world. Now, she works at Hope Lab, where the focus is on creating digital technologies that help young people live happier, healthier lives. Andrew’s interests were influenced at an early age by his father, a graphic designer, and his mother, a civic leader focused on social impact. He studied business and English literature at the University of Colorado, but also minored in technology, arts and media, where he studied software development and honed his self-taught graphic design skills. An internship at a Denver agency allowed him to continue developing that skill set, but also gave him the opportunity to dig into user experience and into understanding human behavior and using those insights to guide designing product solutions. He moved into a dual role with Cactus and Grit Digital Health, leading both companies’ creative technology practices before moving into a full-time position at Grit Digital Health, where the focus is on creating digital health solutions for college students designed to help them improve their mental health and wellness. Denise and Andrew talk about designing for mental health and their collaboration to create Nod, an app for college students. Nod is designed to help students make social connections and relationships in an effort to address the loneliness many students end up feeling when they arrive on campus and begin their higher education journey. Listen in to learn more about: >> Designing digital health products for younger generations>> The Nod app>> How Nod was designed and developed>> Co-creating with college students>> Hope Lab’s work and projects>> Grit Digital Health’s wellbeing tool and other projects  Our Guests Denise Ho Denise Ho brings more than 15 years of creative leadership experience as a design thinker, strategist, and qualitative design research with expertise in healthcare, transformative technologies, and industrial design. She spent 8 years at IDEO, and is currently Director of Design at Hopelab. She leads a diverse team of design researchers, industrial designers, and creative strategists to create technologies that are engaging, sustainable, and scaled to impact as many lives as possible. Denise enjoys gardening and spending time with her twin daughters, husband, and puppy. Andrew Baker In his role at Grit Digital Health, Andrew inspires and guides the design of user-centered solutions across technology mediums and industry verticals. With a background in experience design and software development, Andrew and his team strive to develop wellbeing products that are rooted in research, behavior design, and business strategy. Outside of his role at Grit, Andrew is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado, where he teaches user experience design in an MA program for Strategic Communication Design. Show Highlights [01:30] How Denise found her way to a career in digital design.[05:08] Andrew’s journey into digital design.[10:18] Denise gives an introduction to Nod.[11:12] Andrew follows up with his “elevator pitch” for Nod.[12:28] The question that drove Nod’s naissance at Hope Lab in 2017.[13:25] The connection between loneliness and college students’ mental health.[14:48] Denise talks about the early research and discovery stage of Nod.[15:45] Nod’s unique problem space.[16:58] Collaborating with college students using an early paper prototype of the app.[18:19] Nod’s next steps forward in development.[18:52] Andrew talks about reverse engineering health outcomes.[20:01] The three categories of psychological health outcomes Nod targets.[21:36] Successfully changing behavior requires small concrete steps.[24:15] College students continued to play an important role in the development of Nod.[25:30] The challenges of working on a solution for a very personal and private issue.[27:16] Co-creating with students on Nod has been an incredible experience.[27:56] Nod’s pilot phase with the University of Oregon.[28:20] Service design and delivery is one of the biggest challenges for digital products.[30:06] Nod’s pilot phase at the University of Colorado Denver focused on service design.[31:31] COVID-19’s impact on the development of Nod.[33:20] Hope Lab’s tri-discipline approach to collaboration and co-creation.[35:19] Denise talks more about the randomized control trial at the University of Oregon and how it proved Nod was working.[36:31] How people reacted when they heard about Nod’s development.[37:48] Andrew offers insights into the rise and future of digital-only health and wellbeing design.[39:15] Why Nod is such a special project and product.[41:31] Where you can find Nod.[42:22] Partnership with Snapchat to release Nod in 2021.[43:31] How universities can participate in Nod’s pilot program.[44:29] Denise talks about another project Hope Lab is working on, focused on identity affirmation of LGBTQ+ people.[47:25] Andrew talks about Grit Digital Health’s digital personalized wellbeing tool.[48:21] Grit Digital Health is hosting a panel at an upcoming Innovation Learning Network conference. Links Denise on LinkedIn Andrew on LinkedIn Andrew on Instagram Andrew on Grit Digital Health Nod Nod’s product overview Press release on efficacy data for Nod Hope Lab Hope Lab Milk Hope Lab’s LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health and Resilience Project Grit Digital Health YOU at College University of Colorado Boulder, Master of Arts in Strategic Communication Design Fast Company’s "Innovation by Design" award (Nod was honored in 2 categories)Journal of Medical Internet Research Mental Health: Smartphone App to Address Loneliness Among College Students: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Mapping and Service Design + Implementation + Accessibility with Linn Vizard — DT101 E17 Launching and Leading a University-wide Design Thinking Initiative with Danielle Lake — DT101 E31 Designing Health Systems + Creating Effective Design Workshops with Sean Molloy — DT101 E44 ________________ Thank you for listening to the show and looking at the show notes. Send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Free Download — Design Driven Innovation: Avoid Innovation Traps with These 9 Steps Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused!

