01 issue landon s esigning innovationmbloom/id/archive/greatjournal2.pdf · 2017-10-08 ·...

Landon Spitalnik 1233 North Eddy Street South Bend, IN 46617 347.922.5155 ph [email protected]

LANDON’S JOURNAL OF

dESIGN THINKING & INNOVATION

designing Innovation

I have earned an “A” because…

• Real & Personal Application I have learned by reading, listening, thinking, trying, collaborating and doing. I have also taken

the skills acquired and put them into personal use beyond the class. Not just beyond the

classroom and into the real world for whatever project my team chooses, but also directly and

personally and currently into my company, Unlimited Juice, LLC.

• Display of Class Values I have conducted myself in a manner consistent with the core class values of thoughtfulness,

enlightened learning and justice. I have not only done so when it is natural or easy, but

importantly at the times it is not. I have acted in such a way as to be proud of my behavior and

perhaps even be an example for others.

• Development of a re-usable toolkit By keeping an ongoing learning journal/innovation sourcebook and by actively reviewing, refining

and enhancing the sourcebook, I have built a resource for the future. Wi th this resource I will

stand ready to remind myself and share with others in the hope that we can help change the

world for the better.

this issueThe Grading Issue P.1The Smart Wallet P.2The Final Project P.3

Key Takeaways P.4

01 J A N U A R Y 2011

Solut ions For a Grading Di lemma

Seeing as how a grade must

be given, a new approach may

be justified. Perhaps by asking

students what they hope to

accomplish at the outset and

asking them to participate in

assessing themselves they will

feel more engaged along the

way and happier with the final

result than they would feel

otherwise.

Personal Goals

o Stay Inspired

o Work hard to Learn

o Keep an Open Mind

o Don’t get Stuck

o Iterate, Iterate,

Iterate

The Future of Grading What other options are there?

The Grading Issue

I S S U E

Landon Spitalnik

*************AUTOSORT*************** JAN 12 2011 PROF. MATT BLOOM OFFICE: 393 MCOB PHONE: 574.631.5105 [email protected]

Learning Letter


dESIGN THINKING & INNOVATION designing Innovation


this issueThe Learning Foundation P.1

The Power of Innovation

Brains & Grades

Human Centered Design P.2

The Pace of Change P.3

02 J A N U A R Y 15 2011

Lessons Learned

This week we get a glimpse of

powerful examples of the real

world-changing potential of

design thinking. We see the

broad reach of design beyond

products to general solutions.

Old notions are challenged;

we are inspired by the

possibilities and the reach of

design thinking into our lives.

We get a glimpse of some of

the science behind Innovation

and we get a first look at the

sorts of tools that will make it

possible for us to be a part of

the design revolution.

New Thoughts • Stay (brain) Healthy

• Design can change the

world

• It’s OK to fail…as long as

we learn along the way

• Value of Learning from

others

The Learning Foundation

I S S U E

Landon Spitalnik

Reflections on Readings



IDEO Sets the Stage

• The Power of Innovation Design Thinking has great ambitions – and a

powerful allure. As in a wide variety of other fields

adherents attempt to convince the new initiate that it

is the secret sauce that is going to change their

world. That companies who do not harness it will fail

sooner or later while those who are in on its secrets

can help change the world. By way of example and

inspiration Tom Kelley, David Kelley and Tim Brown,

(all from IDEO) present some alluringly plausible

arguments. They even manage to draw us in with

offers of amazing tools that will let us the “average

Joe” into the club of super innovation. The tools do

indeed seem messy as promised at this point but

the results are compelling enough to justify a whole-

hearted attempt at plunging headlong into the

design of innovation.

• Brains & Grades Revisiting the grading dilemma from our prior issue

with some additional insight leads to a somewhat

unexpected conclusion. While all the previously

discussed reasons for disliking the concept and

practice of grading still stand there is at least it

seems one legitimate reason for them. According to

the Cognitive Fitness article “You must have a stake

in the game you play if you are to really engage in it;

risk alerts the brain and activates capacities for both

reason and imagination.” This makes sense on a

visceral as well as a practical experiential level. After

all we intuitively seem to try harder when “it counts”.

Other important brain related lessons include the

value of seeking novelty at work and at play and the

truly amazing protective powers of building up brain

power early on in life.

Lessons Learned

Organizations may be treated like people

• Angel’s Advocate

The 10 Faces of Innovation article for example does much more than merely recognize and articulate a common though significant challenge for innovation. It goes the amazing step further of devising a clever and rather useful sounding solution. In fact it not only eliminates or at least minimizes what has otherwise been a problem but it does so in a way that creates new additional positive benefit – that is the lesson here.

