What is design?
“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head... It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it.”
A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh, Reference from Ralph Caplan’s By Design
Design is the process of understanding someone’s needs and then creating a program, intervention, product, or service that addresses those needs.
This sounds simple, but it’s actually a high bar: the design must simultaneously achieve functional utility, emotional connection, and ease of use while fitting into the broader human experience.
McKinsey & Company
Design and “Design Thinking” has become an essential skill for public, private, and non-profit organizations.
Human-centered design. Meeting people where they are and really taking their needs and feedback into account. When you let people participate in the design process, you find that they often have ingenious ideas about what would really help them.
Melinda Gates
Design can answer critical questions across the lifecycle of a product, program, or organization.
Conceptualize & Create
Which problems & unmet needs should we address?
When considering borrowing ideas from other programs, what is unique about our population or context that we must keep in mind?
How do we increase the likelihood of users discovering, engaging, and persisting in this program?
Implement & Assess
What is the experience like for individuals in our programs?
Why do some individuals choose to not engage with us from the very beginning?
Why do some individuals abandon our programming?
Refine & Scale
What are the greatest opportunities for increasing adoption/impact?
What might we need to adjust as we consider expanding to additional populations or contexts?
How do we help create alignment around why we are doing what we are doing?
The impact of design
Builds Empathy
Using high-touch and participatory research methods to cultivate an emotionally resonant understanding of people and problem spaces.
Inspires Action
What is the experience like for individuals in our programs?
Why do some individuals choose to not engage with us from the very beginning?
Why do some individuals abandon our programming?
Solves Problems
What are the greatest opportunities for increasing adoption/impact?
What might we need to adjust as we consider expanding to additional populations or contexts?
How do we help create alignment around why we are doing what we are doing?
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