There is a funny phenomenon that occurs in your creative career that no one really tells you or forewarns you about. It isn’t entirely explicit, although, perhaps I didn’t see what was always hanging above me until my focus gazed upwards from my navel. This… Read More
All posts by “stefdr”
izanami
The shinto goddess of creation and death, and a fitting representation to what feels like the death and re-birth of this blog. After many months (years??) of deliberation I decided to reach into the ashes to nurture a fresh new set of writing wings. Lets… Read More
Your strategy needs a minimum viable experience
Let’s all play a game of buzzword bingo. But instead, let’s name those words that denote practices which pragmatically improve our understanding of how we work, without resulting in confused shrugs. I’ll start: The ubiquitous MVP (minimum viable product) has wedged itself into our ways-of-working,… Read More
Are you a designer, or just a facilitator?
A few weeks back I was standing in a room facilitating a large ideation workshop. Mid-session I found myself thinking, I am not sure if I enjoy this. Walking out of that workshop, I told myself that I entered into the design field to become… Read More
Culture eats innovation for breakfast
There are often times when I come to a sudden halt and find myself feeling stuck or unable to produce or execute work that I otherwise may feel confident and comfortable to complete. This happens to everyone at some point in their career, and more… Read More
the strategy behind design
This year I was invited to teach an online subject for a master’s degree, of which was simply titled design strategy. I was also offered the liberty to (re)create the subject, as I saw fit, and as such had the freedom to structure it how I liked.… Read More
Have we misunderstood innovation?
When you think of the word ‘innovation’ what comes to your mind? Many will say Uber, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk or even design thinking. Today, if you peer into the world of design, you will be bombarded with the word innovation. Innovation is becoming a permanent… Read More
The power struggle behind big data: forfeiting emotional autonomy to the machine
I encounter a lot of debates between myself and those who defend the authority of big data. It made me begin to wonder what kind of perception we are generating and what kind of attitudes we are embedding into our practice due to this desire for a quantifiable truth. Logical positivism… Read More
The design process isn’t the problem. You are the problem
(harsh, but true) This debate keeps cropping up like a seasonal virus. Once again, I encountered a bit of chatter across the internet and amongst practitioners on the ol’ topic that design thinking has failed to live up to its hype. This is a post explaining why I… Read More
My PhD thesis
Hello world. My thesis is finally available for web via the link below: https://www.academia.edu/24919250/Understanding_the_behaviour_of_design_thinking_in_complex_environments It is not perfect, but it was enough for a PhD. I hope you enjoy