What Women Make

I Think Pinterest Is the Best Social Media Platform Ever Invented: Here’s Why

Pinterest has become my favorite way to curate, communicate, consume, and categorize. Along with Instagram which satisfies my mobile documenting impulses, it replaces traditional blogging software for me. When I’m sitting at my desk and not doing project-specific research or writing, but still being productive, (i.e. not looking up haircuts, why my ankles hurt so much after yoga, how to do a ‘burpee’, if Army Wives is right wing propaganda, the acting career of Zosia Mamet, etc.) my preference is to be on Pinterest.

This is why I find Pinterest such a revelation:

A picture’s worth a thousand words. The trend sites will have you believe that everyone’s wearing mint green and buying tufted chairs but people’s tastes are really, really different. People just ‘have to have’ all kinds of things. They build a world of what interests them, what compels them, in a visceral intuitive way and it is so much easier to decipher when it’s visually laid out in a grid with just short notes if any, attached to them.
Even though I’m a writer, I’m definitely a visual person. I make mind maps with clients and for myself. I pin up images of projects I’m working on in my office so I can see what I’m dealing with. Pinterest helps me to see what I like, see what I’m doing, and visually organize current projects as well as the future I want to have. It’s a digital visualization tool - another reason why I find Pinterest so effective.
Blogging sucks up hours of my time. In the past, when I used to have girlonthestreet.com, I would be at my computer for 8 hours writing, rewriting, finding accompanying images, coding in html, formatting, reformatting, etc. I don’t have time or the desire to do that anymore because there is so much more I want to accomplish in my life (and so much more real world adventure and learning to be had!) When I started blogging again with What Women Make, it’s the thing I dreaded the most and it did eat away a lot of time for, to be honest, not the kind of pay-off I would really want.
Pinterest is meditative. It doesn’t stop and start. It is not process heavy. Sometimes blogging began to feel like a smoking habit. you had to stop to smoke and it would weigh you down and zap your energy and your time. But I still like to share, curate, illustrate for myself and for others and I like to leave my writing for bigger ideas I’m developing both in fiction and in my work as half of Show Love. I find Pinterest the least taxing tool to use and the one with the most immediate gratification.

I’m on WordPress right now and know it’s the most robust, best blogging software but this post has taken me a lot longer than I want it to take and I’m busy running a company and can’t blog my day away anymore. I now have a What Women Make board on Pinterest which is so much more efficient and visually compelling than laboriously adding images to a post that take 30 seconds to load. Visit me on Pinterest and visit the (fledgling) Show Love Pinterest board.

Monday • April 23, 2012 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Blog, Chauncey Zalkin, Design Thinking, Entrepreneurs, Technology Tuesday

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Influencers Map

Article written by Kristina Drury – founder of TYTHEdesign

Looking for ways to maintain reach with your community can be a challenge. When starting up a new endeavor you choose the most obvious paths such as popular blogs or specific stores to get in front of that community. However, after that first push it can be hard to reach that next round of people or re-engage your early adopters.

When I run across this challenge for TYTHEdesign or for any of my clients, we use a ‘design thinking’ activity called the Influencers Map, to identify all of the external elements (people, places, things, press…) that influence our community. If you can identify their behaviors, such as reading mommy blogs or watching specific TV shows, you will be able to identify new opportunities of outreach.

So how to create an influencers map?

Using post-it notes, a wall or a whiteboard, identify as many of the external influences of your community as you can.

Identify what your community READS (note… if they are teenagers don’t be presumptuous to think they read the newspaper… be realistic).
Identify popular TV program or stations that your community WATCHES
Identify what and who your community LISTENS to (friends, family, co-workers religious leaders, politicians, musicians… Be honest, not all products will engage each of these external influencers)
Identify where your group is most EXPOSED to ADVERTISING (if you community is an on-line community think of popular sites or think of your community mode of transportation)

Once you have as many post-its as you see fit in each category above, on a large paper or whiteboard, draw one large circle filling two-thirds of the page, then draw another circle inside about half the size and lastly place your user in the center.
Then take your post-its and place each ‘influencer’ in the first ring if they have large impact or in the second if they have passive impact. For example, someone your community speaks to regularly will have more impact that a poster on a bus.
Once all post-its have been placed on the map, you should be able to identify new possible opportunities, within the first circle, to reach your community. For example, if friends and blogs are the most important influencers – then perhaps your next campaign will be focus at blogs and give discount to friends who recommend another.