Douglas Ferguson, founder of Voltage Control, discusses the traits of a well-functioning team, the importance of prototyping, and the ins and outs of design sprints. He also talks about his new book, Magical Meetings, which offers strategies for having better, more meaningful meetings. The podcast covers adapting to the new virtual meeting space and explores tools for remote engagement. Overall, it provides valuable insights on collaboration and creating successful outcomes.

Yianna Vovides is the Director of Learning Design and Research at the Center for New Designs and Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) at Georgetown University. She’s also a professor for the Master of Arts in Learning, Design, and Technology (LDT) program at Georgetown, and the Curriculum Director for LDT. In her role at CNDLS, she oversees the digital learning efforts, including online programs. We discuss learning, learning design, and designing online learning during the pandemic and beyond. Show Summary A passion for discovering how we communicate launched Yianna’s journey into instructional and curriculum design. In her Master’s in development support communication, she studied how we work and communicate in international settings, especially in terms of communication pathways up and down an organization’s hierarchy. During her master’s work, she took an Introduction to instructional design course, and realized that it was the bridge she had been looking for to create those communication pathways. In this episode, we talk about how people learn and how Yianna teaches learning design to her students. We learn more about the LDT program at Georgetown. Yianna discusses the learning journey, creating “beautiful” learning experiences, and how the current health crisis has accelerated the rise of e-learning and the tools and technologies that make e-learning possible. Listen in to learn more about: >> Learning design as compared to instructional design>> Georgetown University’s Learning, Design, and Technology program>> The complexity behind how people learn>> The difference between an instructional designer and a learning designer>> “What is learning” as an impossible question to answer>> How the COVID-19 health crisis is re-shaping how we teach and learn>> E-learning spaces and how they are being used now Our Guest Dr. Yianna Vovides’ work intersects three areas — education, technology, and development. Over the last two decades, she has focused her practice and academic efforts in addressing how people learn within networked learning environments. She has worked on projects that emphasize individual and group learning, institutional programs that enable systemic changes, and research that examines how new technologies support teaching and learning. Professor Vovides currently serves as Director of Learning Design and Research at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS), Professor for the Master of Arts in Learning, Design, and Technology (LDT) program at Georgetown University, and Curriculum Director for LDT. In her role at CNDLS, she oversees the digital learning efforts including online programs. She has over 15 years of experience in higher education and has been instrumental in establishing programmatic efforts for university-wide services in online learning. As a professor, she serves as faculty in LDT and teaches courses both for the program core and learning design track core — Methods of Learning and Design and Theories, Process Models, and Strategies. Show Highlights [01:37] Yianna talks about what learning design and instructional design are in terms of higher education and her work.[02:52] How Yianna found her way into instructional design.[04:56] Pairing instructional design with computer-based instruction.[06:55] Yianna’s coursework is designed to help students find their own best path into learning.[07:40] Yianna’s dissertation on cognitive flexibility and the need for openness and vulnerability.[09:23] Wanting students to focus on learning, not process.[09:43] The LDT program starts by asking students “What is learning?”[11:08] By studying the outliers and designing for them, Yianna can create a better design for all.[12:41] Why it can be challenging for a newcomer getting into learning design.[13:41] The lack of learner agency in current educational environments, and how the LDT program is different.[14:12] The collaborative nature of the LDT program for students.[16:36] More about the LDT program and how it’s structured.[17:12] Why Yianna prefers the term “learning design” over “instructional design.”[18:57] The LDT program’s four core components.[19:40] How the LDT design studio incorporates all four of the core components.[22:20] How constraints and boundaries can fuel creativity and innovation.[23:12] The importance of the question, “What is the problem you’re trying to solve?” and of encouraging students to keep asking questions.[26:00] Why collaboration is an integral part of being a learning designer.[27:20] The key difference between a learning designer and an instructional designer.[28:50] Yianna believes that more research needs to be done on the driving factors and motivators behind collaboration.[30:15] Yianna talks about the Medical Education Partnership Initiative.