Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature
Janine M. Benyus
Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses To Humanitarian Crises
Architecture for Humanity
Design with the Other 90%: Cities
Cynthia E. Smith
Design for the Other 90%
Cynthia E. Smith
This article describes the process of working with a diverse team, where not everyone at the table is a designer.
http://www.good.is/post/the-design-difference-using-design-to-conduct-a-problem-solving-workshop/
Relevant to us? outlines a method of working with diverse people
“The timeframes gave great guidance for narrowing lofty ideas into what would be possible to achieve. Each group was given about 30 minutes in which to tackle a specific combination, then we’d be asked to switch to another assigned category and timeframe. This prevented potential burnout from banging our heads against the same problem all day.
The format of the brainstorming, or ideation, exercises moved from an unedited, uncensored burst of ideas (divergent thinking), into more actionable, physically-oriented solutions (convergent thinking). Each group began the brainstorming period by layering a page with quick ideas—or pieces of ideas—jotted on Post-its. Over time, common themes or similar trains of thought were grouped together and built upon, and the best three to five ideas were drafted into more specific concepts.”
“What Gutenberg did for writing online, video can now do for face to face communication.” Chris Anderson
Streaming video online has changed the way we work together and exchange ideas. Chris Anderson of TED speaks about how a crowd can accelerate improvement, the bigger the crowd the greater the innovation. Global recognition is initiating huge amounts of effort. It works by people sharing their biggest secret (radical openness), their greatest talent- they make a video of it and post it to the web. People across the entire planet see that video, get inspired, learn that skill, improve upon it, and then post their innovation. Video offers something the printed word and photographs cannot. It is an exchange beyond words, and talents such as dancing can thrive. Video offers new ways to learn and respond, building ideas in a participation age.
How does this relate to Interdisciplinary design projects? We don’t have to be in the same room to work together. Streaming video online has opened doors to new ways of collaborating and gaining knowledge.
the pivot, interesting term for switching directions.
Article that highlights companies that change their tactics quickly and stresses the importance of failing.
“To pivot is, essentially, to fail gracefully. While the term has been in the start-up lexicon for decades, it is coming up more often in the current Internet boom, as entrepreneurs find that many investors are willing to keep the money flowing even if a start-up takes a hard left turn.” – Jenna Wortham
(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/business/for-some-internet-start-ups-a-failure-is-just-the-beginning.html?_r=2&hp, Accessed Jan 19, 2012)
it’s not about being safe or doing what has been done before
it’s not about following a grid, map, or way of doing things
it’s about new terrain, a different path, being unexpected, and scaring the hell out of people (Brand Gap)
need to be sensitive to how other disciplines define problems and solve them
the design process is not always the answer
working interdisciplinary with a team is about patience and listening
working alone on a interdisciplinary project involves looking at the problem from different perspectives including different processes for solving that problem
when working with a diverse team you must find a common language, which often is bits and pieces of various disciplines
the goal is something that has never been done before, so the process is like no other and unique to the dynamic group who is building it
you should have a toolkit of ways to generate ideas but know that the dynamic of the group will always shift from what you are comfortable and familiar with
as an individual you are most successful with innovation the more you dive into diverse mediums and thought processes. you bring fresh eyes to the medium and subject matter
YOU- Give a fu*k.
Finding meaning. take time to know yourself, what keeps you up at night? find projects that you care about, break your routine- do something you’ve never done before… introduce yourself to new a new subject matter
-valacenti dinner series
-taking a class
-travelling
-interview with ?? how they find meaning
-tools for gathering ideas and combining disciplines, mind map, flow chart…
TEAM- surround yourself with brilliance
Find people that are smarter then you in one way or another. Make deadlines and hold each other accountable. Play nice and think big- when everyone gets in the same room be humble, open, and ready to make mistakes. Get excited- make big big plans even though you know realistically they are not possible, you can scale down later
SPACE- where you are matters
find a collaborative working environment that excites all participants, think about entertaining all senses beyond sight- taste, sound, touch…
-stanford
-ideo
PRACTICE- moving forward
practical guidelines for moving the project forward, how all voices are heard, decisions made. How can everyone feel like an equal? Giving everyone a role. How do you move forward with no clear leader? With no clear solution?
http://couragefaithandcocktails.com
A dinner series seeking inspiration-
More and more we spend our lives staring at screens not only for work, but play and entertainment. Even walking outdoors we’ve become zombie-like, head bowed, connected to the great wide web and cut off from the world. The TV, the computer, the internet, websites with cute cats, these are all a part of our lives, but they are not the meat of our lives. Most of it is actually candy. And there’s a time and place for candy, but we need nourishment. We need meaning. Where are the apps that nourish the soul?
Instead of looking outside of ourselves, to the buzzing and jigging of modern life for inspiration, we need to look inside. Contrary to the pandering-to-a-demographic mentality of advertising, the truth is that the only way to genuinely connect with an audience, is with your own story—your ideals, your histories, with your humor and sex appeal. Ask yourself “what do I have to say?”, “what’s my opinion?” The more personal and specific you can be will speak to the widest of audiences because in the particular lies the universal.
It’s no surprise that many of us are on a search for meaning in our lives and works. It is in this spirit that I’ve created The Dinner Series. (Rick Valacenti)
Collaborative/Interdisciplinary company to look at.
“We believe that the business community must lead in addressing today’s unprecedented challenges to our world’s social and environmental integrity. Tropical Salvage combines business with social and environmental activism. Our mission is to create good, steady, eco-positive jobs in places experiencing economic hardship; to assist in implementing conservation, forest restoration and environmental education projects to protect the world’s remaining primary tropical forests; and to advocate for best responsible social and environmental practices throughout the business world.”
Medici effect
“This is not to say that younger people are more creative. However, younger people
are often less constrained by their education within a field since they
have not yet had too much of it. It would follow, then, that learning a
new field, whether one is young or old, can help break down associative
barriers. Thomas Kuhn points out in his seminal book The Structure of
Scientific Revolutionsthat “almost always the men who achieve . . . fun-
damental inventions of a new paradigm have been either very young or
very new to the field whose paradigm they change.” pg 52
I go back to this text because I find it interesting that great shifts and ideas happen not within the field that you are a master of- but when you are very new to a field. Something to ponder as we trek forward.
http://www.aiga.org/news-20111006/
What is the role of design in a rapidly shifting world?
I’m curious if Design has always been in such a state of flux? Things are shifting faster due to technological advances, but Isn’t change innate? Why do we spend so much time talking about it vs stepping up and trying to find answers that are needed. I’m finding a tremendous amount of articles, conferences, conversations about change. Yep things are changing, lets move on.