Malaysia’s vanguards
SIMPLY put, Design Thinking produces creative solutions to solve
complex problems. In other words, you have to be creative to be
innovative. But can one
learn creativity or for that matter, innovative skills?
Yes,
if you believe David Kelley, the design thinking guru and founder of
global design firm Ideo and the School of Design Thinking at Stanford
University.
“So many people think that it’s kind of in your gene – you’re a creative person or you’re not. I don’t buy it,” says Kelley in
Design & Thinking,
a documentary on design thinking by San Francisco-based One Time
Studio. Kelley argued that human beings are naturally creative (just
observe kids!) and you just need to rediscover your creative confidence
to crack open the door to innovation. The process of design thinking is a
“scaffolding for creativity” as design thinking advocate, Tim Brown of
Ideo, calls it.
Hence when Genovasi was initiated by the
Government to produce “innovation ambassadors,” the organisation settled
on design thinking methodology to cultivate these innovators.
“We
wanted an approach that would instil a sense of curiosity for
technology and entrepreneurship among youths. And any innovation that
derives from the approach should include empathy towards the needs of
people,” says Datuk Seri Dr Kamal Jit Singh, chief executive officer of
Unit Inovasi Khas (UNIK) which manages Genovasi.
“Design thinking fits these criteria perfectly as it offers a human-centred approach to innovation.”
Under
the Innovation Ambassadors Development Programme, participants go
through a 10-week programme to grasp the nuts and bolts of design
thinking and apply their know-how to solve real-life problems posed by
project partners. To date, project partners include The Millennium
Project, an independent, non-profit think thank, and RSA (The Royal
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), a
London-based charity committed to finding innovative solutions to
today’s social challenges. Upon completion of the programme, these
“ambassadors” may go on to create startups or find placements in
Genovasi’s partner organisations like government agencies, GLCs or
corporations.
“These Ambassadors are expected to bring positive
changes to three core areas: improve public service delivery within
government departments, ministries and agencies; improve the quality of
life in rural and local communities and create new economic wealth
through entrepreneurship or industry game-changing efforts,” says Dr
Kamal. Genovasi’s plan is to produce a minimum of 5,000 Innovation
Ambassadors over the next five years.
As collaborators, the
Hasso-Plattner-Institut (HPI) School of Design Thinking in Potsdam,
Germany, not only helped develop the programme for Genovasi but also
conducted strategy and trainers’ workshops and assessments.
“It
was really great to see there are a lot of Malaysians who are keen to do
something under the innovation programme,” says Dr Claudia Nicolai, the
general programme manager of HPI D-School. Nicolai was in Malaysia to
help set up the programme. “People are extremely open-minded and willing
to work together.”
“Malaysia’s advantage, compared to Germany,
is that you are so diverse. You have influences from different ethnic
cultures, customs and religions – that’s an advantage to generate truly
creative ideas.”
The D-School in Germany did not copy and paste
Stanford University’s D-School model but instead adapt it to the
European environment.
“Genovasi’s programme is basically an Asian
version of what we are doing. It puts a new flavour in design
thinking,” says Professor Ulrich Weinberg, HPI D-School’s director.
“You
have the chance to build on the experiences of Stanford and HPI,” he
adds. “You can build something which is the next version or reinvent
what we’re doing.”
The Innovation Ambassadors Development
Programme (IADP) is open to university students or entrepreneurs up to
the age of 35. Students and experts from all disciplines are welcome to
apply. The programme is free for Malaysians. IADP’s second intake starts
from May 27. Closing date for application: March 31, 2013. For more
info, go to genovasi.my
Grooming innovators
To produce innovative Malaysians, innovation agency Genovasi
teamed up with a Germany-based institute to teach ‘design thinking’. We
travel to Potsdam, Germany, to find out more about this creative
approach.
NEON-coloured sticky notes, Lego blocks,
rainbow-hued foam peanuts, knitting threads, cardboard boxes and
colouring pens – these are “tools” for brainstorming and constructing
prototypes. Whiteboards on wheels replace walls that separate the
“classrooms.” Chatter and guffaw waft across the space.