[30:47] How e-learning is opening the doors of learning to more communities all across the world.[34:39] COVID-19 and emergency e-learning.[35:35] Moving from emergency e-learning spaces into designed e-learning spaces.[37:35] How a particular tool or technology can spark learning design ideas.[38:04] Yianna encourages teachers and students to play in their virtual classrooms to become comfortable with them.[39:01] Deciding between synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences in the virtual classroom.[41:28] Yianna recommends resources for those wanting to learn more about how people learn and learning design. Links Yianna on LinkedIn Yianna’s at Georgetown University Yianna’s webpage at Georgetown University MOOC: Massive Open Online Courses IDEXX Learning Center Coursera Book Recommendations Optimizing Instructional Design Methods in Higher Education (Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development), by Yianna Vovides and Linda Rafaela Lemus Learning from Hypermedia: The Role of Metacognitive Skills, by Yianna Vovides Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Designing for the Greater Good, Strategy + Design Thinking, and Measuring Design Thinking with Jeanne Liedtka — DT101 E1 How to Learn Design Thinking + Design Thinking Pedagogy with Julie Schell — DT101 E15 Learning Design + Designing for How People Learn with Julie Dirksen — DT101 E42 ________________ Thank you for listening to the show and looking at the show notes. Send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Fluid Hive’s Ask Like a Designer — Monthly articles with design ideas, methods, frameworks, templates, and a question-fueled approach to design-driven innovation. Discover new ways to learn, lead and apply design-driven innovation. Free Download — Design Driven Innovation: Avoid Innovation Traps with These 9 Steps Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused!

Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel is the Associate Director for Design Thinking for Social Impact and a professor of practice at Tulane University, and an Afro-Caribbean designer who focuses on critical emancipatory design thinking. We talk about power issues and design, participatory design, working with community partners, teaching design, thinking in ways that help students reflect on difference, and the Designer's Critical Alphabet. Show Summary Lesley’s passion for design started in middle school, and by the time she graduated from high school, she was looking for a place to continue her design studies. She ended up in Brazil, where she spent a year studying graphic design and five years in industrial design before returning to Trinidad, where she worked as a design consultant and taught at the University of the West Indies. After coming to the U.S. to get her Ph.D. at North Carolina State University, she spent a year teaching at Stanford’s d.School before moving on to her current position at Tulane University. Lesley talks about the importance of positionality and identity in her work, and how her classes and coursework have changed in response to the events of 2020, including the current COVID-19 health crisis. We learn how and why Lesley created the Designer’s Critical Alphabet, and what she hopes the cards will do for people who use them. Listen in to learn more about: >> How power and identity influence design>> Making design more inclusive with communities and stakeholders — designing with, not designing for>> How design thinking can be used to give marginalized populations a voice and a seat at the table>> The changes and adaptations Lesley is making to her classes in response to COVID-19>> The Designer’s Critical Alphabet Our Guest Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel Is Afro-Trinidadian design educator, based in New Orleans. She practices design through emancipatory, critical and anti-hegemonic lenses, focusing on equity, social justice and the experiences of people who are often excluded from design research. She also attempts to promote greater critical awareness among designers and design students by introducing critical theory concepts and vocabulary into the design studio e.g. through The Designer’s Critical Alphabet. Her research also highlights the work of designers outside of Europe and North America as an act of decolonizing design. Her identity is shaped by her ethnic background as an Afro-Trinidadian; her experience as a daughter, sister and mother; and her lived experiences in Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda and the USA. Show Highlights [01:28] Lesley shares her path into design.[02:05] Her time in Brazil.[02:35] Returning to Trinidad and working as a design consultant and university professor.[03:27] Coming to the U.S. for her Ph.D.[04:40] How her life experiences have strongly influenced her work.[05:11] Her interest in indigenous cultures and looking at different points of view.[05:57] Her Design Research Society group’s focus on gathering design stories from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.[06:55] Lesley talks about how she teaches design thinking by starting with “who we are” and talking about positionality and identity.[08:01] How the focus on identity and positionality changes the way Lesley and her students approach design.