Design is hacking how we
learn David Sherwin, AIGA Into the Woods 2012 @changeorder photo 6291481572 by Beggs / CC Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Time for a pop quiz!

Question 1: Can design solve
most of society’s biggest problems?* * Be sure to show your work.

Design can solve society’s biggest
problems…

Design can solve society’s biggest
problems… if we cultivate a love of learning through the design process.

Design can solve society’s biggest
problems… if we cultivate a love of learning through the design process. This is a talk about how we can do this better.

Let’s start by talking about
survival.

CHALLENGE Understand the nature and
value of connection, and the digital connection models of urban girls in Nairobi.

APPROACH Empower girls in local
girl groups through explorer training so they can collaboratively plan and co-design solutions for their needs.

FOUR WEEKS explorer training week
1 1 22 33 4 learn skills tell stories imagine possibilities be heard

FOUR WEEKS research objectives week
1 2 3 4 FOUNDATIONS FOCUS IDEATION PROTOTYPE girl kick-off connections co-design evaluation

Week 1: Creating sparks to
build friendships

Week 2: Becoming explorers and
storytellers

Week 3: Exposing latent creativity
and wisdom

Week 4: Encouraging co-leadership and
collective action

Future focus: Growing and networking
local girl groups

LEARNINGS The process and the
product had great value to the community. Girls honed practical skills by being exposed to the design process. Local education systems did not teach girls how to grow and apply these skills in a flexible manner to solve a wide range of critical problems.

I'VE BEEN SO HAPPY SINCE
STARTING THIS PROGRAM OF EXPLORING. I FEEL MORE CONFIDENT THAN THE TIME THAT I CAME— I WAS TOO SHY. NOW I'M MEETING OTHER GIRLS. I AM HAPPY. Girl Participant, 14

LEARNINGS There are few substitutes
for in-person communication when encouraging local community problem solving. Technology has great potential to expand education’s reach, but we have to start local and analog to achieve scale. Safe spaces—places where girls are “free to try, free to fail”—are critical for gaining core problem-solving skills.

Practicing design is empowering. It
helps people see the world in a different way— and consider how to change it for the better. This hacks how we learn.

How we are often taught
THEORY PRACTICE REFLECTION Thanks to Kristian Simsarian for sharing this model with me.

How designers learn PRACTICE THEORY
TACIT KNOWLEDGE REFLECTION take a peek at the 70/20/10 model Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger and/or Eric Schmidt and others

“Designers have the ability and
the training to harness the tacit knowledge of the unconscious mind, rather than being limited to working with explicit knowledge. This makes them good at synthesizing complex problems with large numbers of constraints; It also makes them bad at explaining or defining what they are doing or thinking. They will describe process and results because they are not consciously aware of their own rationale.” —Bill Moggridge, rest in peace

How designers anyone PRACTICE can
try THEORY new modes of learning TACIT KNOWLEDGE REFLECTION take a peek at the 70/20/10 model Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger and/or Eric Schmidt and others

How can I do this
in my community?

How can I do this
in my community? “Design situations that allow equitable solutions to emerge…” —Scott Boylston

How can I do this
in my community? “Design situations that allow equitable solutions to emerge…” —Scott Boylston Help people use our tools independent of the design process to improve their lives.

predict
adapt

Ask better questions by using
the 5W’s and an H. (And active listening!)

what What events or actions
are happening? who Who is involved? Who helps or gets in the way? why Why is this happening? Why do you feel this way? where Where does this happen? when When does it happen? how How does it happen? How does it affect you?

Know your bias when considering
someone else’s needs—and your own.

thousands of sticky notes

Researching other people requires us
to apply more rigor to our life decisions.

Questions are also tools that
help us focus where to ideate—and break rigid patterns of thought.

People are seeking healthier food
and drink in metropolitan and rural areas. WHY? STRATEGY It’s expensive to constantly visit vending machines to refill WHAT’S STANDING IN it with fresh foods. OUR WAY? How might we best maintain the freshness of healthy food in a vending machine? HOW MIGHT WE?

