Recently, David Kelley spoke at the Thayer School of Engineering about building a culture of innovation.
David Kelley is the founder of IDEO, one of the world’s leading design firms. His company focuses on user-centered design for products, services, and environments. In 1980, Kelley was on the IDEO team that created the computer mouse for Apple.
In his talk, Kelley spoke about teaching a methodology to unleash creativity. He explained that with an approachable design process, we can learn to trust our intuitive mind and tap into our inner creativity. His talk was followed by an intense, two-day design workshop.
Kelley explained the four parts of his design thinking methodology: human-centered design, culture of prototypes, radical collaboration, and storytelling. Design thinkers should have empathy for people who use the devices and services, so that they can identify the need and respond to it. He advocates for creating prototypes in order to tell stories about the experience of having that product. Kelley also explained his idea of radical collaboration, emphasizing the diversity of the team: “None of us is smarter than all of us.”
His method is working; IDEO is tackling challenges and their projects have expanded into social entrepreneurship. Kelley now heads the “d.school,” Stanford’s Institute of Design, which promotes innovation routinely. The d.school has no requirements, no degrees, and no special faculty, and yet the ideas and minds that emerge from the d.school improve the world.
One group of d.school students took on the challenge to design a low-cost infant incubator to save the thousands of premature babies that die every year in the developing world. The Embrace (http://embraceglobal.org/) was the successful result.
“As a student, it’s your job to build a passion for something,” Kelley advised. “The only way to build passion is to go out into the world and experience a lot of stuff.”
With a grin, he explained that a Design Thinker is now on the prerequisite skill list for start-ups. He’s hoping to change the way we think about creativity, and he points out that we can apply design thinking even in our personal lives. Maybe people in the design thinking class will throw better dinner parties, he joked. “You get more options before you make a choice.”
Kelley emphasized understanding people and creating designs that really are for the user, not the designer. Everything should be an experiment, he said, and the experimentation has to be transparent.
In response to a student’s question, Kelley explained his strategy for “designer’s block.” He recommended travelling to a different culture. In Japan, he said, they do everything differently. He added, “you’ll do a better job if your worldview is bigger. So make your worldview bigger.”
Kelley demonstrated that techniques like mind-mapping, building fluency and flexibility, and adjusting your mindset can lead to creative confidence. Keep an eye out for David Kelley’s TED talk this month!