What is Design Thinking Do you want to improve the world around you Design thinking can help you to become a change maker Design thinking is a step-by-step process to solve real problems faced by real people It starts with empathy Empathy means understanding the feelings and perspectives of others Empathy helps you focus on people’s unique problems and develop solutions for them Green communities are environmentally friendly and have green spaces or spaces with plants and trees You can increase the amount of green space in your community by planting trees Focus on the User The user is the person group or community who is facing a problem A solution focused on the user is more likely to succeed Design thinkers may fail on their first attempt to solve a user’s problem that’s okay Use what you learned to improve the next version of the design solution This is called failing forward We are all responsible for protecting the global environment 4
meet a change maker Where Did Design Thinking Come From Problem solvers have used design thinking for many years though they called it different names Today people of all ages and backgrounds use design thinking as a guide to becoming change makers in their communities Community Connections Everyone is part of a community A community is a place where people live work and play A community can be small like your neighborhood or large like your country or even the world This book is about green communities so you will learn how to use design thinking to come up with solutions that help communities be environmentally friendly Green community members think globally and act locally This means that they think about the health of the entire planet and take action in their own communities to fix environmental issues People in green communities try to live in ways that minimize or lessen their impact on the environment People in green communities improve and protect the environment closest to them In turn this helps protect the global environment that we all share Simon Jackson Saving the Spirit Bear Design Thinking in the Real World Simon Jackson saw his first bear while camping at the age of 7 He learned that one type of bear the spirit bear was threatened with extinction People hunted them for sport and their habitat was being destroyed by activities such as deforestation He studied the problem facing the bears and realized that they needed a habitat safe from hunting and logging When he was 13 Simon started the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition He talked to students politicians and environmentalists to raise awareness about the problem that the spirit bears were facing His campaign connected with more than six million people in 87 countries He asked people to protect the bears from hunting and habitat destruction As a result of his work more than two-thirds of the spirit bear’s habitat in British Columbia Canada is now protected The spirit bear is white but isn’t a polar bear It is a black bear that has a rare genetic trait that makes it white instead of black 5
The Design Thinking Process Design Thinking Steps the design thinking process is a set of steps that guides problem solving There are different versions of the process but they all begin with empathy and put the user's needs first Empathize Develop a deep understanding of the user's needs Observing or interacting with animals can help you develop empathy for them Reflect Evaluate whether your solution met the user's need Define Identify the user's point of view and define a problem to solve Test Share your prototype with the user and collect their feedback Ideate Generate many creative ideas as possible solutions Prototype Build a representation of the best idea After completing all 6 steps go back to the beginning and use what you learned to improve the next version of your prototype
These steps are iterative which means any of the steps can be repeated as you learn more about what works for the user At each step make improvements to your solution This book will guide you through the steps of the design-thinking process We will review real-world case studies and introduce real change makers who are helping to protect the environment Then you will design your own user-centered solutions to make your community greener Design thinking is a collaborative process By working with others you can approach a problem from many different perspectives or points of view Mindset Tips Listen up Remember that the user has a story to tell so listen closely Dig deeper If you don’t understand something ask questions Take turns Let everyone have a chance to voice ideas and ask questions Get distracted Creative ideas often come when you least expect such as on a walk during a game or when you’re daydreaming Be brave Don’t let shyness prevent you from contributing your ideas 7