You can’t
help but feel the creative vibes and peppy energy that emanate from the
Hasso-Plattner-Institut School of Design Thinking (aka D-School).
Located in the historical city of Potsdam, southwest of Berlin, D-School
is part of the Hasso-Plattner-Institut, an IT-Systems Engineering
university founded by Hasso Plattner, the man behind software giant SAP.
We
are on a media familiarisation trip organised by Unit Inovasi Khas
(UNIK), an innovation agency under the Prime Minister’s Department, to
get an insight into D-School, which partners Unik to train Malaysian
youths to become innovators.
Founded in 2007, the D-School
curriculum is based on the “design thinking” process – an approach that
looks at users’ needs and desires, leading to sustainable innovations
that can make people’s lives better. It is not about design per se.
And
unlike the mythical lone genius inventor, design thinking involves
teamwork. It draws on the expertise of individuals from varying
backgrounds and disciplines, from engineers and anthropologists to
accountants and fashion designers.
Hardly a newfangled idea
making its runway debut, the concept has been bandied about for decades
and used as a mantra by some of the biggest creative companies in the
world, including San Francisco-based global design firm Ideo.
But
the methodology was pioneered from Stanford University in California,
and taught and explored at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at
Stanford since 2005. As part of the coursework, students get to work on
real-life “design challenges” developed together with project partners
from the industry, public sector or non-profit organisations.
Design thinkers
In
the corporate realm, award-winning companies like Ideo employ design
thinkers who are marketers, engineers, psychologists, industrial
designers and architects. Ideo has 12 offices in eight countries and
high-profile clients like Visa, Toyota, Samsung, Procter & Gamble
and Coca-Cola.
Take their design project with Shimano, the
leading supplier of bicycle components in the world. In 2004, Shimano
was grappling with stagnated growth in its high-end road-racing and
mountain-bike sectors in the United States. Driven by technology
innovations for years, the company’s initial instinct was to introduce
high-end casual bicycles that might appeal to baby boomers.
But
with the help of Ideo, adopting the design thinking method, the company
realised they should reach out to the 161 million US adults who aren’t
riding bicycles. Using a human-centred approach, Ideo and Shimano hit
the streets to survey why 90% of American adults do not ride bicycles.
Findings reveal that the complexities (like shifting gears) and costs of
modern bikes, the high maintenance, and the danger of cycling on roads
are factors that put off casual cyclists.
Shimano then partnered
with bicycle manufacturers like Giant, Trek and Raleigh to produce a
biking experience that stirred up childhood memories of simple, joyful
riding. These “coasting” bicycles have coaster brakes (back pedalling to
brake), automatic shifting and puncture-resistant tires to make cycling
easier and low maintenance.
To ensure a holistic experience, a
comprehensive website helps people to locate safe places to ride.
Shimano also launched a trade campaign and training curriculum to
educate retailers to better serve recreational customers. In six months,
the three manufacturers sold out the 30,000 Coasting bikes produced.
“Design
thinking is a mindset and a set of methods you can use to solve
problems that can impact society and businesses,” explains Dr Claudia
Nicolai, the general programme manager and lecturer of D-School, on our
visit.
“It’s not like it has never been done before,” admits
Nicolai who has been studying strategic innovations, the precursor to
design thinking, for a decade.
“What it does is to combine different methods and developments and put it under the design thinking label.”
Nicolai
develops and designs teaching content, coaches students and teachers,
hosts workshops and develop design-thinking strategies for companies.
At
D-School, there are three core elements in design thinking: focus on
multi-disciplinary team, team-supported space that is highly flexible
and dynamic, and the process itself, Director of D-School Professor
Ulrich Weinberg added.
Dubbed the “grandfather of computer graphics in Germany,” Weinberg is instrumental in getting D-school going from the beginning.
