Thesis - Autonomous Toolkit by Fee Schmidt-Soltau

Autonomous Toolkit Design Thinking made available for Creative Collaborations

Fee Schmidt-Soltau Major | Written Piece Master of European Design Glasgow School of Art 2010

Fee Schmidt-Soltau Glasgow School of Art Master of European Design Year 5 Dissertation 2009/2010

Supervisors Historical & Critical Studies: David Sweeney Design: Mil Stricevic

Synopsis The world is becoming increasingly more social with expanding social networks,

The individual will gain a greater role to contribute their time, skills and creativity in the

spreading open source projects and wider involvement of users in the development of

realms of less hierarchal structures within this movement towards more creative local

products and services under the label of cocreation, co-design and co-production. It is

and small scale social innovations around their domain of expertise. Therefore also the

a movement towards mutualism.

empowerment to initiate, facilitate, design and implement small social innovations becomes necessary. This thesis suggests the need of according tools that can be deployed

This conditions the increasing interest in design thinking and the labeling of ordinary

into those highly motivated hubs as a an essential necessity to foster such

people as ‘the real experts’ to primarily align the product development outcome with

collaborations.

the enduser’s desirability. Therefore user engagement methods became already core skills of the design process and are increasingly spreading outside the design consul-

Therefore this thesis will explore tools currently applied in user design research to learn

tancies, towards business schools and corporate management, who adopts these

from and adopt them with the aim to derive at characteristics for an autonomous tool-

processes in the business strategy. Eventually politics and by that the society - or is it

kit, which foster grassroots initiated community activities to gain momentum without

vice versa? - is acknowledging the benefits of enabling and empowering active user

external forces and facilitation. This theoretical research shall be used as a foundation

involvement in the creation of the process outcomes.

in the further studio work, to eventually design a toolkit which is appropriate for the

A recent article in the Financial Times confirms the support of mutualism as a core

above described aspiration.

election campaign strategy. The most ambitious aim of some Labour MPs has been for a return to more building societies [...] to allow parents to get involved with running networks of children’s centre. 1

1 Pickard, Jim, ‘Labour seeks to lead cooperative agenda’ Financial Times, London (05.04. 2010)

Content

Definitions

Creative Collaborations

Designing Autonomy

Discovery Tools

Synthesis Tools

Storytelling Tools

Beyond Tools

Conclusion

Bibliography

Definitions User Centred Design (UCD) research process concentrates on the interaction between

Ideation is the process of brainstorming and coming up with ideas. The ideation process

humans and products and services in order to gain understanding, information, inspi-

can either be a pure brainstorming session, where wild ideas are encouraged to lead

ration and empathy to derive at improved services and innovations. The research is

to extreme and eventually novel ideas. Or be more focussed in an already specified

executed with different degrees of participant involvement.

scenario and within tighter defined constrains.

Synthesis is the combining of constituent elements of separate material or abstract

Design Thinking is the discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and skills to match

entities into a single or unified entity. Synthesis in design research provides meaning

people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy

and direction for the ideation stage, by making sense of the gathered materials in the

can convert into customer value and market opportunity. 2

form of observation and dialogue. This aids interpretation and thus the extraction of key insights and opportunities. Synthesis is the the key to make sense of gathered research

Co-creation involves users and participants within the idea generation phase or

data to derive insights and interpretations. This is vital to inspire the next stage of the

throughout the entire design process. Within this setting, designers act as facilitators to

design process, the ideation, or to communicate to the client. It identifies the project’s

steer the idea generation process.

opportunities. Co-Production means within the context of public services and social design, the Design Research Tools can be applied at two stages of the design process. Tools are con-

generation and implementation of a service within an equal and reciprocal relationship

versation guides or interactive material which aid a conversation or ask the participants

between professionals and people using the service. 3

to respond in a personal manner. The purpose is to gain understanding, empathy, insights and inspiration for the next stage of the design process. Many design consultan-

Creative Collaboration is a collaboration between people and stakeholders who come

cies such as Ideo or Engine establish their own tool sets, some of which are published

together out of their own accord to change or challenge existing local problems.

online. For the purpose of the thesis the tools will be closer examined which I will refer to as Discovery Tools, Synthesis Tools and Storytelling Tools. 2 Tim Brown quoted in Martin, The Design of Business, (Massachusetts, Harvard Business School Press, 2009) p.62 3 Boyle, David,‘The Challenge of Co-Production’, London, Nesta (2009) p.113

Creative Collaborations There is strong evidence within the design landscape, as well as out with it, that suggests an increase in collaborations which use creative thinking in order to produce innovation on a local level. This evidence can be seen in both the business and the public sectors. This section draws out the current development of cocreation, co-design and co-production.

Creative Collaborations

Co-creation Business/Users

Advertisement headlines such as ‘Creative Thinking meets Business Logic’ 4, Continuum, one of the largest design consultancies globally, makes a strong statement about the increasing relevance within businesses of employing creative thinking. On a consultancy level, designers ‘…solve complex problems by understanding what is meaningful to people…’ 5 using a human centred design process. This can reveal profitable innovation possibilities. The advertising headline also reveals another setting in which design-

Business

ers are increasingly becoming relevant, removed from the traditional realm of research

People

for new products or services and into other business sectors. Designers are beginning to teach the design process to business employees, so that they can increasingly use creative thinking internally. This can be used to improve communications, strategy alignment or to promote quick problem solving. These employees are also referred to as ‘silent designers.’ 6 However, this concept of silent design is not new, the term having been coined already in a business school study from 1987 by Peter Gorb and Angela Dumas. 7 The study states that employees have ideas and suggestions on what to improve, whilst managers have the responsibility to encourage greater confidence

Silent Design

Designers

in exploring and expressing such ideas. This clearly runs along the same hierarchy as

Co-design Design/Users

standard business practice.

4 Headline, Continuum advertising in Guardian Supplement, p.10 5 Subtext, Continuum advertising in Guardian Supplement, p.10 6 Nick Marsh, ‘In celebration of the silent designer’ in Guardian Supplement, p. 2 7 Peter Gorb and Angela Dumas, ‘Silent design’ in Design Studies, Volume 8, Issue 3 (London, London Business School, 1987) pp.150-156 8 Nick Marsh, ‘In celebration of the silent designer’ in Guardian Supplement, p. 2

‘Design thinking can help silent designers to find their voices’. 8 This understanding of design thinking could be seen as downgrading design. However the diversifying role of the designer to facilitator and teaching the process shows the changing mindset of creative thinking within business. Designers are increasingly called on to work on business strategy as well as user centred innovations. The recent Guardian supplement from the

15th March 2010 on service design highlights the changing perception and role from

that intuitive thinking misses opportunities for innovations in order to keep business

formgiving to holistic system thinking.

sustained. Thus, Martin suggests that there is a significant difference between analytical and intuitive thinkers and that the two thinking processes do not match, which can

The notion of the silent designer and their increasing voice within business structures

result in the ‘predilection gap’ thus communication conflicts. However in his book The

has developed considerably since its first appearance in the late 1980s. Practice today

Design of Business he states that design thinking will balance analytical mastery and in-

could be seen to suggest a shift in hierarchy towards mutualism, at least within the UK

tuitive originality in a dynamic interplay causing a movement along the funnel. Design

9 (referred to as post bureaucratic society), to encourage employees to take responsi-

thinking firms will stand apart in their willingness to engage in the task of continuously

bility and ownership over their work to be active agents for change. 10 Such employees

redesigning their business. 13

are able to create value themselves, as ‘... the important innovation that creates real value is found all over the place – at all the different points where employees interact