People are seeking healthier food
and drink in metropolitan and rural areas. WHY? STRATEGY It’s expensive to constantly visit vending machines to refill WHAT’S STANDING IN it with fresh foods. OUR WAY? TACTICS How might we best maintain the freshness of healthy food in a vending machine? HOW MIGHT WE?

People are seeking healthier food
and drink in metropolitan and rural areas. WHY? STRATEGY It’s expensive to constantly visit vending machines to refill WHAT’S STANDING IN it with fresh foods. OUR WAY? TACTICS How might we best maintain the freshness of healthy food in a vending machine? HOW MIGHT WE? DESIGN

ARTICULATE HOW BY GENERATING IDEATION
QUESTIONS How might we How might we How might we How might we best maintain signal to users procure and create a vending the freshness of vending deliver fresh food machine that can of healthy food machines the for inclusion contain different in a vending freshness of food in vending sizes, shapes, machine? on display? machines in and types of a region? food? How might we How might we How might we How might we aid a vending help a machine most quickly help users see machine in quick- provide the receive payment what is available ly recognizing appropriate and disburse at a vending different types climate to products to machine when of fresh and different types vending machine they are not local food? of food? users? present?

Be more effective in how
you use your time to come up with ideas by using timeboxing.

ACT EVALUATE ARTICULATE • what
to do • did you do it? • what else needs to be done? • how long you’ll do it • need more time? • how much time will it take? • required output • get the right output? • was output is needed? • desired fidelity • was it the right fidelity? • what fidelity is required?

ACT EVALUATE ARTICULATE create low-fi
design ideas • did you do it? • what else needs to be done? do it for 10 minutes • need more time? • how much time will it take? at least 8 ideas • get the right output? • was output is needed? words + doodles • was it the right fidelity? • what fidelity is required? on Post-It Notes

ACT EVALUATE ARTICULATE create low-fi
design ideas low-fi ideas worked, • what else needs to be done? do it for 10 minutes especially the sketches • how much time will it take? at least 8 ideas with corgi puppies— • was output is needed? words + doodles but more ideas with • what fidelity is required? on sticky notes unicorns would help

ACT EVALUATE ARTICULATE create low-fi
design ideas low-fi ideas worked, add another 5 minutes do it for 10 minutes especially the sketches add 5 more ideas at least 8 ideas with corgi puppies— ideally more unicorns words + doodles but more ideas with on more sticky notes on sticky notes unicorns would help

ARTICULATE REFLECT ACT dd another
5 minutes dd 5 more ideas eally more unicorns n more sticky notes

20 MINS 40 MINS 60
MINS 80 MINS 100 MINS 120 MINS FINAL CLEAN SKETCHES VISUAL REFINED DESIGN EVALUATE WIREFRAMES THINKING DETERMINE ROUGH APP EVALUATE WIREFRAMES CONTENT BRAINSTORM BIG IDEAS EVALUATE

Don’t let people argue for
ideas until everyone shares their preference.

interactive storybooks about loneliness

Tell a story. Perform a
drama. Sing a song. Write it down. Draw your idea. Create a comic. Make a collage. Tinker with discourses.

Tear apart and reassemble your
stories so you can say more with less.

Questions help you unpack how
to act on your best ideas.

why Why is this problem
happening? who Who can help you fix it? what What skills or materials do you need to solve it? where Where can you go for assistance? when When can you get started? how How might we work together to change it?

Want big change? Keep motivated
by visibly celebrating quick wins.

Team up by creating personal
connections through shared goals and values.

forming
norming
storming
performing

Help others identify and share
their superpowers. Apply them in concert.

“Our life is an apprenticeship
to the truth, that around every circle another can be drawn…” —Emerson

Design can solve society’s biggest
problems…

Design can solve society’s biggest
problems… If we can help people unlock their potential by learning through design.

Design can solve society’s biggest
problems… If we can help people unlock their potential by learning through design. This is good for everyone: families, clients, communities, yourself.

Let’s share our tools with
the world.

Download the Collective Action Toolkit:
frogdesign.com/cat Say hello: david.sherwin@frogdesign.com davidsherwin.com @changeorder © 2013 frog. All rights reserved.