• Preview to the work of one Mr. Ben Fry

“Most importantly for business collaborations, great data visualizations are about the audience. The primary criteria for evaluating the success of a visualization is whether it’s appropriate for the people that you’re trying to reach.”

http://www.gereports.com/ben-fry-at-sxsw-2010-visualizing-data-challenges/

• In relation to the work of one Mr. Tim Brown

http://www.asid.org/designservices/design_commercial/Design+Thinking.htm

Design Thinking

Design thinking employs the methods and sensibilities of designers to developing technologies, products and services that meet people's needs. In recent years, business has embraced design thinking as a technique for driving creativity and innovation, even in areas not traditionally associated with design, such as business strategy.

The foundation of design thinking is the design process--a non-linear, iterative approach to practical problem solving. The design process begins with defining the problem and then researching possible solutions. This research may involve interviews, questionnaires, observation, photography and site visits, as well as consulting published research. The next step is ideation, or developing a concept, which is followed by prototyping, using drawings and/or models, and testing of various approaches. These are then subjected to critique by other designers, the client and end-users, and then further refined. Prototyping, feedback and learning are crucial to design thinking and the design process. They are the means through which the designer comes to align what is desirable with what is possible.

None of the above summary of Change by Design is mine, but this page was mostly empty, the summary was articulate and concise beyond what I could have said and it seems to collaborate nicely with the quote from and style of Ben Fry whose work I review in the next data visualization section. So while I know we’re not meant to simply quote the work of others here, this is meant to be a reference for me for later and so I have included it.

03

The world most certainly is changing at an accelerated (& accelerating) pace. My personal favorite example, one which I have used for some time to explain this concept, revolves around one of the instances for which I first noticed the phenomena. I remember growing up there was one kind of ketchup bottle. It was glass, it was difficult to get the ketchup out, it was iconic. As far as I knew it was the only ketchup bottle there had ever been. And then one day there was a new plastic bottle. That was amazing, it was a vast

Radical Collaboration At Work In The World

Coca Cola and Heinz join forces to help reduce waste and carbon emissions with plant-based packaging. PlantBottle™ packaging looks, feels and functions just like traditional plastic, and remains fully recyclable. The only difference is that up to 30% of the material is made from plants. “The partnership of Coca-Cola and Heinz is a model of collaboration in the food and beverage industry that will make a

Social Sales

Heinz recently launched a new sales campaign entirely through social media. The special limited edition variety of Balsamic Ketchup is only available on facebook.

improvement in many ways. And that one lasted for quite some time. Then one day it went from plastic to fixing another problem, getting the last drop out.

i.e. Heinz did what users had been doing for a while, they turned the bottle cap-side down so that the ketchup would collect where you need it thanks to gravity. They even went so far as to come up with a new spigot-like contraption at the end that would eliminate what surely was the last remaining problem to be solved by ketchup

“Keeping up with

the rate of change

is easier when

you’re leading the

way.”

Rapid Iteration: Fail early, learn early, move on.

through the lens of learning provided in class – this was a worthwhile prototype and likely helped with some of their latest innovations.

User behavior Intelligent Design

Some innovations come about as the result of new mediums – like the internet, and social networks allowing the limited edition campaign above. Some are made possible by technological advances in materials science, like the new plastic/plant bottles, and some are the result of watching users. It seems clear that this latest innovation in packaging from Heinz is the result of watching one too many individuals squeezing ketchup from several packets into a globular mess while easily dipping into another sauce container.

The question of whether adding coloring – and an easier to squeeze bottle) was innovative or incremental may be debatable. What is not up for debate is that Heinz had very rapidly introduced a large variety of new colors and quickly captured nearly 1% of the entire ketchup market. Whether it would ultimately have been a fad and a drain on resources or not, Heinz made the decision to, ahem, “shelve” the colors and focus on other paths to innovation. Viewed

•The Pace of Change

sustainable difference for the planet,” said Heinz Chairman, President and CEO William R. Johnson. “Heinz Ketchup is going to convert to PlantBottle™ globally, beginning with our best-selling 20-ounce variety of Heinz Ketchup, which will reach consumers this summer.”

Despite selling more than 25 million bottles of colored ketchup, Heinz has discontinued producing and selling the product.

bottles – it magically sucks the last drops of ketchup back in after pouring so you never get the dreaded goop that crusts into a bigger and bigger mess.

As it turns out there is once again the ongoing need for continual improvement and room for true innovation. Heinz made the very laudable decision to radically collaborate with Coca Cola and begin using their PlantBottle™ packaging. (See sidebar).