This view contradicts that of Cross, who states that the creative leap is merely crossing

with customers, users, internal stakeholders.’ 11

the gap between functional design requirements and the formal design structure of a potential new product. Cross argues that the creative cognitive act is not so much tak-

The perception of creative thinking is changing and has changed over the last decade.

ing a leap, but building a bridge between problem requirements and solution propos-

According to Roger Martin, the designer’s asset is ‘abductive logic’. 12 This he sees as

als. 14 This follows the notion that everything new is a modification of something that

being a kind of logic that does not reflect on the past but rather creates logical leaps

already exists, a variation of SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Magnify, Put to

into innovations. He continues that analytical thinking, associated with the business

other uses, Eliminate, Rearrange). He explains further that this perceived leap can be

mind, holds its strengths in honing and refining existing structures, but lacks abductive logic, which creates innovation. This is a skill designers are trained for, which enables them to move through a cognitive process, which Martin refers to as the ‘knowledge funnel’. This funnel has three stages of mystery, heuristic and algorithm. The business mind is good at refining within each of these stages to derive at higher efficiency, however the designer is able to take creative leaps across into the next stage. This is where the benefit of design for business is stemming from, associated with the idea

modelled by procedures and is therefore learnable. This falls in place with ‘productive 9 Pickard, Jim, ‘Labour seeks to lead co-operative agenda’ in Financial Times 05.04.2010 10 catalysts of change refer to external factors that initiate change. This can be a system, an organisation or an initiative 11 Nick Marsh, ‘In celebration of ‘silent designers’’ in Guardian Supplement p.2 12 Martin, Roger, The Design of Business: Roger Martin in Conversation with Bruce Nussbaum (Youtube, 12.3.2010) 13 Martin, The Design of Business, pp. 6-7 14 Cross, Nigel, Designerly Ways of Knowing, (London, Springer-Verlag, 2006) p.44 15 Cross, Designerly Ways of Knowing, p.27

thinking’, which according to Wertheimer (1959), is the directional quality of thought. This model is further defined by Tim Hurson based on a six steps procedure which is referred to later in this thesis as the Design Thinking model. Designing is a form of skilled behaviour. Developing any skill usually relies on controlled practice and the development of technique. The performance of a skilled

practitioner appears to flow seamlessly, adapting the performance to the circum-

Another type of collaboration is between businesses and customers. Presently we are

stances without faltering. But learning is not the same as performing, and under-

living through the largest increase in expressive capacity in human history 17 voiced

neath skilled performance lies mastery of technique and procedure. 15

through many-to-many communication under the names of crowd sourcing, open source and online social networks. Co-creation refers to an increased interaction be-

One can therefore conclude that design is a skill that can be performed through con-

tween brands and customers. The terms ‘collaboration’ and ‘the wisdom of crowds’ are

trolling cognitive processes, which designers are better at because they are trained to

associated with websites, which enable people to be involved in the brand’s experienc-

do it. However, as they are increasingly passing on their methods to silent designers

es such as mystarbucksidea.com, or Nokia’s ‘design by community’ 18. Both examples

it is important to consider the reasons for this development. It could be seen to either

invite people to contribute towards design specifications.

be caused by the positive attitude associated with designers or the pragmatism that is perceived through solution focused outcomes. It could be argued that analytical think-

Here, ‘collaboration’ and ‘wisdom of crowds’ could be perceived as simply buzz words.

ing is losing its weight as the world becomes more social. Employers increasingly look

In the given examples, the amount of creative contribution is actually very limited

for enthusiastic and sociable people rather than focusing on the excellence of grades as

through the offered tools. Considering Design by Community, the user interface con-

social skills are extremely important when networking, honing business relations and

sists of five sliders with different attributes showing this week’s specification sources

team working. Analytical thinking is a reflective cognitive process that focuses on the

for material preferences of mobile phones. Therefore, the users’ choices are very

past in order to derive at decisions for future actions. This is the scientific convergent

limited. The overall selection affects a traffic light indicator ranging from ‘not ambitious

left side of the brain, which tries to derive at one identifiable correct answer.16 The

enough’, ‘perfect mix’ to ‘too way out there’. To get the green light to proceed, the sliders

divergent right side of the brain (associated with creativity) on the other hand seeks

need to be positioned centrally, resembling the average phone of today. Therefore, the

alternatives and is generally optimistic. It promotes action rather than getting weighed

real goal of Nokia’s intention can be questioned. They reach a lot of their users through

down by existing problems. This is the value of creative thinking. This can be seen

this medium and collect quantitative data based on pre-determined settings. The

to encourage the independence of the individual through greater social sensitivity,

limitation of the sliders is criticised in comments on the web page, but nevertheless

increased problem solving on a personal level, and thus a higher degree of flexibility within business, which is considered to be closely connected with innovation.

16 Cross, Designerly Ways of Knowing, p.22 17 Shirky, Clay, How Social Media Can Make History (www.TED.com) min 2:07 18 Nokia, Design by Community, (http:// conversations.nokia.com/design-by-community, 5.4.2010)

it communicates to the majority of users a perceived freedom, as they can be directly involved in the creation of the material, colour and texture of future phones. It can also be said that the website is educating the users and their expectations of the new

phones to come and creating curiosity about what is coming, for example new material finishes such as ‘liquid metal’.This kind of perceived freedom is a marketing strategy to create greater brand loyalty. The creative aspect provides consumers with the impression that they can influence their future and their experiences through the marketing label of co-creation, resembling the current shift in mindset of society. Martin Lindstrom in Brand Sense describes brand loyalty as partially a substitute relationship for the decrease of faith. The emancipation of users as well as the promotion of a more social and creative lifestyle crystallises when observing branding of global electronic companies. New technologies increasingly invite the users to depart reality for an alternative exciting world that they can shape themselves. For instance, Canon’s current slogan is ‘You Can’, describing their photos as ‘Great photos more than pictures. They’re stories. Cameras can help you take more than pictures. They deserve to be printed, framed, looked at, discussed and enjoyed. That’s why with Canon you can’. 19 It could be argued that people are given the impression that they can create and, of course by buying the product shape their futures or recreate their pasts through sharing and reinventing their creations. After all, with increasing resolution and augmented realities, 19 Canon UK, (www.canon.co.uk, 5.3.2010) 20 Cultural and Political Statement (Edinburgh, Scottish Executive, April 2004) 21 Cultural Commissions Remit (www. scotland.gov.uk, 2004) 22 Scottish Executive Response on Cultural Review (Edinburgh, Scottish Executive, 2006) p. 9 23 Generation C (www.trendwatching.com, 5.3.2010) 24 Note: refers to as ‘collective generativity’ -’Designers will transform from being designers of ‘stuff’ to being the builders of scaffolds for experiencing. And ordinary people will begin to use and express their latent creativity.’ 25 Sanders, Research Design Conference talk, (2008)

the difference is merely a perception and linguistic tautology. Creativity moves beyond the realm of the individual creative to the creativity of an entire culture. It reaches as far as Scottish Government policy. Creativity can be seen as key expressions such as ‘…culture defines who we are [...] to go back to human imagination, our innate creativity is the most potent force for individual change and social vision.’ 20 This shows the power in creativity to engage and encourage personal devel-

opment and to communicate a vision to aspire to. This continues by defining a ‘creative

However, the wider acknowledgment of using design thinking, by summoning ordi-

community’ as the outcome of a nation that encourages the habit of creativity through

nary people as ‘real experts’, and addressing employees as silent designers, refers to a

the release and celebration of its citizens’ talents. 21 ‘People who engage with culture

change in attitude, the feeling and ability that people can impact on their life actively

do so because they are stimulated, entertained and challenged by it.’ 22 In this context

rather than accepting the current conditions. The emphasis on collaboration and thus

creativity is equated to culture. It is assumed to change people’s attitude and behaviour

