Design thinking for Social Innovation

This article examines the overall importance of innovation design from the perspective of the bottom up; including all people who would be impacted by a product. Not only are things designed efficiently to tackle a complex problem, but a product is designed at a bare minimum level for keeping costs low.  When our class learned more about human-centered design and its social impact, it was logical that there is truly a deeper human context when it comes to this kind of problem-solving and innovation.

As it relates to this week’s topic areas of trends and markets and design thinking, the question of why now is an underlying yet important question to ask.  Some answers may be: demand within various emerging markets, strains on infrastructure due to increased urban populations, or perhaps strong growth within emerging market economies.  Whatever the answer, I am glad and assured (there’s hope!), with design thinking and positive deviants, designers can create something that goes beyond their own or other’s assumptions.   As a result, this directly addresses a problem, improves the overall way we live (perhaps life-saving), and be sustainable.

Granted, this all sounds like it is easy to tackle problems such as transporting clean water from 300 feet away, but in actuality, making something simple is the hardest thing to do.  That’s why having a diverse group of people on a team to design a product or service is critical!  You want those team members to discover what people’s needs are, sort out all the ideas the team develops, challenge the idea, put it through the ringer of prototyping, receive feedback from the outside world, go back to prototyping for however long it takes until the idea can be fully and successfully implemented.  If the team isn’t equipped to handle the different spaces (inspiration, ideation, and implementation), then the team will fail.  I would also state too that through failure, a team and its product and service will only become stronger if there is perseverance. 

So maybe I’ll leave you with that.  What does it take in order for a design to truly succeed?  Do designers have a common bond with those who are inflicted by a certain problem?  Are emotions of passion and perseverance tie both professionally and personally to those in need?