Conference Presentations by Terri Wada
Due to the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder coll... more Due to the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder collaboration and participation within the design process—simply understanding a design process and deploying design research methods is not enough. Rather, the designer of today must now be able to understand the increased value that stakeholders bring to the design process. The designer of today must be able to develop design activities that empower stakeholders to express, make, evaluate and collaborate. And the designer of today must be able to facilitate others, through the design process. These new abilities all point to an emerging design skillset called design facilitation. Embedded within this new skillset is the ability to develop the mindset, skills and characteristics—along with utilizing processes, process tools, methods and planning frameworks—in order to effectively facilitate others through creative, collaborative problem-solving.
The power of design thinking lies in the attitudes we bring, the methods and tools we use, and th... more The power of design thinking lies in the attitudes we bring, the methods and tools we use, and the skills we cultivate. It is the combination of multiple facets that enable and enhance a person’s ability to effectively use design thinking. John Thakara, author of “In The Bubble: Designing in a Complex World,” challenges us “to learn new ways to collaborate and do projects…to enhance the ability of all citizens to engage in meaningful dialogue…and foster new relationships between the people who make things and the people who use them.” Within design practice today, new ways are continuously being developed to utilize design thinking in response to social,
environmental, economic, and cultural factors. Recently, there have been several great examples emerge around self-driven,
human-centered design thinking tools, such as IDEO’s Human-Centered Design Toolkit and Frog’s Collective Action Toolkit. While design processes, along with tools for carrying them out, remain important factors for collaborative, participatory design, two seemingly less mentioned factors—Environment (i.e., space and place), and Facilitation—are equally important in enhancing people’s ability to utilize design thinking in order to creatively
solve problems in meaningful and innovative ways.
In this paper we will discuss how these three factors: Tools, Environment, and Facilitation, are conducive to developing a culture that uses a human-centered approach to design thinking within both a graduate-level studio, as well as a professional practice context. In addition, we will explore how these attributes impact and influence the changing role of future designers.
Papers by Terri Wada
Visible Language, 2015
ABSTRACTThis article describes the process, methods, and outcomes of a project that included mult... more ABSTRACTThis article describes the process, methods, and outcomes of a project that included multiple stakeholders in a participatory design process to re-design an indispensable service in the healthcare sector. The project explores how visual designers are taking on new roles as design researchers and design facilitators and what a human-centered design approach might look like within the healthcare sector of emergency management. Design methods included collaboratively visualizing the complexity of an existing context, including content development, production processes, distribution processes, issues, and perceptions; using generative tools to examine and discuss content, use, form, and function; prototyping toolkits to visually model processes, themes, devices, and technological capabilities; and evaluative surveying to collect and assess user feedback. The outcome of this project includes a completely redesigned product and service that has increased user subscription and sati...
As part of the objectives stated under the Interprofessional Collaborative Practices (IPCP) Model... more As part of the objectives stated under the Interprofessional Collaborative Practices (IPCP) Model funded through a grant with the Health Resources and Services Administration and Indiana University School of Nursing, it was necessary to better understand the challenges around interprofessional communication across a hospital unit. To carry out this objective, research consultants from Collabo Creative, a design research company, partnered with the Renal Metabolic (B5C5) unit at IU Health Methodist. The main purpose for connecting design researchers with B5C5 was to assist the unit in utilizing a people-centered design approach in order to: 1) understand the current context of interprofessional collaboration and communication, 2) frame pertinent communication design challenges; and 3) develop solutions to improve interprofessional collaboration and communication across the B5C5 unit. Resulting from the 8-month research engagement, Collabo Creative and B5C5 identified four core challe...
In an equally distressed and burgeoning community just outside of our major metropolitan city, th... more In an equally distressed and burgeoning community just outside of our major metropolitan city, there is a history of transformation efforts—from creative placemaking, to affordable housing initiati...
Today the amount of information available to individuals is staggering and they often are at a lo... more Today the amount of information available to individuals is staggering and they often are at a loss when choosing to purchase products. In the case of readers, they have an infinite amount of book available to read. However, they often do not know how to give credibility to the books that are available to them. In this class project we look at “How might we help readers make an informed decision about choosing books.”