‘social participation’ is presently equalled to mental well-being. A national survey of

towards a more social being.

psychiatric problems in the UK shows that for an individual, a restricted social network is ‘…a major predictor of mental health problems in the future.’ 26 This is also confirmed

In the social context, the household economy, users are becoming increasingly rec-

by Csikszentmihalyi in his book Flow, where he states that solitude makes it difficult to

ognised to be the ‘real experts’ within the provision of social services and publications

keep the ‘…order of the mind from within…’ because ‘…we need external goals, exter-

such as the Nesta Discussion Paper about Co-production reflects this, shadowing the

nal stimulation, external feedback to keep attention directed…’ to inhibit wander and

current interest in how the ‘real experts’ can be involved within the design process as

chaotic thoughts. 27

co-creators or even co-producers and their impact in social innovation. Whether or not one agrees with this, it could explain the strong emphasis on collaboraThe biggest shift in mind set this has brought along is the empowerment of the

tion within the social sector at present. Sanders sees people as being assets mobilised

average citizen to unleash their creativity to create, produce and share rather than

through designers. However, it could be said that the generalisation of designers taking

passively consume provided content. 23

the lead in facilitating these collaborations is unrealistic and could be conceived as opposed to bottom-up strategy. True grassroot initiated collaborations need to stem

This goes hand in hand with design thinking and Liz Sanders’ future vision beyond co-

from within communities themselves. Designers who enter a community to facilitate

creation. 24 Sanders, a reknowned speaker within the field of design research, refers to

a process are in essence following a similar top-down approach, to that of external

‘scaffolds,’ 25 by which she means platforms of interaction, that amplify the creativity of everyday people. Sanders’ vision relies solely on using designers as facilitators. Looking at the language used within the paper Design Serving People, she depicts designers as the catalysts for change, enabling and empowering these creative collaborations.

26 Boyle, ‘The challenge of co-production’, p.19 27 Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Flow (New York, Harper&Row, 1990) p.169 28 Buxton ‘Social Innovation is my Motivation’ Guardian supplement, p. 6 29 Note: this has been highlighted as a major concern in the co-design workshops of Getgo Glasgow

organisations, councils or consultants. In response to this, designers enter the setting with the specific objective involving community members in order to create engagement and participation, developing increased ownership. People are invited to complain about the current problems of a service and are involved in the creation of ideas

to improve it. ‘It’s really important not to design for people but to design with them.

not understood by the community up to the point of winning. The project was cel-

[…] You have to motivate people to become part of social projects to get the com-

ebrated as successful based on its comprehensive community involvement. However it

munity on board’ 28 The assumption that this involvement will lead to ownership and

can be said that the project was still top-down and the designers’ communication skills

possible co-production within the final outcome can be questioned as it relies on

were its selling point.

change of routine and neglects the fear of losing state benefits if they were to co-pro‘We (Designers) will help them (the people) balance consumptive with creative

duce. 29

experience. Designers will no longer design for people, they will learn to design The above is a statement published in response to Social Innovation and the Getgo

with people. Co-designing will require new forms of communication to support the

Glasgow project, a student project by the Glasgow School of Art and national winner

collective creativity that arises between designers and everyday people. 30

of the Sustain Our Nation Competition set by the Audi Foundation. From my participation in this project I can use it as, a prime example to elaborate on such a criticism. The

The language deployed to explain design in response to social change could be con-

project’s objective was to design a social enterprise in a local community over the

strued as self-centred and arrogant. Designers are said to ‘enable’ and ‘empower’ people

duration of four months. The design students started work in a community, the Wynd-

to do things they were not able to do by themselves. Both verbs suggest a ‘helping’

ford, a housing estate in Maryhill, north Glasgow, and started collecting insights that

outside intervention. It is undeniable that design has a great impact on the world’s

represented the community’s issues, whilst attempting to engage with the community

future by solving (as well as creating new) problems. However, this is not necessarily a

members. Through an act of reciprocity by assisting the resurfacing of their football

justification to make designers and their tools the key to unleash social capital within

pitch, which was aimed to be in defiance of the local council, community members

local collaborations. Alternatively, creative collaborations should be established at a

in turn attended co-design workshops. Ideas were generated collaboratively based

grassroot level, autonomously. The question, which will be addressed in the second

on research footage and issues collected prior to the workshop. However, none of the

section of the thesis is: what factors or tools would need to be initially provided to

participants envisioned themselves to be responsible for the implementation of the

encourage autonomous working and therefore what would be the role of the designer

project once the national final had been won. However, even though the project was

within this system initially?

communicated to be in the co-creation spirit, the majority of the design detailing was executed external to the community so that the details of the social enterprise were

30 Sanders, ‘Design Serving People’ in Copenhagen Cumulus Working Papers (Copenhagen, University of Art & Design Helsinki, 2006) p. 32

Designing Autonomy This section will highlight considerations that foster creative collaborations. For this a process and tools will be suggested. These tools would assist the cognitive and creative process, which deliberately changes perceptions and creates an environment to harness collaborations and removing the need of a facilitating designer. These will be referred to as autonomous collaborations henceforth.

Designing Autonomy The past section has highlighted the increasing role of design thinking within business as well as the social sector. Both scenarios provide evidence that people will be encouraged to apply creative and design thinking associated with problem solving to their everyday lives. This suggests the need for autonomy and autonomous collaborations, which offer a reliance on the self, giving opportunity for action arising within, without such an influence from external forces. Considering the teamwork process in design, an effective collaboration requires the use of a process that guides and visualises goals to

1. INDIVIDUAL

work towards. In order to achieve this within the social context, designing an autono-

Recognising and enhancing peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assets, skills and interests

mous toolkit could be extremely useful to facilitate collaborations of heterogenic as well as homogenenic groups. Tools in design are referred to as tasks and activities that guide the cognitive process by using visual and creative methods. These tools deliberately challenge the status quo. This is believed to derive at more imaginative outcomes

2. COLLECTIVE

and in the current practice is achieved through the facilitating designer. The design for

Productivity Tools which provide measurable outcomes; Mutualism through increased reciprocity and trust through feedback and involvement

conditions of autonomy requires that participants act out of their own wish to participate and the environment shapes their behaviour. According to Skinner this is achieved through the control of the environment as everything is a consequence of another. 31 Schuman, in his book Creating a Culture of Collaboration, 32 determines collaboration criteria as the following: learning space, aligning visions and values, relational quality and benefit.

3. SPACE

An inspiring surrounding which fosters creativity, experimentation and joy; Social Networks which provide benchmarking and best practice examples

Although collaboration is likely to flourish in synergy with its environment, based on 31 Skinner as referred by Dworkin,Gerald, The therory and practice of autonomy, p. 154 32 Schuman, Creating a Culture of Collaboration, pp. 115-8

social interaction and visible communication, the scope of the thesis will focus on tangible tools that support individual as well as collective productivity, as referred to

by Robert Putnam as one of the core criteria of social capital in his book Bowling Alone.

focus is at the front end of this process: Observe & Understand, Gather & Make, Synthe-

It requires tools and training that enhance individual productivity, social connections

sise & Frame and Generate & Ideate. These are aimed to develop a shared understand-

in which norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness arise and increased productivity

ing of the context. This is needed due to the lack of resources (capital, surplus time,

through both individual and collective and networks of community engagement that

and organisational capacity) within the household economy that would be needed to

foster sturdy norms. 33 For this, the tools of the user centred design process (UCD) in

develop ideas into implementable actions. The interdependent market mechanisms

relation to their appropriateness in the context of autonomous collaborations will be

cannot be ignored. 35 Therefore in order to achieve at shared understanding, by the

discussed. The choice to examine this process in the context is derived from the

examination of the current design research practice, empathy, interpretation and sto-

increasing interest in design thinking and its demystification which suggests that it

rytelling are three factors that can be used to affect the depth of insights. These factors

is adoptable out with the designer’s facilitation. The necessity for a process as well as

are referred to as discovery tools, synthesis tools and storytelling tools, each of which

tools stems from design practice operated to control cognitive processes and direc-

require their own toolkit.