[09:33] The importance of getting the stakeholders involved in the process.[10:43] The way Lesley is using design thinking to amplify and reflect the voices of those often left unheard.[11:33] Shifting the power from the university to the community, and letting community partners take the lead.[12:40] Lesley talks more about the experiences and challenges of exploring identity and power in the classroom.[15:21] Ways Lesley is working to ensure her students are aware of the agency and power of the communities they are working with.[16:08] Ensuring the learning and information is flowing in both directions.[17:05] How 2020’s current events are affecting her teaching and classes.[19:08] The rewards of watching students grow their confidence and skills as designers.[20:25] Lesley describes her classes and the academic culture shock some students have when they first get started.[22:57] How Lesley uses unique creative challenges to help students tap into their ability to reflect, think, and design.[23:31] The “design a game” challenge.[24:27] The “create a recipe” challenge.[25:11] Lesley has students redesign a design thinking format and design their own framework.[27:02] What Lesley is doing to adapt her classes and coursework to the new realities of the COVID-19 crisis.[29:43] Remote work pushes the need to create activities for relationship building and allocate enough time for them.[32:16] Being intentional about relationship building.[33:47] Designer’s Critical Alphabet card deck overview.[34:23] The Designer’s Critical Alphabet’s purpose is to help designers look at a project with different lenses and perspectives.[34:43] Lesley discusses a couple of the cards in depth.[36:33] The Designer’s Critical Alphabet is a way for designers to learn and develop critical theory and vocabulary.[37:19] Lesley’s students use the cards to learn new vocabulary, theories, and ideas.[39:00] The Designer’s Critical Alphabets humble beginnings as a small side project.[40:10] How Lesley’s viral LinkedIn post in June 2020 brought the Designer’s Critical Alphabet deck to a larger audience.[42:23] Lesley’s one fear about the cards.[44:26] The two things Lesley hopes the cards will encourage people to do.[46:04] How to learn more about Lesley and her work. Links Dr. Noel on TwitterDr. Noel on LinkedInDr. Noel’s websiteDr. Noel on Tulane University’s websiteA Designer’s Critical Alphabet Cards“Teaching and Learning Design Thinking through a Critical Lens at a Primary School in Rural Trinidad and Tobago”Dr. Noel’s work with emancipatory research and design thinkingCAE research conference call with Dr. Noel as she presents her research/processes in the field of critical design thinking with an emphasis on emancipatory process. Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like How to Learn Design Thinking + Design Thinking Pedagogy with Julie Schell — DT101 E15 Design Thinking + Learning Science with Adam Royalty — DT101 E18 Rethinking Service Design + Student Projects + Community Systems with Amy O’Keefe — DT101 E56 ________________ Thank you for listening to the show and looking at the show notes. Send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Free Download — Design Driven Innovation: Avoid Innovation Traps with These 9 Steps Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused!

Amy O'Keefe is the Studio Director of Northwestern university’s Master of Science and Engineering Design Innovation program, where she leads the human-centered service design studio. We talk about how the pandemic and the expanding awareness of systemic racism might change services, design, project partnerships, service design studio courses, and communities of practice in design education. Show Host: Dawan Stanford Show Summary Amy was always interested in experience design, but in the early 90s, there wasn’t a specific discipline teaching it, so Amy had to find her own path by way of studying English literature and architecture during her college years. Her senior thesis — an examination of how people experience memorial architecture, with a focus on the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. — was her first real foray into human-centered design and experience design. Her original intention to continue studying architecture in graduate school changed after taking a job at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she had the opportunity to dig into digital technology. Instead, she pivoted into a fifteen-year career designing digital products and services. Eventually, Amy returned to university for a graduate degree in product design. She began teaching service design while finishing up her graduate work. Our conversation takes a look at the world today through a service design lens and talks about how service design is changing — and how it needs to continue to change — in response to what’s happening around us right now. Listen in to learn more about: >> Systemic racism and its effects on service design>> Ways to ensure service design is focused on equity for marginalized populations>> Some of the projects Amy and her students have worked on in healthcare and social impact spaces>> Northwestern’s Student Health Leaders project>> The value of design communities finding ways to connect and converse with one another>> Fluid Hive’s Adapt, Respond, and