sf design
lab
Challenge:
Early on in business school at San Francisco State University, I learned about the techniques and concepts of Design Thinking and discovered that this was not a concept taught in most MBA programs. In fact, the concept was only taught in a few classes within the MBA program I was in. This was disconcerting to me for two reasons: 1) I know the value from a business standpoint of a well-designed product in terms of value creation and growth potential and 2) I have always been a fan of thoughtfully designed products and wanted a way to help ensure that the future decision-makers of the world were making production decisions from a design standpoint. I needed to find a way that I could spread the knowledge of the techniques I truly believed in with fellow students.
Process:
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Four other students and I met together after class and discussed the issue at hand. We decided to create our own student organization for MBA students to learn Design Thinking concepts and techniques. The five of us became co-founders as well as moderators and facilitators in discussions and workshops that explored different concepts and techniques throughout each semester. We named it the SF Design Lab.
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Not only was the organization successful in introducing so many students to Design Thinking, it was also a great way for us to learn more and have a great time doing it. For myself in particular, this also led me to continue this very practice by being a guest lecturer every semester at San Francisco State University's MBA program teaching Design Thinking & Prototyping.
