Getting Started With Design Thinking Toolkit

7/25/2019 Getting Started With Design Thinking Toolkit

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2014 State of Queensland (State Library of Queensland)

Version 1-30 April 2014

Getting Started withDesign Thinking

AUTHORS

BENCHMARKS

CURRICULUM

TEACHING LEVEL

Design Minds

Australian Curriculum

English, Arts, SOSE, Graphics, Industrial Technology and Design

710, 1112

EXPECTED DURATION

RESOURCES FOR DOCUMENTATION Document student reections in a folio or other method preferred by the teacher

Digital camera or scanner to document brainstorming, sketches and prototypes

Digital video camera to record nal presentations (optional)

Upload photos or video to class wiki (try www.wikispaces.com)

RESOURCES FOR COMPLETION Sketch book or visual diary

Pencils, pens, markers, staplers, glue, pins and scissors

Coloured Post-it notes

Butchers paper, sheets of coloured card and recycled materials (e.g. boxes, paper plates,

straws, paddle pop sticks)

A toolkit designed to facilitate greater understanding of design thinking and the design process.

EXERCISES 1. Ideation Icebreakers

2. Whats Not Working?

3. Good/Bad Idea Challenge

4. Rapid Prototyping

5. Now + Future

6. Mini Design Challenge

7. Marshmallow Challenge

This toolkit has been structured as seven activities to support a full term

of work, but can be extended or shortened as required.

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DESIGN AND CAPABILITIES

Visit Design Minds for more info on design phases.

Literacy

Numeracy

ICT capability

Critical and creative thinking

Personal and social capability

Ethical behaviour

Intercultural understanding

Visitthe Australian Curriculum websitefor more info on general capabilities.

Capabilities for creating successful learners, condent and creative individuals, and active and

informed citizens.

INQUIRE

IDEATEIMPLEMENT

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MINS

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Design Thinking has become a globally recognised term to dene the design process traditionally

used by designers of various disciplines.

Whilst this creative problem-solving process has traditionally been used by designers to create

product outcomes, it is now being applied more broadly across society. The value of this design

process to students is therefore not in only how well they develop the problem solving skills to

create products, but also how they can begin to develop higher-order thinking skills to solve some

of societys greatest systemic challenges.

At its core, the design process focuses on exploring a problem or a challenge that aects a

particular user or user group. It is based on cycles of courageous action, reection, insight and

incremental improvement. Therefore, although design can tend to focus on a tangible product

outcome, the design process is never really complete; there are always opportunities to rene and

incrementally improve.

In establishing the simple Design Mindsdesign process of Inquire, Ideateand Implement, we

evaluated some of the most recognised global design thinking methodologies including the Cooper

Hewitts Ready, Set, Design (Smithsonian, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum 2011), Stanford D Schools

Stanford Design Program (Plattner 2010) and IDEOs Design Thinking for Educators (IDEO 2011).

OVERVIEW

Getting Started withDesign ThinkingCont.

Methodology Design Stages

Cooper Hewitt Identify Investigate Frame/

ReframeGenerate Develop Evaluate

Re-

evaluate

iDesign Thinking Intending Dening Exploring Suggesting Innovating Goal-getting Knowing

D School Empathise Dene Ideate Prototype Test

IDEO Discovery Interpretation Ideation Experimentation Evolution

Design Minds Inquire Reflect Ideate Reflect Implement Reflect

Figure 1. How the Design Minds phases were developed as a synthesis of leading des ign methodologies.

We sought to synthesise from these global examples a design process, that as Einstein would say, is

as simple as possible but no simpler.

What emerged were the three design phases Inquire, Ideateand Implement, punctuated at each

stage by moments of structured Reflection:

Inquire: exercises related to research, identifying/dening a problem/opportunity, developing

background understanding, setting objectives and developing a brief.

Ideate: exercises related to brainstorming, generating ideas and solutions to a problem/

opportunity, experimentation, risk-taking and play.

Implement: exercises related to testing developed ideas, prototyping and communicating an

end result.

During each of these phases there are also moments of structured Reflectionto gather insights and

allow changes and improvements to be made before proceeding to the next phase. This structuredreection is the most integral component to classroom learning as John Dewey has argued: We do

not learn from experience. We learn from reecting on experience.


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OVERVIEW

Getting Started withDesign ThinkingCont.