tional thinking. However, considering the design process is more than design thinking, there are other factors that need to be addressed for its adaptation, such as team roles, visual communication, presentation and hands on skills. The purpose of the UCD process is empathy, gathering insights and thus a thorough understanding to develop actionable outcomes. Actionable outcomes refer to improvements, implementations or innovations through a product or a service which create value. Tamsin Smith from Engine describes Engine’s process as Insights – Ideas – Action, where insights refer to unknown truths, meaning and surprises. 34 The processes models published on design consultancies websites resemble a rationalised depiction for the purpose of communication to clients. However, it provides a step by step instruction with separated stages that suggest that non designers can easily follow the process. Whereas the UCD process tries to derive at actionable outcomes, the toolkit’s

33 Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone, 2000, pp.19-21 34 Interview from 1.4.2010, Engine is a London based service design company 35 Althusser states, expanding on Marx’s metaphor of society, that ideas arising out of the ‘base level’ (community initiated) can only work within the parameters of the societies system of ‘ideology and repression.’ (Althusser, Essays on Ideology, p5-24) Simultaneously, there is also the awareness that most social change is neither purely top-down nor bottom-up. It involves alliances between the top and the bottom, or between what are called the ‘bees’ (the creative individuals with ideas and energy) and the ‘trees’ (the big institutions with the power and money to make things happen to scale). (Bernard Mandeville, Fable of the Bees)

Discovery Tools

Storytelling Tools

Research and engagement tools which focus on critical consciousness to gain understanding and insights

Observe & Understand

Visualisation tools to inspire ideas and reflection and thus the exchange of view points leading to discussions

Gather & Make

Frame & Synthesise

Ideate & Generate

Vote & Develope

Test & Feedback

Action & Planning

Synthesis Tools

Analytical and creative tools to make sense of the findings to extract insights and opportunities. Adapted Design Thinking model used by d.school (Institute of Design at Stanford)

Discovery Tools One can travel the world and see nothing. To achieve understanding it is necessary not to see many things, but to look hard at what you do see. 36 (Giorgio Morandi) Discovery Tools refers to a range of tools employed to gather data in the form of photos, quotes and video, collected through means of varying degrees of participation, ranging from observation to participatory approaches, such as shadowing and cultural probes. It can be said that these methods are deployed to gain an overall understanding of the context, identifying initial issues in preparation for more in-depth questions that look for people’s underlying motivations. For this purpose, preconditioning tools are used. For instance cultural probes 37 or participant journals. 38 These packs, containing a diary or a disposable camera, are provided to the participants prior to a contextual interview or workshop, in order to gear the participants’ attention and consciousness towards the examined experience. The probe pack aims to provide means of communication to derive at people’s past experience through thoughts, notes and photos so that they are not taken off guard in the contextual interview. The indefinite use of non-verbal media provides a wider possibility of expression as well as interpretation and thus discourse. It could be said that in this stage the participants act as the designer’s muse and are rarely involved on equal terms. This can partly be explained through logistics and increased costs to the client. In the context of community participatory action research (PAR), however, a method 36 Giorgio Morandi quoted in Universal Experience, p.23 37 See Mattelmäki Cultural Probes 38 Engine Tool (www.enginegroup.org, 22.3.2010)

7 29

called ‘photo novella’ which is part of the methodology photovoice (Wang and Burris), enables participants to tell their stories themselves. This method is associated with

boring – and their universe had duly fallen into line with their expectations.’ 42

challenging hegemonies through creating voice and challenging preconceptions. 39 In the Getgo Glasgow project co-design workshop, the discovery tool deployed was a video illustrating the findings, the interviews conducted and the feel of the Wyndford

Costs and equipment need to be taken into consideration in the construction of such

estate which was perceived by the design team. These insights were collected using

kits. Methods, such as Room Travel 43 may provide inspiring opportunities. Maistre

‘photoelicitation. ‘ 40 The video had a positive tonality whilst remaining unrefined

describes this as ‘...a way of travelling that might be infinitely more practical for those

through sketchy camera movement, transition and pop music. This was aimed to de-

neither as brave nor as wealthy as those explorers.’ 44 Room travel encourages to look

crease the gap between the community members and the designers. The participants

at the known with fresh eyes to rediscovers some of its qualities. Ultimately, this plays

were surprised and met the video with enthusiasm, even requesting to have a copy

on the notion that the pleasure we derive from a journey may be dependent more on

themselves.

the mindset we travel with than on the destination we travel to. Applying this thinking to a local surrounding may encourage a change in mindset but it also requires partici-

One of the purposes of discovery tools is to create a critical consciousness. Paulo Freire

pants to look in places the eye may be blind. Tools need to encourage exploration and

(1970) suggests that we become blind to what is immediately in front of us. This can

invite the sharing of perspectives in an engaging and interesting way. This also refers to

be based on the hermeneutical circle (Schön), which states that experience structures

discovery out with the immediate surrounding. In service design this would be referred

expression and expression structures experience. This means that associations are

to as benchmarking. By looking at other solutions, ‘myths’ are created which make them

culturally conditioned and so are the afterthoughts that form the reflection expressing

seem more achievable. ‘Myths assure text with a gaze man what he is about to do has

consciousness. Therefore, the way a situation is perceived and communicated reflects the inner motivations and thoughts, which participants may not be aware of. Autonomous collaborations do not have the benefit of the outsider’s gaze to see their surrounding with new and fresh eyes. Tools could be developed to cater for this. Freire states that by moving from naïve to critical consciousness and challenging what he refers to as the ‘...boundary situations through which people limit themselves and their potential for action.’ 41 From this vision, a plan for change can be made, leading to community action. ‘They had fallen into the habit of considering their universe to be

39 Purcell, Rod, ‘Images for change: community development’ in Community Arts and Photography, Community Development Journal Vol44 No 1 (2009) p. 11 40 Purcell, ‘Images for Change, Community Development’ p. 115 41 Purcell, ‘Images for change: Community development’ p. 112 42 Mark Gottdiener in Universal Experience p.136 43 Xavier De Maistre in Universal experience p.139 44 Note: here refers to the notion of travel and exploring, the outsider entering a context with a gaze 45 Mircea Eliade, in Myth and reality, Universal experience, pp139-141

already been done; in other words, it helps him overcome doubts as to the result of his undertaking. There is no reason to hesitate before setting out on a sea voyage, because the mythical hero has already made it in a fabulous time.’ 45

Synthesis Tools Interpretation functions as the glue that binds together realism and fiction – observation and vision. The fundamental paradox in design interpretation is that it needs to build both on what exists and what does not yet exist. 46 In design consultancies, the process of synthesis is not well documented, 47 referred to as the ‘magic of design,’ 48 it is a time consuming process involving iterate arranging to extract patterns and categories. The process cannot be solved through a quantitative process or a systematic structuring as this would over look insightful details. The value stems from the interpreters’ meaning by empathising and imagining 49 and is a skill that is learnt through repetition of the process. There are two basic approaches to interpretation. Salu Ylirisku, in his book Designing with Video, refers to them as the grounded and the framed approach. The grounded is based on the assumption that meaning and structure of the interpretation must emerge from the data itself. The framed analysis grows out of pre-conceived understandings and is therefore highly subjective. 50 In design, the frames approach, would be aimed for as it requires less time and therefore would be less labour intensive whilst a narrower focus would provide more relevance. It can be said that synthesis is highly dependent on the interpreters’ subjective experience, responding to the data and the method adopted to gather insights. Therefore, it is strongly interlinked with the stage of discovery. For the 46 Salu Ylirisku, Designing with Video, p.101 47 Tamsin Smith (Engine Phone Interview, 1.4.2010) 48 Jon Kolko (Email correspondence, 3.4.2010) 49 Mattekmäki, Design Probes, p43 50 Salu Ylirisku, Designing with Video, pp.102-3

