design thinking

Design thinking is about getting away from “small” design and moving toward community-oriented “big” design. “Small” design is fashionable products that are interesting and perhaps desirable, whereas “big” design encompasses a system.

The Unity Village project is all about design thinking. It is a community project, therefore, it seems only appropriate that the community would be involved in the design. This is being accomplished through in-depth research about the user groups. Within each design decision, each user group is considered. Each space, floor, and the building as a whole is thought about as being a system- in this case, a community.

Design thinking will inform my decisions in the future as well. I have realized how important it is to not sit in a room as a designer and design a room for a consumer, but to instead involve the end user(s) in the process if at all possible. This aids in asking the right questions and finding the right answers. The people in the situation naturally have a good idea of what works or what is missing in a space. Their questions lead to bigger questions that need to be answered by the designer.