Its obvious that the types of behaviours and actions that take place in each of the phases are quite

dierent. As a 21st century educator, your role is changing from being a sage on the stage to a

guide on the side. In facilitating the design process with your students, your role is to dene and

encourage the certain types of behaviours that are useful in each stage. For example, you really

want to encourage play, experimentation, risk-taking and lateral thinking in the Ideatephase,

however a more rational and investigative approach is more appropriate in the Inquirephase.

In this toolkit, you will be presented with a range of introductory activities that quickly take students

through one or more of the three design phases. The exercises are intended to be short, sharp and

fun and can be used at any point during your teaching program, either as warm-up exercises at the

start of a class, or injected as a tool for problem-solving at certain stages during a particular class

project.

By regularly introducing your students to these exercises, you will be building their problem-solvingcapacity and developing their ability to consciously move in and out of particular design phases, as

well as through the entire design process.

INQUIRE

IDEATEIMPLEMENT

Figure 2. The Design Minds phases

Figure 3. Rapid prototyping in action, during the Implementphase. Image by Becky Strong.


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This activity focuses on a range of Design Strategies that can be used during the Ideate phase of

the design process. In reality, time should be dedicated to exploring and identifying the problem

clearly in the Inquire phase as well as testing and prototyping developed ideas in the Implement

phase. Refer also to some of the other GraphicsDesign Process activities to follow that guidethrough the entire design process from Inquire-Ideate-Implement.

Quick Draw Portrait Exercise

Each student is given a pencil and a blank piece of paper. They are then given 30 seconds to draw a

portrait of the person sitting next to them.

What is learnt in this exercise?

This task accentuates the tendency to fear the judgement of peers and to be embarrassed of ideas.

This fear can lead individuals to be conservative in their thinking. It is important at the beginning of

any creative activity to acknowledge the potentially stifling power of this fear and let go of it.

E on the Forehead

Using a washable marker, ask students to draw the letter E on their forehead using their dominant hand.


This task is a method social scientists have used to measure perspective takingthe ability to step

outside ones own experience and see the world from someone elses viewpoint. People who write

the E so that its backward to themselves but legible to others tend to take the others perspective.

Those who draw the E so that its readable to themselves but backward to others tend not to have

considered the other persons point of view.

30 Circles Drawing Challenge (developed by Bob McKim)

Each student is given a piece of paper with 30 circles printed on it (you can download a

pdf template for this from skills21.org/2013/01/jumpstart-creativity-with-the-30-circles-

challenge/30circles/). They are then given 60 seconds to adapt as many of those circles as they can

into objects of some form (e.g. soccer ball, sun etc). The focus on this exercise is quantity and to

have as many options as possible in the timeframe.


Another thing that can stifle the production of creative ideas is the tendency to edit things

individuals tend to self-edit as theyre having ideas. In some cases, our desire to be original is

actually a form of editing. The ability to just go for it and explore lots of things, even if they dont

seem that different from each other is a creative form of play and idea generation.

50 Different Uses for a Brick

Present the class with a brick, either real, printed or on a projector screen. Students are then asked

to write down as many dierent uses for a brick as they possibly can within 10 minutes.


This is a creative thinking warm-up exercise that fosters divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is a

thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.

Small groups or pairs

ACTIVITY

METHOD

Ideation Icebreakers1-10 minutes each

InquireIdeate

Implement

Paper and pencil

Washable marker

A4 paper with 30 circles printed on it

Brick (or a projected or printed image of a brick)

MATERIALS
http://www.skills21.org/2013/01/jumpstart-creativity-with-the-30-circles-challenge/30circles/http://www.skills21.org/2013/01/jumpstart-creativity-with-the-30-circles-challenge/30circles/http://www.skills21.org/2013/01/jumpstart-creativity-with-the-30-circles-challenge/30circles/http://www.skills21.org/2013/01/jumpstart-creativity-with-the-30-circles-challenge/30circles/


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Ideation Icebreakers

Prompts for reflection:

How could these ideation techniques apply to a problem or project youre working on?

REFLECTION

Scan or photograph students sketches and responses and include in a folio or an online wiki for the

project.

Images 1 and 2 by Becky Strong. Image 3 courtesy of Center for 21st Century Skills. Image 4 courtesy

of Boral.

