Note to Students
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.
Be Curious
Curiosity makes everything new. It invites exploration and makes everything feel like play. Most of all, interest is going to help you “get good at being lucky”.
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.
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 create prototype after prototype, failing often but failing forward, until they find what works and what solves the problem.
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 oving two steps back. An important part of the process is letting go – of your first idea and of a good-but-not-great solution.
Ask for Help
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.