7 33

autonomous toolkit this means that it would need to cater for a range of media whilst containing matrix and sorting structures, for example 2by2 or spider diagrams; trying to imitate the process as employed in design consultancies minus the predetermined experience. However, it is difficult to imagine this to be an engaging collaborative

process and the likelihood that it may appear to be an intimidating task, if participants

‘Design from Life,’ 55 in which the ToE process was deployed was skeptical. 56 The

were faced with a large amount of photos, notes or video and a grid that is supposed to

data is captured from of notes, subsequently put into Excel, grouped and clustered

make sense of it all, is high.

in different ways until four words filter out as the ‘superordinary summary’ which are then elaborated upon in a poetic manner. Unfortunately, the project did not lead into

However, Tom Kelly in his book The 10 Faces of Innovation, describes the concept of

ideation to judge its response in a new context. However, the indepth understanding of

an Idea Wallet, in which human factors specialists 51 collect their insights as they go

the experience can be questioned as the verbalisation abstracts it beyond its subjective

along executing the research. This suggests that it is a continuous process that starts in

and condenses its richness experience to quantifying data. However, taking into con-

the discovery phase and leads to ideas and insights as the process continues. Further

sideration the notion of association and inspiration, the abstracted medium of poetry

discussions with designers have also revealed that after interviews with stakeholders

could create a valuable dialectic response that removes the finding from its original

or users they execute a ‘download session’ in which they write all their impressions

context. However, this still needs to ground itself sufficiently to provide clues of mean-

down, rather than looking through the notes or listening to the recording. It can also be

ing to remain relevant. This refers back to the idea of Roger Martin of design thinking of

argued that transcripts of interviews are primarily written for the viability of the client

a required balance between analytical and intuitive thinking.

rather, and aid the detailing process of impressions if needed, than creating insights. 52 Therefore, this particular toolkit needs to be an interlinked system, that sits between the other kits by creating value which builds a bridge between findings and storytelling. There have been attempts at automating and structuring the synthesis process for example through the use of Excel spread sheets. Mind Models by Indi Young, group and categorise people’s quotes into a visual matrix diagram trying to highlight beliefs, drives and ‘what makes them tick.’ 53 The method, Taxonomy of Experience (ToE), 54 by Ian Coxen attempts to arrive at ‘superordinary descriptions’ of an experience through a nine stage process. However, the feedback of students, who attended the project

51 Note: in this case refers to anthropologists who execute UCD Research at Ideo as part of the Design Team 52 Manoj Kothari, Onio Design, (Pune, July, 2009) 53 Indi Young, Design Research Conference Talk (2007) 54 Ian Coxen, Website & Email correspondence (www.bluearth.net, 10.3.2010) 55 KISD, International School of Design in Cologne, Germany, Project Autumn 2007 56 Eeva Campbell, Lukas Golyszny, Students who attended ‘Design for Life’ Project 57 Bas Raijmakers, ‘Design Documentaries: Inspiring Design Research Through Documentary Film’, (London, Goldmiths Collage, 2008) p. 2 58 Kroker, Arthur, ‘21st Century Graffiti Detroit Tagging’ in 1000 Days of Theory, (Ctheory, 6/7/2005) 59 Partington, Angela referring to Negus in ‘The best bits: Non-narrative pleasures and creative practice’ in Journal of Media Practice Volume 9, University of West of England (2008)

This recontextualisation, is mentioned in the research paper Design Documentaries: Inspiring Design Research Through Documentary Film. It refers to a ‘...dialectic relationship between content and unadulterated truth and presentation...’ that is created through people responding to other people’s stories. 57 The recontextualisation encourages discussion as the response is not based on one single individual, it has been removed from its mimesis truth. This can be associated with the concept of assemblage. Assemblage refers to arranging data in a new way, which according to Lyotard can provide a different way to structure logic to derive at knowledge. 58 However, the new compositions still need to remain recognisable and familiar, as creativity is only possible within established conventions and expectations which enable some intro-

duction of innovative elements. 59 This refers to non-designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creativity deriving at incremental innovations. Considering ideas stem from subjective response and reflection with the past, if there are too many unknowns no magical solution will appear. For instance in the Wyndford project, the participants were not able to assist to come up with an innovative business model to sustain the Social Enterprise. They were only able to reflect and iterate what they had seen elsewhere. This correlates with Arthur Koestler, who differentiates between bisociation and association - association refers to already established connections, bisociation combines previously unrelated ideas. 60 This consideration of abstraction by removing ownership of the findings or the story could lead to increased dialogue and shared understanding and is a concept to be taken into account for the autonomous toolkit. This would test whether data could be interacted with by the participants, removing the insight from its original setting and placing it in a new context of storytelling. By removing something from its original setting, it loses its authentic value but gains a shared and elaborated narrative. According to Koskinen in Empathic Design, storytelling can reconcile the apparent opposite skills of analysis and synthesis, allowing a more fruitful application of imagination and empathy in design. 61 Therefore, synthesis tools should portray the insights and opportunities in an inspirational dialectic manner which prompt people to respond through storytelling. 60 Knoester in Sanders, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Collective Creativityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in AIGA Journal of Interaction Design Education, (Commonwealth University Centre (2001) 61 Koskinen, Empathic Design, p108

Storytelling Tools An event is not what happened but what can be narrated. 62 Storytelling itself is a discovery for the teller. Stories can be important modes for storing knowledge and assigning meaning to our experiences whilst the storyteller, himself performs an investigative function. 63 Experience

Storytelling Experience

Experience

This investigative function is deployed in a variety of UCD research tools. Through the avoidance of direct and closed questions the teller is supposed to reveal personal thoughts and his subjective experience driven by his beliefs, motivation and past

Narrative

Cognition

experiences. These details are picked up upon and investigated further by the design researcher. On the other hand, storytelling also aids the process of self understanding. That is why experiences which are shared with others appear more vivid. It may also highlight aspects which were neglected as unimportant but are highly relevant to the understanding of the context. This learning refers to Forlizzi and Ford’s model 64 of

Sub-consciousness

the user experience. It defines the gap between the sub-conscious and the storytell-

Storytelling

ing experience as the experience that has cognitive attention, which differentiates the

Meaning

experience from the meta-experience. 65 This gap suggests that the teller tells an experience that does not necessarily depict the truth. However, audiences listen to these Forlizzi and Ford on User Experience in Koskinen, Empathic Design

62 Allen Feldman, ‘Formations of violence, the narrative of the body and political terror in northern Ireland’ (Chicago University Press, 1991) p.14 63 (Polkinghorne, 1988; Schank, 1990) in Koskinen, Empathic Design, p. 48 64 Koskinen, Empathic Design, p. 44 65 Meta-experience refers to a match between lived experience and reflection i.e. an experience that has become a routine and thus does is not detected by critical consciousness, Koskinen, Empathic Design, p. 44 66 Universal Experience, p. 20

stories and share them through imagination. ‘For a moment they share the lives of the unknown people, feel part of the same world, and forget about the other worlds that they have left behind.’ 66 Forlizzi and Ford suggest that the goal in design research is to arrive closer at the meaning of an experience. This point in their model is represented by where the experience

and the storytelling curve meet. This means that they try to derive at the experiences

