This week we discussed and practiced the concept of design thinking. As we learned design thinking is a way to approach the process of creating something by identifying needs and thinking about the end user.

We practiced working through the process of design thinking through activities put on through students from Design for America. To begin we discussed the process of ideation and how creativity can be enhanced through certain tools. One such activity that allowed us to practice the concepts of ideation and design thinking in action, was designing a solution for an end user. With our teams we were challenged to brainstorm problems that elderly people have. Afterwards we were asked to pick one and then come up with 10 solutions for that problem. Finally after picking a solution we liked we were asked to create a (crude) prototype to demonstrate our product / idea in action. The whole practice was ultimately an effective way to get our minds into a creative thinking mode, as well as have to take design challenges into consideration. To cap off the day our team was able to design and 3D print our team logo for the semester. Being able to collaborate on creating a team logo was a fun experience, but also was beneficial to see how we made our ideas come to be as a 3 person team.

Surely, I found this week to be pivotal in setting our team up for success for the rest of the semester. Enhancing our creativity as a team, as well as walking through the design process to focus on the end user was significantly beneficial for our group to understand from a broad perspective. In our activity we were asked to describe problems that elderly people commonly have. I grew up with my grandparents back home, so this was a problem that I personally felt I could help out on. Ultimately our team decided to create a “night vision” set of glasses for elderly drivers to assist them at night. The product originally came down from the inspiration that I had remarked that my Grandmother can never drive at night. Being able to go through the ideation and design process was important, because it made me realize how much of our personal experience comes into play in being inspired to see a problem and our ability to develop a solution. Secondly, when developing a solution to a problem it is crucial that we consider who we are targeting our product for. Either through personal experience or through obtaining data & information we should seek to find out what would make an effective product for who we are developing the solution for.

Moving forward our team felt that we took many valuable lessons and more importantly tools to use in the creative and design process. What ever product we make we feel as though ideation, user based solutions, and how to develop a prototype are all processes that having experienced was beneficial to how we create a successful product by the end of the course. Our team wrapped up the week by creating our logo BCC creations, which we took particular pride in the level of creativity we implemented in a short period of time. However it was a stark reminder that we also have a long way to go in learning the technical side of creating in 3D printing software as well as how the actual physical printing process works. Even so, our team feels confident that continuously learning, and focusing on design thinking will serve us well in developing our ability to develop 3D printed solutions that have a specific target user in mind.