One thing to remember is that before you can reach your community you must know your community. If you can’t answer the question of what they read, watch, listen to or are exposed to then you need to do more research (both in person through interview/observation and on paper) about your community. Also, make sure you are identifying mediums that match your products or message as well. Just because your community read the newspaper doesn’t mean it’s the right avenue if you have an on-line product, for example.

To learn more about how to use this tool or have any questions about how to adapt it to your user or challenge please contact me.

—–
KRISTINA DRURY is an expert in design thinking and the Executive Director of TYTHEdesign, a consultancy serving the social sector based in New York City. TYTHEdesign uses design-based approaches to support the goals and needs of agencies in the social sector, drawing on communication and organizational design to increase the impact of their work. Feel free to contact her if you have questions at all! She’s here to help

Monday • March 26, 2012 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Design Thinking, Kristina Drury

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How To Get The Most Out of a Brainstorming Session

Article written by Kristina Drury – founder of TYTHEdesign

In early January I was invited to teach an interactive design thinking workshop for ‘The Center for Leadership Innovation‘ (TCLI) 2012 National Summit in New Orleans. TCLI is an organization that serves communities through leadership training. During the event, I learned a lot about the frustrations a lot of executives share when leading their team through these kinds of exercises so I came up with sometips I that can help everyone looking for a productive brainstorming session. Here they are:

1. Pick a person to be the facilitator. This person will lead the group through the activity. Remember that the role of the facilitator is to keep the ideas flowing, not stir the conversation. The facilitator doesn’t have to be the project lead; it could be a team member, which is a great way to empower your team.

2. Before starting, briefly introduce the challenge you are working on. Providing handouts with the needs and the overall goal for the session. If possible, post the handout so everyone can see it. This way the team will stay focused.

3. If it’s a large group, divide them up into smaller sub groups. This gives everyone the opportunity to be heard and it might allow for more ideas to be building simultaneously.

4. Start the activity by asking your team to take a few minutes and write down their first ideas before starting as a group. This makes sure that everyone gets heard right away.

5. Set ground rules with your team. Ask everyone to defer judgments; there are no bad ideas at this point. There will be plenty of time to narrow ideas down later. As a facilitator if you notice a team discussing the ideas or talking through the details, encourage them to put the idea out there and move on.

6. Ask that there be only one conversation at a time. This allows each participant to be heard. As a facilitator, if you notice one person putting out most of the ideas, ask them to allow others space to share.

7. This should be fun, make sure to encourage wild ideas. Even if an idea doesn’t seem realistic, it may spark a great idea for someone else.

8. Draw your ideas; don’t just have them write them down. Sometimes stick figures and simple sketches can say more than words.

8.Be realistic. Your team can only come up with ideas for a short amount of time. Limit the whole process to 10-20minutes. This keeps your team engaged and will end on a high note.

Also check out how to create an empathy map and how to ask the right questions, other tips I’ve shared with What Women Make readers.

Monday • February 20, 2012 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Design Thinking, Kristina Drury

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A Gift Guide for Your Intellect

Design Thinking Book Guide

by Kristina Drury – founder of TYTHEdesign

As the holidays are fast approaching, I thought I would have a bit of fun and put together a ‘design thinking’ book list. These could be a great options to buy for your team members, your boss (maybe as a way to kindly suggest some changes) or even as a list for yourself. I thought these books could be inspiring, make beautiful coffee table books or even just a good read.

Without further ado, the ‘design thinking’ book guide (presented in no specific order):

1.

CAD Monkeys, Dinosaur Babies, and T-Shaped People: Inside the World of Design Thinking and How It Can Spark Creativity and Innovation by Warren Berger ($12)
This is a great book to introduce yourself to the concept of design thinking and the concept of social design. Berger argues that design isn’t just about the aesthetics but about changing the world. I believe the book was written as an introduction to the value of design to the non-design community. That being said, as a designer myself, I very much I enjoyed the read. An easy read with a lot of real-world examples and good practices.

2.

Gamestorming by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo($19)
The book is chock-full of copious brainstorming activities and methods for overcoming that group creative block that can sometimes plague idea generation meetings. In addition to covering many of the techniques we use at TYTHEdesign, this book offers almost 100 methods for drawing out creativity, increasing meeting productivity, and inspiring engagement and cooperation among groups. A worthy book for anyone looking to get new ideas out of your team while bringing the team together.

3.

Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder ($20)
This is a must have for any one thinking of starting a business, it will help identify the basics of your business model in tangible steps. We at TYTHEdesign use techniques from this book on a daily basis and share them with our community. It’s remarkably useful, helpful and easy to follow. We would recommend this for creative thinkers planning on going out on their own in the business world.

4.

Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity by David Sibbet ($20)
If you have ever reached for a pen to explain your idea, then you will love this book. It’s not about drawing but how to use visuals (text, simple drawn images, photographs…..) as a part of engaging your team, explaining an idea to a client, analyzing and innovating. Even though we at TYTHEdesign come from a design background, we love using this book to keep us inspired. The book has a ton of useful information that can be easily implemented. We recommend this to anyone looking to add some fun to your regular meetings.

5.

Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation By Tim Brown ($19)
As the CEO of famed design consultancy IDEO, TIm Brown makes the argument for the relevance of design thinking in all global business. He believes that for a company to survive in this era, design thinking is a must. The book dives head first into practical design thinking providing a blueprint for its use across all categories.

Good luck with your holiday shopping and see you all in the new year!

Wednesday • December 14, 2011 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Blog, Design Thinking, Kristina Drury, Topical Thursday

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Asking the right questions

Article written by Kristina Drury – founder of TYTHEdesign

No matter what the project or challenge, understanding the needs of your users is one of the most essential parts of the design thinking process. Finding out what those needs means connecting with the community and learning through surveys, interviews and observation.

Here are a few tips on how to ask useful questions to learn more about your users needs:

1. Overcoming challenges of honesty, the right method. Ask your interviewees if they’d prefer to have a conversation with you or use a questionnaire. In my experience, if you are asking personal or private questions, people tend to feel more comfortable with a questionnaire.

2.Prepare your questions beforehand. It is important to ask everyone the same initial questions before asking more individualized questions. If each conversation is very different, it will be hard to do any reliable comparison.

3. Asking useful questions without being leading can sometimes be a challenge. If you have assumptions around your users needs and wants, put those down in a list and ask someone to rank them in importance. Following the ranking, ask them to explain why they chose the most important one and the least important one.

4. Use language in your questions that help your users feel important. They are the experts so let them know that their voice matters. People tend to speak more freely and honestly about their point of view when they are shown that they are valued.

5. Don’t ask someone ‘why’ or ‘please explain further’. These statements are impersonal. Find a way to ask ‘why’ with full sentences.

6. If your are interviewing someone, practice your questions. If you’re comfortable with what you’re going to say, your interaction with your interviewee will be that much better.

7. Provide an opportunity for people to tell a story around their needs, feelings or experience. Stories can help you understand the context and offer deeper insight into why their needs are important.

Figuring out what how to ask the right questions might take a few tries to resonate with your community. Hopefully these tips will help you on your way.

Wednesday • November 9, 2011 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Blog, Design Thinking, Kristina Drury

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Who’s Your Expert?

Article written by Kristina Drury – founder of TYTHEdesign

This past week, I was fortunate enough to teach a workshop at The School For Social Good (part of The Feast and Skillshare). The class I taught was entitled “Design Thinking Techniques for Non-Profits & Entrepreneurs: learn how to think quickly on your feet and solve problems through design.” The participants who attended were from a wide spectrum of backgrounds encompassing social ventures, entrepreneurs, marketing and non-profits. I focused on how design thinking can be used by non-designers to approach every day challenges.

This wasn’t the first time I taught this class but for the first time I spent the majority of the class explaining the importance of interacting with your users or customers. In my previous blog post, I wrote about the concept of creating an “empathy map” to understand the needs, wants and behaviors of your user group (the people you are ultimately using your product or service). After creating and completing this map, you should have a better understanding of what you don’t know about your user groups and what previous assumptions you have made that are correct. Ideally, with this knowledge you are in a much better position to move ahead with your community.

This was an expected and understood concept by the participants in the class, but the idea of actually interacting with their users seemed a bit overwhelming. For many organization or companies it is not always an easy thing to have direct contact with your users. It can be very expensive, time consuming and not the most comfortable step for many. I was asked over and over again if there was any way we could get around this step and still get viable information? I cautioned them that if you skipped this step then really you weren’t doing using good design thinking techniques. But if this was not a viable option, the concept of finding an few experts could be a way to go.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing an expert:

1.) An expert should be someone who is either in your user group or has a regular interaction with your community. This could be an existing organizations in the community (your user group), teachers, medical professionals, community leaders and even retailers (depending on your product).