Journal of Public Affairs
Due to the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder coll... more Due to the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder collaboration and participation within the design process—simply understanding a design process and deploying design research methods is not enough. Rather, the designer of today must now be able to understand the increased value that stakeholders bring to the design process. The designer of today must be able to develop design activities that empower stakeholders to express, make, evaluate and collaborate. And the designer of today must be able to facilitate others, through the design process. These new abilities all point to an emerging design skillset called design facilitation. Embedded within this new skillset is the ability to develop the mindset, skills and characteristics—along with utilizing processes, process tools, methods and planning frameworks—in order to effectively facilitate others through creative, collaborative problem-solving.
Within design education and practice today, new ways are continuously being developed to utilize ... more Within design education and practice today, new ways are continuously being developed to utilize Design Thinking in response to social, environmental, economic, and cultural factors.
In the Visual Communication Design program at Indiana University, Herron School of Art and Design, Design Thinking is an integral component to both curriculum development and course content.
In considering the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder collaboration and participation within the design process—simply understanding a design process and methods for collecting data is not enough. Students must go through a process of building a value system for conducting participatory design research. They must also understand the nature of the changing role of designers, from more traditional "making" roles, to design facilitators who must possess a particular mindset, model certain characteristics, employ distinct skill sets and use a specific approach.
This presentation and paper will focus on an in-depth case study that describes the authors' methodology for integrating Design Thinking into the course curriculum of an undergraduate senior-level studio course, titled "Design for Innovation: Introduction to Design Methods," where students work in a variety of real contexts with diverse stakeholders throughout the design process.
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Conference Presentations by Terri Wada
environmental, economic, and cultural factors. Recently, there have been several great examples emerge around self-driven,
human-centered design thinking tools, such as IDEO’s Human-Centered Design Toolkit and Frog’s Collective Action Toolkit. While design processes, along with tools for carrying them out, remain important factors for collaborative, participatory design, two seemingly less mentioned factors—Environment (i.e., space and place), and Facilitation—are equally important in enhancing people’s ability to utilize design thinking in order to creatively
solve problems in meaningful and innovative ways.
In this paper we will discuss how these three factors: Tools, Environment, and Facilitation, are conducive to developing a culture that uses a human-centered approach to design thinking within both a graduate-level studio, as well as a professional practice context. In addition, we will explore how these attributes impact and influence the changing role of future designers.
Papers by Terri Wada
In the Visual Communication Design program at Indiana University, Herron School of Art and Design, Design Thinking is an integral component to both curriculum development and course content.
In considering the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder collaboration and participation within the design process—simply understanding a design process and methods for collecting data is not enough. Students must go through a process of building a value system for conducting participatory design research. They must also understand the nature of the changing role of designers, from more traditional "making" roles, to design facilitators who must possess a particular mindset, model certain characteristics, employ distinct skill sets and use a specific approach.
This presentation and paper will focus on an in-depth case study that describes the authors' methodology for integrating Design Thinking into the course curriculum of an undergraduate senior-level studio course, titled "Design for Innovation: Introduction to Design Methods," where students work in a variety of real contexts with diverse stakeholders throughout the design process.
environmental, economic, and cultural factors. Recently, there have been several great examples emerge around self-driven,
human-centered design thinking tools, such as IDEO’s Human-Centered Design Toolkit and Frog’s Collective Action Toolkit. While design processes, along with tools for carrying them out, remain important factors for collaborative, participatory design, two seemingly less mentioned factors—Environment (i.e., space and place), and Facilitation—are equally important in enhancing people’s ability to utilize design thinking in order to creatively
solve problems in meaningful and innovative ways.
In this paper we will discuss how these three factors: Tools, Environment, and Facilitation, are conducive to developing a culture that uses a human-centered approach to design thinking within both a graduate-level studio, as well as a professional practice context. In addition, we will explore how these attributes impact and influence the changing role of future designers.
In the Visual Communication Design program at Indiana University, Herron School of Art and Design, Design Thinking is an integral component to both curriculum development and course content.
In considering the inherent complexity of human-centered design—which focuses on diverse stakeholder collaboration and participation within the design process—simply understanding a design process and methods for collecting data is not enough. Students must go through a process of building a value system for conducting participatory design research. They must also understand the nature of the changing role of designers, from more traditional "making" roles, to design facilitators who must possess a particular mindset, model certain characteristics, employ distinct skill sets and use a specific approach.
This presentation and paper will focus on an in-depth case study that describes the authors' methodology for integrating Design Thinking into the course curriculum of an undergraduate senior-level studio course, titled "Design for Innovation: Introduction to Design Methods," where students work in a variety of real contexts with diverse stakeholders throughout the design process.