One could say that these types of tools are conversational guides, which invite con-

which are meta and therefore acted upon spontaneously, not affecting conscious

structive responses. Conversational analysis recognises two types of talk in interaction.

thought but meeting expectations and past experience. Their point is that metaexperi-

Firstly, ordinary conversation, which is the

ences can be subject to thinking, discussion, writing and other forms of secondary ac-

default speech exchange system in all ‘talk-in-interaction’ and secondly institutional

tivities, referring to this as a constructive process which may lead to artistic inventions.

talk. 68 In the design context, the former is associated with non constructive conver-

However, considering human responses and the likelihood that they attempt to adapt

sation and thus aimed to be avoided. For this purpose tools, which engage and keep

to their surrounding this may cause findings from research methods to be biased, for

people’s interest and provide a goal to work towards are deployed. Visual stimuli such

example from focus groups and opinion polls, which are traditionally based on the

as inspiration cards can also bridge communication difficulties and memory blocks.

commentary given by participants. It is often the case what people say and do are very

69 They try to evoke people to talk, think and feel about subjects intuitively, creatively

different, this can be conscious as well as unconscious denial.

and personally, by using a large set of images which do not have a univocal meaning, so that the person creates their own meaning. They provide a basis for open responses,

Furthermore, human response consideration’ suggests that peoples’ opinions can

which avoid straight forward answers, which are prone to leave out important informa-

easily change depending upon context and circumstances. These considerations are

tion as people try to recall the medium and the reoccurring details in every experience

addressed by either the avoidance of too personal questions or by building a rela-

they have encountered.

tionship with participants. Especially in service design, research tools do not ask for personal motivations, instead being directed at responses to the service. Examples of

Lastly, there is the storytelling that refers to the conversation internal to the designer,

this are, the ‘journey map’ or ‘service prototyping’, 67 which let people plot out their

through the means of drawing to exploring and developing ideas. This is why stories

journey through space and time in correlation to the service on offer. The use of strong,

can be seen as a form of inquiry in which, rather than dissecting insights through

ambiguous and contradicting images and objects arouse opinions and stories about

analysis, one brings elements of the world together in the imagination to discover the potentialities of their interaction. In co-design settings, non verbal representations,

attitudes. Pictures serve as projective impulses into subjective memories and experiences, and facilitated storytelling.

67 Tools, Engine (www.enginegroup.org 21.3.2010) 68 Markee Numa, ‘Conversation Analysis: issue and problems, Chapter 62’, The University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Volume 15, (Springer US, USA) 69 Purcell, Rod, ‘Images for change’ p. 114)

such as collages with pictures and words, are used to let participants express themselves on a visual level.

Tools for the autonomous toolkit need to enable people to tell stories in a rich and

These are aspects associated with the front end of design research. This is aimed to

imaginative way. These storytelling tools need to not only incorporate verbal but also

develop empathy between stakeholders and a thorough understanding of the set-

visual aspects of expression. Oscar Wilde said ‘...give a man a mask and he’ll tell you the

ting though which the designer is able to weight the options of actionable outcomes.

truth’ but one could argue that rather than about recounting the truth, the primary

Problems within the social sector are largely based on lack of communication and in-

goal is to make people feel comfortable so that they open up and socially interact.

formation provision causing negative attitudes. This is currently largely tackled through service design consultancies by designing a website, used as a platform which people

In UCD there are a range of tools that provide a kind of mask through enactment activi-

are supposed to use to exchange and converse. However the lack of use, missing initia-

ties. For instance, the notion of play is used to let people describe possible scenarios of

tives and drivers, cause this to be only little success to initiate change. An activity that

how a service could work by using Playmobil figures and speech bubbles. This method

would require longer engagement, but is interesting to consider, are interventions.

is related to sequential art. Its core characteristics are speech bubbles and descriptive

A social intervention activity, which would encourage people to be creative about

scene capture, for instance known from comics and deployed in storyboard construc-

expressing something that is important to them, would remove the question of truth as

tion. If this is a familiar style of reading to the audience, it is likely to be engaging. For

narrative truth is a linguistic phenomenon, which is a performative event reflecting the

the narrator, the use of highly improbable characters to narrate with, as well as the

creator’s and reader’s experience and its plausibility. By the act of reading or listing, it

overall visual language, creates an ironic storytelling that releases anxiety as well as

becomes true as the reader is experiencing the words and imagination related to it. 71

requires stressing of the most relevant aspects of their concept. The use of a mask,

The activities offered by the StreetUniverCity in Berlin 72 can be said that, primarily aim

whether that is a literal disguise or a representational mask, such as associated

to harness confidence development through the acquisition of new skills as well as self

with video games and online avatars, enables untrained actors or shy people to interact

expression. It is exciting and appears to appeal to the target group. The course duration sets an achievable goal of three months.

without revealing their feelings in an open manner. 70 Puppet and mask scenarios also foster verbalisation as this requires emphasis, as less is expressed through body gestures. This has the potential to lead to new understanding and meaning through misunderstanding as well as precision.

70 Salu Ylirisku, Designing with Video, pp 153 71 Riffaterre, M. Fictional Truth, (Baltimore, John Hopkins Press, 1990), p. xiv 72 social institution for young adults without a school certificate. The ‘Street Master’ in rapping, cinematic expression and a range of other disciplines are offered as personal skill and confidence development. 73 Harper Douglas et all, Images Based Research, p.36

Although the social intervention component would be interesting to be taken into account for the construction of autonomous tools to encourage social interaction and expressive activities, the time and equipment constraints may hinder successful implememtation. However, at the other end of the expressive spectrum, there are quicker

tasks which enable people to visualise their meaning. The level of perfection is not

cohesive. Christoph Niemann’s example on the other hand provides quick means to

required, however this offers opportunities for a wider range of interpretations, as the

create clear communication pieces. It can be said to be a matter of expectations as to

level of abstraction suggests a finished solutions or conceptual ideas, which are used to

which method is best suitable. On the one hand, lack of refinement may create op-

reflect or elaborate upon by reflecting and suggesting alternatives. They work through

portunity for interpretation and further creative thought, whilst the lack of perfection

metaphor, are suggestive, empathic and descriptive.

relaxes the atmosphere. For this reason, in the Getgo Glasgow project the style of the communication material could be said to be unrefined. However, it suited the drawing

Photomontages are juxtaposed images combined with words and phrases to be found

skills of the audience, whilst communicating that the ideas were not finished and to

in magazines and newspapers from mass culture, which originally emerged in the

be reflected upon and elaborated by them, rather than the students imposing a final

1920s.73 Elements are easily recognisable but sometimes carry too much detail or too

result. The ambiguous character of sketches can assist creativity, as, ‘...confused things

high level of abstraction to be understood clearly in a coherent manner. Christoph

rouse the mind to new inventions.’ 77

Niemann,74 creates simple diagrams from lego pieces and simple text. Despite their level of abstraction, they are clear and compelling. They are quick to make, print and

Forlizzi and Fords model emphasises the importance of affordance. This means that

simple to write on the photo with a marker pen.

the tools need to provide sufficient visual clues for users to understand their use. The subset of affordance they refer to is based on location, context, prior experience and

The choice on realism or abstraction in the visual material should be dependent on the

current emotional state; spontaneous vs cognitive reaction. Tools need to address both

audience and context. Thinkpublic, 75 for instance, prefers to use real photos for clients

to some degree. The immediate reaction on what to do with the tools needs to corre-

such as the NHS, as photos of real experiences rather than sketches or interpretations

spond to spontaneity, however the tasks themselves should challenge, whilst not being

are more engaging. 76 They are easier to understand by an audience who work or act

too demanding, so that a level of motivation is sustained. The tools therefore need to be a mix of the two. In unintentional design, 78 a creative dialogue emerges when af-

in existing services rather than potential ones. Never the less, the use of photos may be problematic due to the challenges of composing a visually compelling and clear picture in the real space. The results are descriptive but lack luster and depth by capturing too much detail. This in turn distracts from the actual storytelling. There needs to be consideration of technique, screening out visual clutter to make images seem more

74 ‘Abstract City’ in New York Times (2009) 75 Note: Public Service Design Consultancy based in London 76 http://designforservice.wordpress. com/2009/01/20/thinkpublic-comic/ Paul Thurston (23.3.2010) 77 Leonardo da Vinci 78 Note: Unintentional design refers to objects used out with their design intended application

fordance is cognitive and thus requires improvisation skills.

