Design Mindsets
We have all been asked, What do you want to be when you grow up? Whether you are fifteen or fifty, figuring out what you’re going to do with your life remains a fundamental challenge. There’s more to it than just having that One True Plan; after all, life is all about GROWTH and CHANGE. We can’t expect things always to work out how we think they will. What we need is a process – a design process – for figuring out where we are, what we want, and how we can build our way to a life we love.
Design Thinking Mindsets
Be Curious
Curiosity makes everything new. It invites exploration. It’s an open approach to learning more. Designers look through the lens of curiosity not judgment or rushing to solution. You will hear designer say “tell me more..” or ask open questions to get at needs and wants, what works, what doesn’t and what’s missing.
Reframe Problems
Thinking about something differently is how designers get unstuck. It also makes sure that we are working on the right problem. Key reframes help you step back, examine your biases, and open up new solution spaces. Reframing enables designers to examine ways to look at problems differently or through a new lens in order to increase the opportunity for innovation.
Try Stuff
When you have a bias to action, rather than sitting on the bench just thinking about what you are going to do, get in the game and commit to building your way forward. Designers are always trying things and testing them out. They test out ideas, failing often until they find what works and what solves the problem. Designers embrace change. They are not attached to one particular outcome.
Know It’s A Process
To think like a designer, you have to understand that life gets messy. For every step forward, it can sometimes seem you are moving two steps back. An important part of the process is letting go – of your first idea and of a good-but-not-great solution.
And it’s also important to be aware of your own process. Are you rushing to a solution? Are you blocked? Are you energized by certain activities and drained by others. Being mindful of the process is key to the journey of life design.
Radical Collaboration
The last mindset of design thinking is perhaps the most important. You are not alone; it takes a team. The best designers know that great design requires radical collaboration. Design is a collaborative process, and many of the best ideas are going to come from other people. What’s radical is that you want a diverse team with different experiences, perspectives, points of view, and even beliefs.
Story Telling
Telling and hearing others’ stories helps us to create narrative resonance and connect the dots in our own lives
