So what do you do again?
24/10/07 11:30
Since no one seems to know what I do as a Design Planner I thought I would take a crack at defining it for myself and others.
Introduction to Design Planning: The short
Design
Changing to a desired state.
What is Design Planning?
Design planning methodology is a convergence of design thinking, business analysis, and social science tools.
Design thinking is a structured approach to the design process that breaks design into common elements such as research, ideation, prototyping, etc. to explore and develop concepts.
Business analysis tools such as landscape analysis, SWOT analysis and McKinsey's 7S's help define trends and opportunities.
Social science tools like ethnographic research, human factors analysis and sociology that leads to a better understanding of people.
All of the disciplines meet at the need / desire to provide value to people.
People create value through their needs and businesses exist solely to deliver that value.
Combining knowledge uncovered from using design thinking, business analysis, and social sciences creates a rich understanding of a problem and opportunities to solve problems and find new opportunities.
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein
All solutions developed in the Design Planning process are user centered, meaning that they seek to serve the needs of each individual avoiding the one size fits none syndrome.
Innovation is the desired outcome of the Design Planning process.
Why learn Design Planning?
Life is increasingly complex due to increased ability to travel, advanced technology and abundant information that leads to more choices with each passing second.
In a time when people can make anything Design Planning helps to understand what should be made.
The difference between what can be made and what should be made is called the “innovation gap”.
Learning Design Planning tools will help people to gain a generalists perspective so they can see many sides to an issue. This is important because when only a few tools for analysis and synthesis are used all the time it makes the solutions the same. When you are a hammer everything begins to look a bit like a nail.
Who are Design Planners?
Design Planners are problem solvers.
They are naturally curious which leads them to have a breadth of knowledge.
Typically Design Planners, like most people, have found a lens through which they view the world. Often that lens is graphic design, engineering, computer science, and or architecture. This makes them experts in that area. Thus they are "T" shaped.
They can and should come from any background. Diversity brings new perspective.
Design Planners do not have to be world class graphic designers, have a deep understanding of ethnographic studies nor do they have to be world class strategists. Competency and expertise helps but the most important part is to understand the value of those tools and processes and use them in basic ways. Combining them for perspective is the critical competency.
Design Planners do have to be world class thinkers and problem solvers who know how to find the tools and resources they need to solve a problem. They must be omnidexterous. They must collaborate with others well. No longer a lone genius time of invention. Complexity has changed this. It takes teams of people to create innovation.
Design Planners can specialize. They can be strategists, communication designers or product designers. Other variations include experience designers, service designers or design researchers.
The following is a diagram from Institute of Design Professor Jeremy Alexis which was posted to his blog D Log