Beyond Tools If you focus only on the innovations (that is an outcome-only focus), you risk killing creativity. But if you focus on the innovators, one thing Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned is you will most likely get both. In the end, creativity may be a latent capacity that is available to all of usâ&#x20AC;Śthat design thinking may be a kind of process that can begin to awaken it in more people than we had otherwise realized or imagined. The transformation to a more innovative culture requires the hard work of reshaping organizations and teams. Less we get overwhelmed by the enormity or the responsibility of the task, let us always remember that it always begins in our own individual transformation. And that gives us a place to start. And the rest, I trust, will follow. 79

7 47

Tools of course are only one factor affecting collaborations and social capital. The above statement points out the factors that need to be considered in the holistic system be-

Tools & Tasks

yond tools. It can also be said that Design Thinking is not all there is to creative capacity. Tools alone do not provide a platform for effective team working, even once tools have been adapted to suit their non designer audience, by using a language that

Social Fabric / Synergy

suits their present skill sets. However, effective teamwork roles cannot be ignored as successful collaboration and self organising requires team roles, accepted by all its participants. Autonomous collaborations must be self governing with democratic

hierarchies within.

Defined Team Roles

Tom Kelly, in his book The 10 faces of Innovation, describes a range of team roles that make up an innovative synergy. Similar roles are also described by the Belbin personality types, defining nine distinct roles of Plant, Evaluator, Co-ordinator, Resource Inves-

Constructive Conversation Feedback / Reflection

tigators, Implementers, Completer/Finishers, Teamworkers, Shapers and Specialists. 80 This is simply a tool to define roles and structure work loads whilst trying to avoid conflicts. However, it can be said that differing roles are accepted and even necessary within teams for effective creativity. For autonomous collaborations the role of modera-

Optimism / Inspired

$ 49

Implementation Factors e.g. Funding

tor needs to be fulfilled, whilst the moderator works amongst the group, it is his or her 79 George Kembel, Awakening Creativity, (http://fora.tv/2009/08/14/George_Kembel_Awakening_Creativity 15.3.2010) 80 www.belbin.com (10.4.2010 13:43) 81Rettberg, Scot, ‘All Together now: Collective Knowledge, Collective Narratives, and Architectures of Participation’ (College of New Jersey Capter9) referring to ARG ‘The beast’ 82 Ideaplay: The innovation kit for entrepreneurs, Engine (23.3.2010)

responsibility to ensure a task flow. Looking at collaborative games such as table top role play games and ARG (alternative reality games) it can be suggested that roles such as the puppet master 81 who write the backstory and provide the puzzles with clues to prompt the other players, are accepted and part of the game. The social fabric that is created through the notion of games is an important aspect to consider.

their own limits whilst the level structure continuously suits their current abilities. She The section Synthesis Tools, made mention of a possible need for a platform. Such a

calls gamers to have the potential to be ‘...super empowered hopeful individuals...’ 84

platform could be games because of their engaging social fabric and guided process. In

who, if the real world were anything like the virtual world, would have great capabilities

fact, design games are used for ideation, education purposes or team building exer-

to shift the worlds problems. The ideologies and the realisation of these principles are

cises. Their scope may be questionable at first sight, comparing it to project durations

questionable, however the concepts that the notion of game can cause changes in at-

in design consultancies. However it can be said that games provide a familiar platform

titude is a valuable aspect.

which people are accustomed to already, making use of cards, a board game, stickers, building blocks and game pieces. Upon familiarising themselves with the instructions

From this it can be deducted that a greater understanding of the self and optimism

people follow the game’s process. For this process, Ideaplay, 82 a marketing game that

can promote motivation, decision making and independence. However the environ-

takes an idea from scratch through the entire marketing process up to its presentation,

ment needs to be provided to encourage this development. The paper Writing Games

and a game for learning personal health development were more closely looked at.

and Collective Knowledge states that successful collaboration is always built upon

However, it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness through reading their online

constraints, whether the creators of the collective work explicitly agree upon the con-

descriptions as creators rarely publish criticisms and learnings. Pre-experience with

straints or they are simply built into the system. This refers to constraints such as spe-

board games predetermines expectations and may not excel beyond their impression

cific tasks that aid governance. In the context of collaborative writing, these rules may

to be fun and used once in a while, so therefore may not be a right platform to foster

consist of a specific number of words or content limitations. In teamworking it is about

shared understanding. On the other hand if people expect to have a good time and

working within the constraints of the skill set. John Wood refers to ‘replicable synergies’

provide the spare time to engage, games can be excellent for ‘social fabric’ 83 whilst

85 between people, which unleash tacit knowledge and skills which people are

learning a new game process quickly. Play brings people together who have the same

unaware that they could be of benefit to the group. Only in relation to other people can

immediate motivations. This creates trust and aids conversation. This consideration ap-

this knowledge be appreciated. This is especially important in the context of heterogenic groups, groups which do not know each other prior to collaboration. Tools would

plies to the second criteria of social capital. Jane McGonigal makes an interesting case of game characteristics from online games, which can promote understanding and optimism. She suggests that virtual games can motivate behavioural change through the removal from reality, drawing on learning opportunities and confidence out with

83 Game design for personal health management 6th Design & Emotion Conference 2008 84 McGonigal, ‘Gaming can make a better world’ (www. ted.com) min 9:26 85 Wood, John, ‘Metadesign’ talk at Glasgow School of Art, (13.11.2009)

need to cater for skill and knowledge sourcing and make people aware of their assets, which they can contribute towards the collaboration.

Conclusion The study has shown the increasing interest and need in the adoption of design thinking methods in the context of planing, designing and implementing of product and

the risks of failure. Businesses use this, as a tool to justify their investment and create

Vis ib

tions. This ensures a high probability of end-user desirability and therefore decreases

ilit

service processes throughout businesses, political proclamation and social organiza-

empathy throughout the company for their users. At the front end of the design research process this is called co-design and is defined through this thesis as the overlap between people and designer. This is the phase of exploring, defining and commumostly ends after the synthesis. The second type of involvement (apart from prototype

rt po

s ces Ac

nicating the insights of the user’s life and behaviour. The participantsʼ involvement tests) at the front end, is co-creation. The notion of co-creation can be translated as the userbusiness overlap and identified as mainly targeting at the delivery and consumption phase.

Bottom - Up Bottom-Up For these user centered design processes tools are to enable the cooperation between people and designer or people and businesses, but an autonomous people to people

Spreading Word

approach for generative cooperation is lacking, as it would be desirable in a local social innovation context. The value and necessity of local social innovation on the grass roots level, without any designer’s intervention was discussed in this thesis and the need for

Grassroot Initiatives

Initiated by Active Members of the community. Through wider engagement with the wider community information and UCD data is gathered which contributes to greater visibility

action concluded. Therefore first of all design processes were compiled to analyse the current practice. Gaps were identified, which current UCD tools do not address and therefore hinder in the application in non-design-expert initiated processes.