04 05




this issuePattern Spotting P.1

Gathering Data

+ Data Visualization

+ Synthesis

Good HCD

06 F E B R U A R Y 1 2011

Lessons Learned

This week

Calabria: Personas Composite Character Prof i le IDEO: Create NYT: meditat ion Bootcamp B Data Visual izat ion: Tools to aid in Pattern Recognit ion

Many Eyes Word le Kuler (Ben Fry)

New Thoughts • Integrating Old Thoughts

• Somehow there are lots of

them in need of inclusion

Pattern Spotting

I S S U E

Landon Spitalnik




Data Visualization • Gathering Data

The “why” creating user profiles is valuable made

the initial silliness factor of the “how” seem less of a

concern, and the efficiency & effort/reward ratio

seemed more than sufficient. The real value of

having these personas did not hit home until much

later on in the project. As is so often the case the

“learning is messy” theme recurred here.

Perhaps the most value was recognized for me

when reviewing the previously encountered

information and thinking about it in the context of

considering sharing it with a friend out in the real

world. I only wonder if now that I believe I will be

able to sufficiently convey to this friend just how

worthwhile it can be. Then too I do wonder a bit if it

is like a power-tool. In that wielding it may be

dangerous for the unprepared. While decidedly less

dangerous than an inexperienced chainsaw user,

would my friend run the risk of looking silly in his

new CTO job at a venture-backed startup if he went

to the founders and presented his plans for their

website re-design in the context of user personas?

I think it could be incredibly valuable both practically

and from a career standpoint – showing him already

adding significant value as a strategic, yet out-of-

the-box thinker after his 10+ years at the relatively

staid HP.

Seeing a video-clip from “God Grew Tired of Us”

may not be the best way to introduce the importance

of user perspective to someone unfamiliar with the

concept. The more structured, Approach, Entry,

Engagement, Exit timeline may be helpful – but the

more practical version along the lines of what

Charlotte L. shared with us would probably be better

received. I will be thinking about how to share the

method to gather other converts – for now I guess it

is enough that I believe.

At least one definition of genius includes the ability to recognize patterns and make connections where none before were known to exist.

Data Visualization tools can help in pattern recognition.

Principles for

Success

Text here

New Thoughts • Radical Collaboration

• Science behind benefits of

meditation even more

evidence it is worthwhile to try

it.

• Just need to find the time…

• I need a team of people (really

smart, dedicated, motivated

people) to help begin to try to

compile all the information I

have been storing up waiting to

do something truly exciting and

perhaps revolutionary with.

Unfortunately a lot of it is in my

brain and I don’t yet know how

they are going to get it all out.

At least some of the tools and

techniques seem to be of

some potential use. They have

in fact begun to succeed. If it

works like other aspects of this

learning then perhaps there

will be a snowball effect and

my inner genius will release

itself. Or maybe it is late at

night and I haven’t slept

enough lately.

07

• Visualizing Information

I have been fascinated with data visualization for quite some time. The ability to “see” something has literally almost always meant to physically see it to me.

Ever Increasing Data

With literally overwhelming amounts of data at our fingertips it is going to be one of the new revolutions of the 21st Century when we begin to be able to really process and benefit from the data around us in real-time.

Each of these from the collaboration of Ben Fry with GE can be found at http://visualization.geblogs.com/visualization/kitchen/

designing InnovationLANDON’S

JOURNAL OF dESIGN THINKING

& INNOVATION


this issueThe Value of Innovation P.1

The Value of Collaboration P.2

08 J A N U A R Y 15 2011

Week 5 Lessons Learned

This week I find myself

even more compelled to

consider the possibilities

of building expertise and

charging for it in a very

general sense.

New Thoughts • I could sell this!

• Design can change the

world

• And we can charge for it!

• Value of teaching others

A New Business: Plan

I S S U E

Landon Spitalnik


I could build one too

• The Value of Innovation The idea of going around from business to business

and selling an as yet undefined service seemed

interesting – but only as a thought experiment. I

thought I might be good at going into businesses not

to cut costs or build a new plant or division per se,

but just check out everything they are doing and see

where I could help them do it better.

I had barely considered in my wildest imaginings

(pretty wild at times) that this could be a viable

actual business. I am beginning to reconsider. I had

first considered the possibility when our guest

speaker gave me a hint at how much a firm like Nike

would pay for help with their sports apparel for

student athletes business.

Now that I am beginning to have some of the tools

that a business like this could require it is a seriously

tempting thought.

• Radical Collaborations

Now I just need a specialty, an approach that can capitalize on what I know, what I’ve learned, and what I have yet to learn. It should involve Zen-like meditative benefits with as yet unseen pattern spotting in some sort of Ninja-style.