DOCUMENTATION

IMAGES

Cont.

4.3.

2.1.


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At the core of every design is the exploration of a problem or a challenge. This activity will help

students identify and define a problem or challenge and reframe it into an opportunity which can

then be used as the basis for a design project.

Students are asked to explore a current problem in their school environment.

Begin with a brainstorming session by asking the question: Whats currently not working? You may

wish to facilitate a classroom discussion to reach a consensus on the biggest problem or challengein their school environment or even conduct some quick market research with fellow students

or teachers. Write this problem down in a place that is highly visible (like the whiteboard or on

butchers paper stuck to the wall).

Now, as a class attempt to turn this problem into an opportunity by creating a How Might We..?

(HMW) question (see blogs.hbr.org/2012/09/the-secret-phrase-top-innovato/ for more information

on creating a HMW question.) Write this HMW question down in a place that is highly visible. An

example HMW question might be:

How might we create a safe and welcoming environment for new students?

With the problem and opportunity identied, students can now use a range of Ideation Design

Strategies to come up with potential solutions to the challenge.

Class participation

ACTIVITY

METHOD

Whats Not Working?35 minutes (1 period)

InquireIdeate

Implement

Butchers paper and markers (optional)MATERIALS


How did reframing the problem as a HMW question change the way you looked at the

problem?

How could HMW questions apply to problems in other subject areas or other scenarios?

REFLECTION

Scan or photograph students research, HMW question and responses and include in a folio or an onlinewiki for the project.

Images by Becky Strong.

DOCUMENTATION

IMAGES

Have you considered?

This problem/opportunity denition process can be used as part of any design challenge

you might be exploring. Look at other opportunities for how you can use this activity with

some of the other Ideate and Implement exercises in this toolkit .
http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/09/the-secret-phrase-top-innovato/http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/09/the-secret-phrase-top-innovato/


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This activity introduces students to design strategies used for idea generation and provides a

useful tool for selecting ideas. Building on the previous activity, students generate ideas to develop

solutions for a pre-determined problem or challenge and then use Moonshot theory to select an

idea to act upon.

Ask students to form small groups of 4-5 people and give each group a set of Post-It notes.

Returning to the How Might We? (HMW) question created in the Whats Not Working? activity,challenge each group to come up with 30 bad ideas on individual Post-it notes within 3 minutes, in

response to the challenge. When nished, go around the room and encourage each group to share

and reect on the bad ideas they developedthis should be fun and humorous!

Using a new set of Post-It notes and the same HMW question, challenge each group to now come

up with 30 good ideas on individual Post-it notes within 3 minutes, in response to the challenge.

When nished, go around the room and encourage each group to share and reect on the good

ideas they developed.

Groups now stick up all of the Post-it notes on the wall. Its important that all of the ideas are mixed

together, both good and bad. Invite each group to select one idea from all of the ideas presented.

Encourage students to select the idea that excites them the most and not the most realistic

or achievable one. This approach of selecting an impossible idea or goal is referred to as a

Moonshot (see the Reection section below for more information).

At this point in the design process, students would take the selected idea and commence an

implementation exercise such as rapid prototyping (see next activityRapid Prototyping) to

begin to test how successful this idea is as a solution to the set problem.

Small groups

ACTIVITY

METHOD

Good/Bad Idea Challenge35 minutes (1 period)

Dierent coloured Post-it notesMATERIALS

A moonshot is an audacious attempt to solve a problem with a radically different way of thinking.

This way of thinking values creativity over intelligence and encourages the setting of unrealistic

or impossible goals. Unrealistic goals are far more exciting than realistic ones and therefore we

are inherently more motivated to pursue the unrealistic ones than the safe ones. The sheer

magnitude of unrealistic and impossible goals also means they cant be achieved by one person,

instead needing a broad network of supporters to realise them. For more information see solveforx.

com/and watch this clipyoutube.com/watch?v=0uaquGZKx_0.


How did the process of coming up with bad ideas change the way you thought about the

problem? Could some of your bad ideas be transformed into good ideas?

How could selecting a moonshot idea change your perspective on a possible solution for the

problem/challenge?

REFLECTION


project.

DOCUMENTATION

InquireIdeate

Implement
https://www.solveforx.com/https://www.solveforx.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D0uaquGZKx_0http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D0uaquGZKx_0https://www.solveforx.com/https://www.solveforx.com/


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Good/Bad Idea Challenge

Images by Becky Strong.IMAGES

Cont.