To initiate an autonomous collaboration, tools, but also incentives for a desirable

the motivation for this work and the further studio process, which is aiming at the de-

process outcome were identified as essential aspect of success. This thesis focusses on

velopment of a autonomous toolkits, designed in a user centered design process where

the before-implementation phase. For this a further layer of desirability from the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

the designer eventually designs his/her role out of the development process. The

perspective is the promotion of creativity and sociability at an individual level. This

evaluation of the success of the final work therefore has to be judged on how well the

grassroots ownership suggests to lead to a higher perception of happiness with the

goal of making the guidance of the professional designer redundant in autonomous,

final outcome and therefore motivation to keep the social innovation process alive, as it

grassroot social-collaborations, to be achieved with this work in the form of a toolkit.

has to be carried on by the social group after deployment through continuos care and iteration. This work has identified the importance in creativity for the rise in confidence which eventually leads towards action. Eventually three types of tools were highlighted: Discovery Tools, Synthesis Tools and Storytelling Tools. Discovery Tools cover the phase at the fuzzy front end, where a problem or an opportunity has to be profoundly observed, researched and understood. The second phase is the moment of downloading those findings and further specification, stakeholder consideration, and actionable key findings agreement. Eventually the last phase is the processing of those insights into communication pieces which can be carried on and act as a discussion starter for further iteration or as a prototyping platform. The examination has let to the decision that synthesis tools should be a connecting platform between the other two, whose purpose has been derived to be the development of critical consciousness as well as dialectic responses through storytelling. Further more the criteria have been derived from analysing the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most recent teamwork design project, Getgo Glasgow, targeted at implementation of a social service enterprise through a co-design process. The critical evaluation of this underlined

Bibliography Battearbee, Katja, Co-Experience, Taik, Helsinki (2006)

Robson, Colin, Real World Research, Blackwell Publishers Inc, Massachusetts (2000)

Baudrillard, Jean, The System of Objects, Verso, London (2005)

Shedroff, Nathan, Experience Design 1, New Riders Publishing (2001)

Bonami, Francesco, Universal Experience:Art, life, and the tourist’s eye, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2005)

Stewart, Susan, On Longing, 1993, Duke University Press, Duke (1993)

Cross, Nigel, Designerly Ways of Knowing, Springer-Verlag, London, UK (2006)

Verganti R, Design Driven Innovation, Harvard Business Press, Harvard Papers/Articles (2009)

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper & Row Publishers, New York (1990)

Ylirisku, Salu, Designing with Video, Springer, London (2007)

Dworkin,Gerald, The Therory and Practice of Autonomy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (1988) Harvey Wood, Harriet, Byatt, A.S, Memory an Anthology, Vintage Books, London (2008)

Papers

Kelly, Tom, 10 Faces of Innovation, Profile Books, London (2006)

Bas Raijmakers, Design Documentaries: Inspiring Design Research Through Documentary Film, Goldmiths Collage,

Koskinen, Ilpo, Empathic Design: User Experience in Product Design, Edita Publishing, Helsinki, Finland (2003)

London

Kurvinen, Esko, Prototyping social action, 2007, Helsinki (2007)

Guardian Media Supplement, Newpaper, ʻService Design Supplementʼ Media Guardian 15.03.2010

Lachman, Gary, A Secret History of Consciousness, Lindisfarne Books, Great Barrington (2003)

Purcell, Rod, ‘Images for change’, Community development Journal Vol 44 No 1 January 2009, Oxford university Press

Lawson, Bryan, How Designers Think: The Design Process demystified, 4th edition, Elsevier, Oxford (2006)

Sanders, Liz, ‘Design Serving People’, Cumulus Working Papers, Copenhagen, 15.5.2006 Helsinki University Art and

Layard, Richard, Happiness - Lessons from a New Science, Penguin Books, London (2006)

Design, Publication Series G

Leadbeater, Charles, We-Think, 2nd edition, CPI Bookmarque, Croydon (2009)

Sanders, Liz, ‘Evolving Map of Design Research’, on Make Tools (http://www.maketools.com)

Martin, Roger, The Design of Business, Harvard Business Press, Boston, Massachusetts (2009)

Rettberg, Scot, All together now: collective knowledge, collective narrative, and architectures of participation, Richard

Martins, Roger The Design of Business, Harvard Business Press, Harvard, UK (2009)

Stockton College of New Jersey,

Mattelmäki, Tuuli, Design Probes, Taik, Helsinki (2006)

Schuman, Sandy, ‘Creating a Culture of collaboration’ the International Association of Facilitators Handbook, Jossey-

Neumeier, Marty, The Designful Company: How to Build a Culture of Nonstop Innovation,New Riders, Berkely (2008)

Bass, San Francisco (2006)

Newmeier, Marty, The Brand Gap, New Riders, Berkely, (2006) Pine, B. Joseph.The Experience Economy, Boston, Mass, Harvard Business School, (1999)

Lectures

Prosser, John, Image-based Research, Falmer Press, London (2000)

Roshini Kempado, State of Play: Photography, Multimedia and Memory, GFT Glasgow (5.2.2010)

Rantavuo, Heli, Connecting Photos, 2008, Taik, Helsinki (2008)

Wood, John, ‘Metadesign’ talk at Glasgow School of Art, (13.11.2009)

Riffaterre, M. Fictional Truth, John Hopkins Press, Baltimore (1990)

Websites Service Design Tools: www.servicedesigntools.org

Documentary / Video

Design & Emotion Society: www.designandemotion.org

Clay Shirky, ‘How Social Media Can Make History’

Engine Tools: www.enginegroup.co.uk

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

KM Library: http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8152469

George Kembell, ‘Awaken Creativity’ at Chautauqua Institution

Ideaplay www.enginegroup.co.uk/ideaplay/action.html

http://fora.tv/2009/08/14/George_Kembel_Awakening_Creativity

Photovoice, www.photovoice.org

Kim Goodwin, ‘Storytelling in Design Research’ at Design Research Conference 2010

Niemann, Storytelling with found Objects, http://www.cooper.com/journal/2009/02/storytelling_w_found_

http://www.designresearchconference.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=5:tim-brown-

objects.html

video&Itemid=73

Young, Indi, Mental Models, http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mental-models/

Liz Sanders, ‘Co-creation and Generative Tools’ Conference talk 2008, IIT Institute of design, Chicago

Kroker, Arthur, Digital Detroit, www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=484 (6/7/2005)

http://trex.id.iit.edu/events/drc/2008/videos.html Roger Martin, ‘The Design of Business’, Conversation with Bruce Nussbaum

Interviews | Email Correspondence

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKrC1nhwC5U

Ian Coxen : KISD project ‘Design from Life’, www.bluearth.net (14.3.2010)

McGonigal, ‘Gaming can make a better world’

Lisa Bradley, Social Policy Student (17.3.2010)

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html”http://www.

Tamsin Smith, Engine, London (1.4.2010)

ted.com/talks/ lang/eng/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

Manoj Kothari, Onio Design, Pune, India (July, 2009)

ZDF Reportage, ‘Street UniverCity Berlin’

Jon Kolko, Author of Exposing the Magic of Design, due Autumn 2010 (2.4.2010)

http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/hauptnavigation/startseite/” \l “/beitrag/video/1004828/StreetUniverCityBerlin”http:// www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/hauptnavigation/startseite/#/beitrag/video/1004828/

Fee Schmidt-Soltau Glasgow School of Art Master of European Design Year 5 Dissertation 2009/2010