This course has gotten cooler and cooler every time we’ve met. This past week, we all worked together in a workshop led by Design for America to experience the design process. There’s nothing quite like the design process, because nothing else embraces the chaos of creation like it.

Our groups were presented with a problem: how can we stop distracted driving? Post it notes were all over the place, walls were covered with scribblings as everyone threw their thoughts around, and ideas were flowing constantly. We played games, which I think was absolutely crucial to the process because people began to have fun. When your mind is in that zone, it’s so easy to let ideas run wild and find one that actually works and build upon it.

I enjoyed the collaboration of it all. My group came from all walks of life and yet we still came together, put all of our experiences and knowledge in a pile, and brought ideas to life in the form of a pudgy little clay steering wheel. I love design because you know when you have an idea that you’re passionate about. We went through that process and I’d absolutely love if our product became a real thing. I’d use it. I think it’s an awesome solution.

The idea of the workshop was human centered design. It was studying an audience, taking all of our knowledge about that audience, and analyzing all of the factors to create something practical with the user in mind. I’m excited to see what comes next. I’m eager to see what problems my classmates encounter that they decide to apply this process to, and the solutions they come up with.