Design Thinking
2-Day Workshop

Pre-Reading – folder of great papers and some recommended books on design thinking practice.

In advance, we put the participants into groups of four or five. Mixed experience, mixed background (one of the key features of design thinking is inter-disciplinary teams).

Objectives

• To engage with core concepts of Design Thinking and put them into practice solving real-world ‘wicked problems’
• Consider what ‘inter-disciplinary’ working really means and how to put that into practice
• Value the importance of empathy in design.

Two day intensive workshop – solving the world’s problems with design thinking

Day 1

Introduction and ice-breaker

What is design thinking?

Looking at some interesting case studies

Getting in teams and choosing the challenges

Framing the ‘wicked problem’

Initial Research in groups

Understanding Customers’ Needs

Group work

“What is”

Understand How the Market Currently Solves the Problem

Research Group work

Social Listening

Surveys

Informal Interviews

Perspective Taking

Building Empathy Maps

Day 2

Moving from Problem Orientation to Solution Orientation

Building a Design Brief

Introducing the 5 Thinking Hats

“What if”

Creative ideation to identify the best solution, ignoring all constraints

“What wows”

Consulting with stakeholders to identify the absolute best ideas

Investigating story-telling as a technique to communicate ideas

“What works”

Here, we come back to the real world and think about how we’ll deliver the solution

What are the features?

What advantages do they give the customer / user?

How is the customer / user benefitted by the solution?

Groups present their ideas and their process

About the Trainer

Dr. Chris Archer-Brown has been involved in technology for 30 years, from mainframe tools in the 1990s to blockchain authentication in recent years. He co-founded a data-led consumer intelligence agency in the early 2000s and, following its acquisition conducted his Ph.D. on influence in social media at the University of Bath. He went on to become Professor of Digital Entrepreneurship and Chair of Design Thinking at one of the UK’s leading creative Universities. During that time, he has been actively involved as a board advisor to several digital companies, with a focus on their marketing activities. Recently, he returned to commercial life, aiming to contribute to creating a sustainable, ethical and equal digital economy.