2. ) Speak with individuals who have had a long term and continuing interaction (more than just an observer) with your user group.

3.) Make sure to give yourself time to evaluate and make sure the expert you choose will provide a good perspective of your users. In education, for example, if you are writing a curriculum, is the expert the student (providing feedback on what they are learning) or the teacher (being the one administrating the lesson)?

4.) Having one conservation with one person is not sufficient and might lead you in the wrong direction depending on their personal bias. In other words, working with an expert should not be a one time deal. It is important that they become part of your research and feedback process throughout your project.

5.) The more experts you use, the more likely your information will be accurate and viable.

In addition to direct contact with your users, experts are an excellent way to get more information without having direct contact with your users.
—–
KRISTINA DRURY is an expert in design thinking and the Executive Director of TYTHEdesign (LINK www.tythe-design.com), a consultancy serving the social sector based in New York City. TYTHEdesign uses design-based approaches to support the goals and needs of agencies in the social sector, drawing on communication and organizational design to increase the impact of their work. Feel free to contact her if you have questions at all! She’s here to help.

Friday • October 14, 2011 • by Kristina Drury

Category: Design Thinking

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Design Thinking Through Empathy

Last month, I introduced my monthly What Women Make column dedicated to design thinking tools that entrepreneurs can use to solve business challenges.

The most important element that sets design thinking apart from other methods of problem solving is the fact that it’s a user-centered process. A traditional top-down process, on the other hand, involves presenting a design brief describing the problem, devising a solution and then testing that solution with a focus group. User-centered design is great because it engages the end user of your business throughout the entire process.

Here’s a tool that will help you do that. It’s called a “User Empathy Maps”. Empathy mapping exposes user needs, offers community insights and reveals opportunities to reach out and connect with your end users which will help make sure you’re creating a meaningful solution.

So how do I use an empathy map?

The goal of this map is to identify the true needs of your user and to eliminate your assumptions so it’s best to do the exercise before engaging your user in order to pinpoint what you don’t know, and what you need to know and again after to see the difference between your assumptions and what you’ve learned.

On a large paper or whiteboard, create 6 equal sections and place your user in the center.
Populate the map by taking notes of the following six traits of your users. I would suggest using post-it notes or writing on the piece of paper/whiteboard.

SAY/DO: Who they are in their world? What are their attitudes and actions in public? Appearance? Behavior? Where do they spend their time? What are some quotes and defining words your user said (based on interview or research)?
THINK/FEEL: What might your user be thinking? What about their beliefs? Whose opinions influence them? What emotions might your subject be feeling? What really counts? What feelings and beliefs guide their behavior?
HEAR: Whose options influence them? Who are their friends? What beliefs are they hearings?
SEE: What is surrounding the users? Environmental factors? What is on the market? Friends’ behavior? Context for challenge?
PAIN: What are the fears and frustrations of the user? What influences their behavior based on the challenge?
WANTS/NEEDS: What are the elements the user wants changed? What are their aspirations?

Take a step back to examine the needs of your users. Pay attention for a couple important factors.

What is a ‘fact’ versus an assumption. If you don’t know something is true but think that is how your user behaves or thinks then put a question mark. This will identify what you need to confirm before moving ahead.
Watch for solution posting as needs…. Either remove the post and save for later or reframe by asking ‘why do we need (solution)?”

New creative solutions to challenges are more effective when you eliminate assumptions about the needs, wants, and behaviors of the person who is going to ultimately use your product or service.

To learn more about how to use this tool or have any questions about how to adapt it to your user or challenge please contact me.

Thursday • September 15, 2011 • by Kristina Drury

Category: Blog, Design Thinking, Kristina Drury

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Friday Diary: Celebrating & Reflecting on Dieter Rams

- August 24, 2011
“Good Design Is Long Lasting” Exhibition
Phaidon Flagship NY

Core77 and Phaidon held a contest to celebrate iconic German industrial designer Dieter Rams work and his ‘less is more’ design principles. Rams was the head of product design at Braun from 1961 to 1995 and has been described as the yoda of design. His designs are commonly considered to have influenced the designs of Apple, Nokia, Muji and more – that clean rounded nonfussy most modern of aesthetics). The drawings are on display in a product timeline at the flagship store for the next two weeks.