I think I’ve got it – I will be the Radical Collaboration Link. The bridge to bring together companies that belong working together but just do not know it yet.

designing InnovationLANDON’S

JOURNAL OF dESIGN THINKING

& INNOVATION

Another New Business Idea,,. Born from the desire for Radical Collaboration

Week 5

Lessons Learned

Remembering that Anything is Possible…but it takes some work

Principles for

Success

Remember the dangers of

treating everything as a

competition.

Or rather the opportunities of

acting and working

collaboratively.

New Thoughts • Radical Collaboration

• Radically Enabled

Collaboration

• Everyone can benefit

• Building new relationships to

solve new problems and

capitalize on new opportunities

in Today’s rapidly changing

world.

• Inspiration

I feel a bit like the team at the end of the pursuit of the perfect brainstorm.

So Matt if you’re reading this, please hold off on sharing until I’ve had a chance to explore this concept.

I know you are busy, but if you’re interested in working together (radically collaborating as it were) we should have a chat sometime.

I could whip up a great little business plan and we could be off to the races…

While considering this modest proposal I’ll provide some examples of fantastically radical collaboration I have come across lately.

In this one OXO teamed up with the pharmaceutical maker of a rheumatoid arthritis drug manufacturer. This makes perfect sense for everyone involved, will presumably make some money and make some people’s lives better too!

This example has all the makings of a fantastic case study in Innovation and Design. If we could get the team responsible for this to come talk to ND

students I think it would be fantastic. All the clearly Human Centered Design around features of significant importance to the end-user. All carefully integrated and implemented! It is inspiring.

OXO Good Grips also recently formed a partnership with Staples to produce some better office equipment.

9




this issueAccomplishments P.10

The Best Laid Plans

Works in Progress P.11Before & After P.11

10 M A R C H 5 2011

Accomplishments & Lessons Learned

Throughout this course

Goals: I . To Learn by: • Reading

• Listening

• Thinking

• Trying

• Collaborating

• Doing

I I . Put ski l ls to use: • Real world

• Personally with UJ

I I I . To Display class values: • Thoughtfulness

• Enlightened Learning

• Justice

IV. To bui ld a reusable toolki t • Reading

The Learning Results

I S S U E

Landon Spitalnik

Reflections on Learning



Accomplishments

• How well I lived up to the ideals set forth in my original Learning Letter

Design Thinking has great ambitions – and so did I

when I began this course. As in a wide variety of

other fields I will attempt to convince myself that with

the new secret sauce of skills I have gained I will be

able to continue my quest to change the world – and

with a better shot at it than I had before.

• Specific Examples

I hope the evidence of what and how I have learned have come through at least in part through this my first Journal of Innovation and Design Thinking.

Rather than bog you down with my entire large binder including all of my hand-drawn scribbling, notes, scraps, etc. I have tried to compile into something that would be comprehensible and meaningful to someone else. Which should be handy to me as well going forward. I am planning for completeness sake to include a small “before” sampling to go with the “after” that makes up the rest of this journal. The example is re: Ketchup and should show how some random notes and a brief

scribble are meant to look in my head. Unfortunately while it is much improved in its “final” form it is not complete. In my head it looks as different from what I present here as finished does from what I present here as initial. But if nothing else I have certainly learned to iterate, iterate, iterate, and so it goes…

• The Best Laid Plans

Of course the best laid plans of mice & men & me

often go astray. I have much more learning to

review and codify and amplify and turn into true

long-term knowledge. And even then I’ll have to

work harder still to continue to put as much of it into

practice as I’d hoped. So to finish this section with

another borrowed line once written to a mouse -

this one not butchered by me and modern English.

With thanks (& apologies) to you and to Robert

Burns

“Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!The present only toucheth thee: But och! I backward cast my e'e, On prospects drear! An' forward, tho' I canna see, I guess an' fear!”

And so I finish with some unfinished works, including a nice table that would and will eventually include a cross‐reference of topics for each of the readings, videos, etc. as to what was covered. It is a bit inspirational as I hope to have something of the sort as my memory fades and can’t remember “Now where did I see that concept before?” Perhaps a system like this could hold me over until I get that Google Brain‐chip.

11 Reflections on Learning

Work in Progress

The transition from sketched note to more finished journal piece.

With time perhaps not all, but a lot certainly, of 3 notebooks worth of notes would be converted…

12 Reflections on Learning

Before & After

01 issue landon s esigning innovationmbloom/id/archive/greatjournal2.pdf · 2017-10-08 ·...

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