Evolve experience>> Service Ecosystems and Chicago’s Center on Halsted as a great example Our Guest Amy O’Keefe is the Studio Director of Northwestern University's Master of Science in Engineering Design Innovation (EDI) program, where she leads the Human-Centered Service Design Studio. Amy frequently partners with physicians and healthcare organizations to bring a human-centered approach to addressing complex medical issues. Amy has consulted on service, experience, and integrated multi-channel initiatives for Fortune 50 retail and global Am Law 100 clients. Her professional background includes more than a decade leading multi-disciplinary service, product design, and development at a Chicago-based tech startup acquired by Thomson Reuters. Amy received her MS in Product Design and Development Management from Northwestern. As an undergraduate, Amy embraced the Liberal Arts, majoring in English at Davidson College and studying Architecture in Florence, Italy. A sampling of Amy’s recent studio collaborations includes: a partnership with Procter & Gamble that led to the 2016 launch of the integrated laundry service, Tide Spin; engagement with Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Children’s Hospital resulting in lead findings presented at the 2016 American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting; and engagement with Penn Medicine’s Anesthesiology and Critical Care team informing the best practices for patient awareness and management of postoperative delirium discussed at the 2016 American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Brain Health Summit. She is a founding member of the Integrated Design Innovation consortium (IDI) and is working with colleagues from peer programs at University of Pennsylvania, MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, Harvard and several other schools to establish, evolve, and expand the category of Integrated Design Innovation programs in engineering education. Show Highlights [01:36] Amy’s “crooked” path to service design.[03:35] Amy defines intentional design.[03:51] Her job at the Art Institute of Chicago was her introduction to the idea of digital design and creating digital experiences.[04:49] Pursuing a graduate degree in product design and teaching service design.[07:22] Looking at the world and current events through a service design lens.[08:15] Amy talks about how most of our daily and activity journey maps broke this year.[09:10] The responsibility of service designers in our current environment.[11:05] How systemic racism and other world events has affected how service design works and the way Amy teaches service design.[12:26] Amy’s work on a new framework to encourage a better understanding of all stakeholders and complex adaptive systems in a problem space.[13:28] The need for service designers to understand the various privileges, power, and identities of potential stakeholders.[14:39] How many service design tools are problematically designed for an idealized world that doesn’t reflect reality, and how Amy helps students to dig for more accurate insights.[15:22] Service design, acknowledging risk, and running design prototypes to test the impact on marginalized populations.[16:45] Putting ethics first as a service designer.[17:25] Amy talks about how she chooses projects for her classes.[18:35] Amy offers examples of some of her students’ projects.[19:30] The Student Health Leaders project at Northwestern.[23:58] Solving versus responding when it comes to problem spaces.[26:46] Ways in which the various design practice communities are starting to come together to share ideas and have conversations about the work.[32:06] Amy asks Dawan to talk about Fluid Hive’s Adapt, Respond, and Evolve experience.[34:03] The value of bringing leaders from many different schools together to talk about the current challenges and to share lessons learned.[35:38] The definition of a service ecosystem.[36:30] Amy talks about Chicago’s Center on Halsted’s LGBTQ service ecosystem.[38:42] Amy recommends looking up the Fogo Island Inn and Zita Cobbs’ Service Design Network conference presentation.[40:47] Books and other resources Amy recommends for learning more about service design.[42:27] Where to find out more about Amy and her work. Links Amy at Northwestern University Amy on LinkedIn Engineering Design Innovation at Northwestern University Zita Cobbs and the Crisis of Belonging Book Recommendations Service Design: From Insight to Implementation, by Andy Polaine, Lavrans Løvlie, and Ben Reason Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, by Eric Klinenberg Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, by E. F. Schumacher The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Mapping and Service Design + Implementation + Accessibility with Linn Vizard — DT101 E17 Designing Culture at Work + Social Innovation + Necessary Disquiet with Laurie Currie — DT101 E29 Adding System Awareness to System Design to Your Innovation Stack with Julie Guinn — DT101 E43 ________________ Thank you for listening to the show and looking at the show notes. Send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Free Download — Design Driven Innovation: Avoid Innovation Traps with These 9 Steps Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused!