He
has 25 years of experience in 3d animation, simulation and computer
games. At D-School, the course runs over one term (Basic track) or two
terms (Advanced track) spanning 12 weeks, and students are assessed
based on their teams.
“What I learned in the last five years is
that you will not get the full, dynamic energy of the people, whether in
companies or schools, if you have incentive models that focus on
individual performance.”
In recent years, huge corporations in Germany are also jumping in on what D-School is doing.
“Companies
are calling us to partner on projects or to book workshops on design
thinking,” says Weinberg. Some of D-School’s partners include industry
giants like Siemens, Johnson & Johnson, DHL, Panasonic and Lufthansa
Airlines.
The enthusiasm of D-School students is as infectious as their teachers’.
“I
think the key benefit is learning how to design for people, focusing on
their needs or wishes. You are not trying to sell things but to fulfil
needs,” says Juliana Paolucci, 24. A product and graphic designer from
Brazil, Paolucci and her teammates Andrezej Karel, Sabrina Meyfeld and
Laura Kroth are working on a design challenge for Genovasi. Their
subject: how to engage young people in the development of the community.
They had to set out to find solutions that can convert Malaysian youths from armchair critics to empathetic doers.
“The
youths are the future of the country, they need to engage the community
and change reality,” explains Paolucci. “But first we need to find out
their needs, wants and desires, and ways to fulfil them.”
“Also
we need to take into account activities they like to do, for example,
how do they use social networking to take community action?”
Using design thinking methodology brings together different actions in a structured way, Karel added.
“The
first idea might not be the best solution, so we go through an
iterative process multiple times: understand, observe, define point of
view, ideate, prototype and test,” says the 25-year-old Polish who is
working on his thesis for his marketing/management degree.
Room for failure is the DNA of design thinking.
“In
a conventional design process, you just sit in your room, and keep
going at it until you think it’s perfect,” explains Meyfeld, 27, a
communication scientist.
“But with design thinking, we’re out
testing prototypes on the second or third day and if it doesn’t work, we
start at it again.”
“I am keen on social innovation and want to
learn more about how to apply the methodology in my social enterprise,”
adds Kroth, 29, who studied communications and public relations. She
hopes to start a small business to bring people of different generations
together to develop dialogues on German history and keep history alive
for future generations.
D-School experience
As for
D-School alumni like Jeremias Schmitt, his experience prepared him for
how he wants to work with people and how to develop projects further.
“After
the D-School experience, students actually find real meaning in what
they do, why they do it and how they want to do things,” quips the
27-year-old Berliner.
“Some even applied for jobs that they never
thought of applying, for example, a student who studied information
science seeking for a business development job.”
In Europe, more and more start-ups are using design thinking as a tool to innovate, Schmitt added.
So is design thinking the be-all and end-all of innovation? And how does one measure its efficacy or success rate?
“For
me, it’s not about how many products are successful in the market. I
care more about how design thinking deeply impacts the students, how
they got the chance to experience the process, and how it changed the
way they do things,” says Weinberg.
To date, D-School has done
about 70 projects. One-third of the ideas were implemented at some
point, the other third came up with solutions that led to different
things, and one-third led to nothing.
Clients who worked on the
project either left their companies or there was no follow-up from the
clients’ side. The role of design thinking at D-School is to create
innovators, not so much innovations.
In the case of Shimano’s
Coasting programme, three years after its initial success, the company
pulled the plug on the programme and manufacturers stopped rolling out
coasting bikes because sales fell below expectations.
Some
industry observers blamed it on the bike brands that weren’t doing their
jobs to communicate the benefits of Coasting to retailers and
customers, among other factors.
It wouldn’t be fair to say this design thinking experiment has flopped.
Suffice to say, design thinking isn’t the magic pill for success.
But
“use it to its advantage: to give new insights, outline new ways of
thinking, introduce new techniques or develop new entries to the
market,” as innovation and design writer/editor Helen Walters (formerly
with BusinessWeek and Bloomberg) attested in her talk “Design Thinking
Won’t Save You.”
By LEONG SIOK HUI star2@thestar.com.my
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