#stanford d.school

[innovatecreatedesign]

Want A Crash Course In Stanford’s Design Thinking? Here it is for free (Pt. 1 Empathy)

The Institute of Design (D.School) at Stanford has become one of the most talked about institutions recently because of the methodology they are spreading around the world to improve our lives thro…

[quarterlyco]

#DSC05: Back to the Drawing Board

When you were young, and you had an idea, you didn't run it by your peers. You just started drawing it. (And if it had three heads and eight arms, no problem.)

Like Gretchen Rubin's #THP07, which nudged grown-ups to have child-like fun, #DSC05 reminded us that drawing doesn't have to stop the day you realize you're not Picasso. The Stanford d.school team provided a "design sketching starter kit," enticing subscribers to get back to the drawing board.

"Sketch by yourself to wring out and ring out the details of a thought. Share a sketch and create a shared understanding. Even better, stumble on serendipitous misunderstandings."

It was another case of the d.school helping designers——and all inventive folks——unlock their creative process They do that every quarter, you know... Want in?

[quarterlyco]

5 Questions for the Stanford d.school

We love the distinctive mailings from Stanford's d.school——they're like a secret backdoor for those of us who can't attend the classes. And they always make us think about design (and the world) a little differently.

The star of #DSC04 was the so-called "Bootcamp Bootleg," a deck of method cards to support design thinking. As their letter explained, the Bootleg was intented as "your portable pocket toolkit——to help you get out of innovation jams, large or small." We caught up with Scott and Grace from the d.school for a look behind the scenes.

1. How did you come up with the idea for your latest Quarterly mailing? We value collaboration at the d.school, so for the last mailing, we hooked up with Thomas Both. He does a lot of the design work for our class and workshop materials. Thomas had a big hand in creating the d.school method cards, so we worked with him to come up with a clever way to share the cards through an activity. He was the brainchild behind the silver-on-black design activity that went out with the cards. Inside scoop: At least one item in each of our packages is created especially for our Quarterly mailings. We always have fun making sure each experience has that little extra something-something.  2. What’s the best thing you’ve ever received in the mail?

Scott: My grandfather's typed-on-a-typewriter letters. Thanks, G-Pa. 

Grace: An unexpected love letter from a good friend in high school…what a sweet surprise. 3. What's the worst thing?

Scott: Anything that's not from a loved one falls into the worst category, except for party supply store catalogues––my daughters and I have a lot of fun with those. 

Grace: Copies of lab reports from my mom's doctor on her cancer diagnosis. Knocking wood, she's good, seven years and counting. 4. What's your longest-running subscription?

Scott: It was ReadyMade for a long time (I'm not just saying that because Grace founded it). Now it's probably Esquire. 

Grace: W magazine. LOVE. I am a closet magazine junkie (Mental Floss and Teen Vogue included. I consider it pop culture research). 5. Which other Quarterly contributor intrigues you the most?

Scott: Mike Monteiro: "Uplifting Stories About Someone Else's Pain." How could you not be intrigued by that!?

Grace: Pharrell Williams—so unlike the other contributors, can't wait to get my first mailing!

Thanks, Grace and Scott! Be sure to check out the Stanford d.school's next mailing before it closes.