Terri Herbert is a design researcher and experienced research manager at Asana. She's fascinated by the complexity of the world of work and interested in researching and modeling complex systems involving people and technology. We talk about doing good design research, ways to ensure design research outputs are used effectively, and how a design researcher supports a team throughout the design process. Show Host: Dawan Stanford  Show Summary Terri’s journey into design research began in the business world of marketing and communications strategy, where she often worked with survey results and collected data. It was there she first came into contact with the concept of user experience and began to use some design thinking ideas in the iterative process of finding solutions. This led her into UX design and she went back to university for a Master’s degree in human-computer interaction. During this time, she discovered her love of research and modeling systems, which has been a part of her work ever since. At Asana, Terri’s focus is on understanding how people work together as a team, and on providing ways for teams to work better together. As part of this, she studies team dynamics and team behavior, and looks at individual team member’s skills and abilities. She uses what she learns to motivate team behaviors that foster and maintain a high-functioning work environment. We’ll hear more about design research and how Terri uses it to discover insights about how we work, and how she and her team strive to make their research accessible and easy to understand for those who need its insights, and the importance of seeing research itself as dynamic and never-ending. Listen in to learn more about: >> What design research is>> How team dynamics affects a team’s ability to perform and succeed>> Tools Terri uses to help people connect with and understand her research>> Ways design and design research are changing as a result of the current health crisis>> The importance of revisiting and refreshing design research as conditions evolve and change Our Guest Terri is a design researcher and systems thinker fascinated by the complexity of the world of work. At Asana, a leading work management platform for teams, she heads up research focused on helping teams adopt better work practices. Her background in group and system dynamics, collaboration, and interaction design enables her to apply theory for impact in the real world. Terri holds an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction and has worked with organizations across e-commerce, culture and tourism, transportation services, agriculture, and more. Show Highlights [01:07] Terri talks about how she got into design research as a career.[02:57] A high-level look at the work Terri does at Asana.[04:40] How Terri structures her research when she’s studying team dynamics.[05:20] Secondary research sources that are part of Terri’s work.[06:01] Understanding a team’s dynamics is the key to improving how a team can work together better.[07:10] Ways Terri and her team ensure the outputs of their research are understood and used effectively by stakeholders.[08:05] Question mapping as a way to find the key questions and concerns the stakeholders have about the problem space.[10:09] Terri talks more about how design research gets applied in real contexts.[10:15] How Terri uses the discovery debrief to provide a team with tools for thinking and action as they move forward in the problem space.[10:43] Helping the team narrow the scope and bring the problem space into focus.[12:27] The benefits of role-blending in work environments when it comes to working as a team in the design problem space.[12:56] How Terri works through situations where she meets resistance to her findings and insights.[13:09] Using the opportunity tree tool to ensure the team’s work is actually going to address the identified problem.[14:48] Methods and tools Terri uses to help teams understand and connect with the research.[15:25] The value in revisiting earlier research on a regular basis to spot trends and long-term insights.[16:35] Research is not a static, permanent object; it is dynamic, always needing refreshing in response to change.[18:16] How Terri’s research team has been impacted during the COVID-19 health crisis.[20:00] The virtual tools and frameworks Terri’s using in her work now.[20:56] The opportunities and insights occurring in design research as a result of the health crisis.[23:52] Terri talks about wanting easier ways to help people get past their biases to allow them to go deeper into their own motivations and behaviors.[26:01] Resources Terri recommends for those interested in design research and design thinking.[29:29] How to find out more about Terri and her work. Links Terri on Twitter Terri on LinkedIn Terri on Medium Asana Getting Emotional: Our first steps with affective interaction Book Recommendations The Social Life of Information, by John Seely Brown, Paul Duguid, and David WeinbergerThe Service Innovation Handbook: Action-oriented Creative Thinking Toolkit for Service Organizations, by Lucy KimbellThinking in Systems: A Primer, by Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence, by Dacher Keltner Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust, by Adam Kahane Turning People into Teams: Rituals and Routines That Redesign How We Work, by Mary and David Sherwin Other Design Thinking 101 Episodes You Might Like Problem Spaces, Understanding How People Think, and Practical Empathy with Indi Young — DT101 E6 Design Thinking + Learning Science with Adam Royalty — DT101 E18 Designing Your Team + Teams in Design Education + Coaching Design Teams with Mary Sherwin and David Sherwin — DT101 E49 ________________ Thank you for listening to the show and looking at the show notes. Send your questions, suggestions, and guest ideas to Dawan and the Fluid Hive team. Cheers ~ Dawan Free Download — Design Driven Innovation: Avoid Innovation Traps with These 9 Steps Innovation Smart Start Webinar — Take your innovation projects from frantic to focused!