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This activity introduces students to prototyping as a tool for testing and refining ideas. Building on

the previous two activities, students rapid prototype a solution for a pre-determined problem or

challenge based on ideas they have generated.

In the same groups as the previous two activities, students are now asked to rapid prototype a 3D

visual representation of their selected idea, e.g.:

Poster

3D scale model/mock-up

Performance piece

Its important to allow a limited timeframe for this rapid prototyping exercise and to create a sense

of pressure to propel the students to action rather than thinking: 10-15 minutes should be adequate.

You may wish to use a countdown timer or rhythmic beat (such as this exampleyoutube.com/

watch?v=Rx29OO0Anz0) to create a sense of playful urgency.

Students are asked to give their idea a name and then give a quick two-minute presentation

explaining and selling their developed idea to the rest of the class.

Small groups

ACTIVITY

METHOD

Rapid Prototyping35 minutes (1 period)

InquireIdeate

Implement

Cardboard, paper, markers, glue and sticky tape

Recycled materials such as toilet paper rolls, straws, string, paddle pop sticks

MATERIALS


What did the rapid prototyping process tell you about your idea? Is it feasible? If not, how

could you rene it to make it feasible?

Do you need to spend more time exploring the problem (Inquire) or more time generating

ideas (Ideate)?

REFLECTION

Scan or photograph students sketches and prototypes and include in a folio or an online wiki for the project.DOCUMENTATION


Extend this activity by rotating groups once they have nished their prototype. Each group

must then interpret the new prototype with no information from the previous group and

add to or rene the prototype based on their understanding. Allow the same timeframe for

the interpretation and renements (10-15 mins) and then ask each group to explain how

they interpreted the prototype they moved to and how they have added to or rened it.

Images by Becky Strong.IMAGES
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRx29OO0Anz0http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRx29OO0Anz0http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRx29OO0Anz0http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRx29OO0Anz0


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Design is in essence a bridge between a current situation and an imagined future situation.

This activity encourages students to connect a design problem or challenge to a future solution,

allowing them to generate a range of creative ideas for problem solving.

Students are given a piece of paper and asked to divide it in half. In the rst half, students draw

how they see a particular problem right now (such as the one they have identied in the previous

Whats not working? activity). Students are encouraged to use only symbols or pictorial images

and no text.

On the second half of the page, students are asked to draw what this problem would look like if it

was turned into a positive opportunity and realised in 35 years from now. Again, allow only symbols

and images and encourage idealistic and utopian imagery.

Once students have completed the second drawing exercise, invite them to compare the two

images and reect using text, on what simple actions would need to take place to bridge between

the current problem situation and the ideal future situation.

Individual exercise

ACTIVITY

METHOD

Now + Future20 minutes

A3 paper and coloured markers/pencilsMATERIALS


How did the process of drawing the present problem and imagined future help you identify the

steps that need to be taken to bridge the two scenarios?

REFLECTION


project.

Images by Becky Strong.

DOCUMENTATION

IMAGES

InquireIdeate

Implement


In identifying actions to bridge between a problem and a solution, the students are

actually going through an Ideationprocess. Consider opportunities in the design process

where you can mix up the order of InquireIdeateImplement.


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In this activity students will become familiar with the three design phasesInquire, Ideate and

Implementby completing a mini design challenge.

Students are asked to investigate how the school orientates new students and design a new or

improved solution that makes students feel safe and welcome.

Students begin by investigating current systems and programs used to orientate new students

within their school and within other schools. They may also collect data from recent students,

including both new year levels (grade seven and eight students) and other students that have

started in other year levels. During this exercise students can begin to reframe the original design

challenge using a How might we? question, for example, How might we orientate new students

with a disability?

Using this data, students now place themselves in the shoes of a new student and brainstorm ways

of making new students feel welcome. Ideas should range from simple and easy to implement to

crazy and impossible to implement. Each group then selects their favourite and least favourite idea

and shares it with the class.

Based on feedback from the class, students then choose one idea and begin to rene it, creating

sketches. They then undertake a rapid prototyping exercise using materials such as coloured

paper, paddle pop sticks, straws, string, sticky tape and glue to build a prototype that clearly

communicates their idea.