Here is a reposting of Ram’s principles (color) with some of my own thoughts (grey/black) ; Their essence resonates far beyond the confines of design.
1. Good Design is innovative
It does not copy existing product forms, nor does it produce any kind of novelty for the sake of it. The essence of innovation must be clearly seen in all functions of a product. The possibilities in this respect are by no means exhausted. Technological development keeps offering new chances for innovative solutions.

I wrote an article a while back entitled “new lessons from ancient Japan”. In it, i refer to the term “kaizen,” continuous improvement (process focus) which Toyota embraces as a core value. Their motto: ‘the right process, the right result.’

I want to look at the word innovation. I like to check in regularly with words that become buzzwords to make sure they still mean something to me. So why do we need continuous innovation? Did we always need it?

There is no more ‘the way things have always been done’. Has iterative, motivated ($$, survival) change always existed at this urgent alarm-shrieking level? It seems like we can break history down into 3 phases where innovation changes from being a base ‘Maslow’ style need to a self-actualizing ‘nice to have’ Maslow style need. I’d say it goes something like this:

A. The dawn of man, -history, ancient Egypt, Rome, through to industrial revolution: continuous improvement, better tools, better solutions – all the time. Base impulse of humankind. Gets increasingly less urgent once we start lying around talking about philosophy through to committing mass genocide on several continents.

B. Next phase: 40′s on – years of trying to find solutions that last (excepting planned obsolescence of course) so we could rest and be happy fat cats. No need to innovate to survive.

C. Where we are now. Screw ‘innovate and stop, innovate and stop’. Back to the most urgent of loop to loop innovation in every day life.

Is continuous innovation a fact of modern life as well as a fact of primitive life? Is life now mimicking primitive life?

Mandate: how can we continuously improve and reassess, stay objective, keep questioning meaning?

2. Good Design makes a product useful
A product is bought in order to be used. It must serve a defined purpose – in both primary and additional functions. The most important task of design is to optimise the utility of a product.

I used to tutor a 6th grade kid with anger issues and I always said ‘use your resources’. I don’t know where i got it form but it was the way to get him on track when he began to get frustrated with a lesson.

Then I realized that I don’t always use my resources. I forget my resources and seek new ones to the detriment of what I’ve already gathered.

Sometimes things are just easy. Don’t make them hard. What do you already have?

3. Good Design is aesthetic
The aesthetic quality of a product – and the fascination it inspires – is an integral part of the its utility. Without doubt, it is uncomfortable and tiring to have to put up with products that are confusing, that get on your nerves, that you are unable to relate to. However, it has always been a hard task to argue about aesthetic quality, for two reasons.

Firstly, it is difficult to talk about anything visual, since words have a different meaning for different people.

Some designers I speak to don’t feel comfortable with words. My job is sense making in this arena. In others, my words are more essence than organization. Words are my output. On the other hand, i can barely draw a straight line.

Secondly, aesthetic quality deals with details, subtle shades, harmony and the equilibrium of a whole variety of visual elements. A good eye is required, schooled by years and years of experience, in order to be able to draw the right conclusion.

4. Good Design helps a product be understood
It clarifies the structure of the product. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory and saves you the long, tedious perusal of the operating manual.

Every practical interaction should be so easy so we can leave the talking and words for literature, criticism, love, and debate.

5. Good Design is unobtrusive
Products that satisfy this criterion are tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained leaving room for the user’s self-ex ssion.

6. Good Design is honest
An honestly-designed product must not claim features it does not have – being more innovative, more efficient, of higher value. It must not influence or manipulate buyers and users.

7. Good Design is durable
It is nothing trendy that might be out-of-date tomorrow. This is one of the major differences between well-designed products and trivial objects for a waste-producing society. Waste must no longer be tolerated.

8. Good Design is thorough to the last detail
Thoroughness and accuracy of design are synonymous with the product and its functions, as seen through the eyes of the user

9. Good Design is concerned with environment
Design must contribute towards a stable environment and a sensible use of raw materials. This means considering not only actual pollution, but also the visual pollution and destruction of our environment.

10. Good Design is as little design as possible
Back to purity, back to simplicity.

What becomes of the baroque? (it certainly shows up in contemporary television but where else does the baroque make sense?)

That’s all for now. (not the most graceful exit but it’s time to rest and after all this is a blog.)

Saturday • August 13, 2011 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Blog, Chauncey Zalkin, Design Thinking, Essays, Friday Diary, Product Design, Thinkers

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