Extraordinaire's Design Studio
October 21, 2021
Over the past few days, I worked on my first design sprint with a group of my peers. While we used a fictional character, our design was made with the intention of using empathy to drive our invention. My group was in charge of creating a multi-purpose vehicle that could be used by an evil genius whose personality was conveyed through photos. We used empathy and inferences to determine how we could best incorporate a new invention into his life. We knew that an invention that did too much wouldn't perform well, leading us to our narrowed invention that had specific intention aimed towards our subject.
With little knowledge about the inner mindsets of an evil genius, we worked with what the images conveyed. They demonstrated his drive and passion for creating his evil inventions, as well as the importance of his cat minions. The prototype we created allowed our evil genius to transport in a way that made him feel comfortable because he spent most of his time and effort on his inventions.
Our first prototype was a multi-purpose camper that had every function under the sun. Despite the fictional aspect of this project, our teacher reminded us of the concept that as functions increase, performance decreases. So we changed courses and narrowed down the functions of our prototype in order for purpose and performance to be at their highest.
At first, the task seemed taunting. Although there was no urgent need for a fake invention for a false persona, I still felt responsible for the weight of this project. However as the process unraveled, I discovered new tactics to easy my anxiety. I recognized that I was working with my group, not against them, and could therefore lean on them whenever I encountered an obstacle. As a result, we were able to funnel our ideas down to the best of the best, bouncing thoughts off each other constantly. We took the process one step at a time and tackled each aspect thoroughly, resulting in an empathetic invention with a legitimate purpose.
Successful Mindsets
As innovators, our most successfully practiced mindset revolved around empathy. We focused on the values of our character in order to create the most essential invention that he would find useful. When looking at our creation at first glance, it appears childish and almost senseless. But after considering the silliness that this project embodied, we found it to be extremely innovative. When looking at the pictures illustrated on the cards, it was obvious that our character held his cats to a high standard. By focusing our invention towards something he valued most, it was able to meet and exceed the character's needs, thus making it both effective and desirable. If the goal of our invention wasn't essential to our character, then it would ultimately be deemed useless and a waste of time.
As discussed earlier, the majority of this process involved high levels of collaboration and discussion. As individuals with unique mindsets and different perspectives, we collected a variety of possible innovations for our character. We began with the broad idea of a vehicle that could do it all, which our teacher soon pointed out to be too much and would decrease the personal empathy, therefore defeating the purpose. We then came together to determine the character's most essential need and narrowed our invention to aim it towards a specific service. From cars to teleportation devices, members of my group had thought of endless possibilities as to what would help our character the most. Only by means of heavy collaboration and cooperation were we able to determine the overall best possible invention that would serve its precise purpose.
Mindsets In Need
Although we worked with a fictional character in a fictional scenario, the process remained nearly identical to the one we would follow in the real world. As a group we struggled in figuring out where to start and constantly found ourselves changing paths. Instead of coming up with a plan and following the steps that would bring us to our ultimate goal, we found ourselves coming up with ideas on the fly and almost "winging it". Although I recognize that failure is a major part in the innovation process, I think the design could have run much smoother if we took the extra time in the beginning to lay out a plan and give ourselves a specific goal to look towards. Even if that plan changed along the way, it would have been much easier to branch off the path rather than starting an entirely new one.
With the help of this Extraordinaire's Design Sprint, I was able to advance my mind in ways that amplified these bold learning objectives, and allowed me to further understand my own mindset as well as the community around me.
Mindset
As a perfectionist who aspires nothing but the best, failure has always been a struggle of mine. I used to think of failure as something that demonstrated something I lacked our wouldn't be able to do. However, this design experience illustrated that most of the time, I only fail forward. Although the original idea of an all-in-one camper wasn't ideal, it lead us to the creation of something much better: a specialized vehicle that was unique to our character and carried a much higher degree of value than our first prototype could have ever contained. I was able to see that failure is not only beneficial, but it should be desired with its ability to eliminate ineffective ideas and spark new and superior creations.
Knowledge
My knowledge of the world around me was severely challenged during this process. The relevant application that I would usually resort to seemed useless. I consider myself to be someone who likes to follow a specific process with the help of logic and reason. I think in the real world this design sprint would have suited me better, mostly because the fictional aspect of this project challenged every logical step I would usually take. I found it unusually hard to push the limits in creating a cat-mobile with weapons in the ears and secret storage units that remained hidden. However, this process put my creativity to the test and stretched my mind to explore new possibilities.
Creativity
More often than not, I find myself struggling with a writer's block in the world of innovation; I guess you could call it "innovator's block". The world appears so intimidatingly vast and daunting, it can be overwhelming when figuring out where to even start. With the help of my group and the layout of the Extraordinaire's Design Sprint, the threat of ideation diminished and I was able to work through my innovator's block. I still think I have some work to do because I know that I'm capable of much more in terms of innovation, but I can already tell that I'm moving more towards a new recognition for creativity.
Skills
Especially in this project, communication was essential. Most of the time, I find my mind working much faster than my mouth, making it difficult for me to organize and prioritize my ideas. Since the most necessary aspect of this design sprint involved communicating with the members of my group, I was almost forced to make decisions on the go. Depending on the situation, I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with ideas, resulting in my lack of participation or designating someone else as leader. However, I quickly realized that my cooperation and participation were required if our invention was going to prove its worth. I was able to put my own feelings aside and focus in on what was important to the group by expressing my ideas and collaborating with other peers.
As my first real experience in the design process, I would say it was a successful undertaking. My strengths and weaknesses were highlighted, giving me something to improve on for new designs as well as future endeavors. I'm much more excited for another, longer, real-world sprint, as I feel it would better engage my mind and allow me to incorporate my own personal values. Similar to what I discussed in terms of empathy towards my character, I can apply the same empathy towards myself; I'll be more invested and dedicated towards something I value rather than something simply assigned. I'm looking forward to exploring and learning more about something I value and the ability I'll have to make a real impact on the world. No matter how small it may end up being, this upcoming design sprint could lead to a new advancement in our society. Although it still seems slightly intimidating, I'm excited for the possibilities awaiting.