Once students have completed their prototype they are to present it as their nal idea to the class.

Students should share any challenges they had during the process and reect on what they have

learned and what they would do dierently.


ACTIVITY

METHOD

Mini Design Challenge70 minutes (2 periods)

InquireIdeate

Implement

Cardboard, paper, markers, glue and sticky tape

Recycled materials such as toilet paper rolls, straws, string, paddle pop sticks

MATERIALS


How could you learn more about your users in the Inquiry phase?

How did placing yourself in the shoes of one of your users aect the way you thought about the

problem?

How did building a prototype assist the design process? Was the prototype feasible? If not,

how would you rene the prototype to make it feasible?

REFLECTION

Scan or photograph students research, sketches and prototypes and include in a folio or an online wiki

for the project.

DOCUMENTATION


The Design Minds toolkit Rethinking the Problem provides more detailed exercises for

understanding a problem from a particular students perspective. Download it from

designminds.org.au/toolkit-rethinking-the-problem/ .
http://designminds.org.au/toolkit-rethinking-the-problem/http://designminds.org.au/toolkit-rethinking-the-problem/


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Mini Design Challenge

Images courtesy of Pimpama State Secondary College.IMAGES

Cont.


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In this activity students will work through all three design phasesInquire, Ideate, Implement while

undertaking a fun design challenge developed by Tom Skillman and delivered by Tom Wujec (see

marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html).

Ask students to form small groups and provide each group with 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1m of string,1m of masking tape and one marshmallow.

Using as much or as little of the materials provided, each group must try to construct the tallest

freestanding structure (no tethering to furniture or suspending from lights or doorways) with the

entire marshmallow at the top. Each group has 18 minutes to complete the challenge and can break

or cut the materials any way they l ike but cannot receive new materials once the challenge has

started.

At the end of the 18 minutes, measure the structures that remain standing to see who has built

the tallest structure. As a class reect on some of the dierent groups learnings, in particular

examining the process undertaken by the winning group.


ACTIVITY

METHOD

Marshmallow Challenge35 minutes (1 period)

InquireIdeate

Implement

Spaghetti

Marshmallows

Masking tape and string

MATERIALS

This is a team building challenge that aims to address the power of assumptions, the assumption

in this case being that marshmallows are light. The lesson in the marshmallow challenge is that we

need to identify the assumptions in our project user needs, the cost of the product, the duration

of the service and test them early and often.


What did you learn about the design process from this exercise?

How would you approach the challenge dierently next time? Watch and discuss the TED talk marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.html

REFLECTION

Scan or photograph students sketches and responses and include in a folio or online wiki for the project.DOCUMENTATION


Running the Marshmallow Challenge a second time during the semester is a greatreection tool. You may wish to record the results from this challenge so you can track

progress across the semester, this allows students to see how rening prototypes can

improve the nal solution.
http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.htmlhttp://marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.htmlhttp://marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.htmlhttp://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html


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Marshmallow Challenge

Images courtesy of marshmallowchallenge.com.IMAGES

Cont.
http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.htmlhttp://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html


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FeedbackWe truly appreciate your contribution to furthering Design Thinking in education through the use of this toolkit. To thank you we would like to send

you a FREE book courtesy of State Library of Queensland. Just include your full contact details below and well handpick something special for you!

WHATS NEXT?

Return your completed feedback form to the Design Minds team:

E: [email protected]

M: Asia Pacic Design Library

State Library of Queensland PO Box 3488

South Brisbane QLD 4101

And well get to work selecting a special book, just for your school!

How well did students enjoy the activity? (Please provide any examples of student feedback or anecdotal evidence)

HELPING OUT:

Im interested in being contacted further for:

(please tick)

Providing ongoing feedback S

Authoring future toolkits SBecoming a

Design Minds ambassador S

Teacher name: School:

Postal Address:

Email: Phone:

Age of students involved: No of students involved:

Would you like to receive occassional updates from APDL?(please tick) S

ABOUT YOU:

ABOUT THE TOOLKIT:

How well did the toolkit align with and support your existing learning benchmarks?

How easy was the toolkit to use?

How easily understandable did you nd the the language and concepts presented?

Anything else to share?(Your experiences, learnings or suggestions)

Documents

Getting Started With Design Thinking Toolkit