Author:jorisadmin

26.01.2016

Developing Strategic Design Services and Building Communities

Video Think like a Startup Canvas Game at d.confestival

We strongly believe that design can be used more effectively at a strategic level in organisations.

At DesignThinkers Group & Academy offer more than traditional design services. This led us to develop and offer our clients a wide range of strategic design services. Our innovation offerings include the facilitation and design of brands, products, services and networks through a co-creation of value with stakeholders.

We realised from our work with companies that the need to offer innovation facilitators comes from companies struggling to collaborate internally. Organisations generally work in silos and are organised around market driven efficiency. While this has been a successful approach, a majority of the time companies can have great visions and values that are not translated into their everyday key performance indicators (KPIs).

Our innovation facilitators help organisations create new collaborations and translate values into meaningful services for people and the stakeholders involved. As facilitators we bring an outside view in, to reinvent collaborations internally to create a culture of trust. As we bring people together we are able to get stakeholders involved in the problem, exchanging information, exploring and trying out new ways of working towards a solution.

26.01.2016

The awareness of Design Thinking is growing

Co-creation session with Schiphol Airport of Amsterdam

Design Thinking will be a part of everyday work and it will be a means how company culture and behavior functions; not as an add-on, gimmick or workshop, but as a part of culture and behavior.

It is growing because many companies are stuck within their own business model. They find it very difficult to change, but they need to because their market, their customers’ expectations and the employee expectations are changing. This is also about retaining a customer and entrepreneurial mentality in your organization.

The business model and organizational model is usually broken. So there are a lot of questions out there, and they want to use a methodology that helps them. Design Thinking offers the necessary holistic approach. It is very helpful for companies with those needs. So it is not because Design Thinking is new or because it is so brilliant. It is just because companies have a need, and Design Thinking addresses that need.

Ideally nobody will talk about Design Thinking, because it is part of what you do, it is part of your DNA. It is not a special kind of thing what you do, it is about culture and behavior, ideally that would be the future: a change in mindset culture and behavior.

26.01.2016

Our Social Innovation Team promotes Social Impact and Sustainability all around the globe

DesignThinkers is specialized in building and facilitating creative multidisciplinary teams and communities to drive positive change.

Our goal is to strengthen our client's capabilities to innovate and enable the Co-Creation of Value with all Stakeholders and create Sustainable Business based on a long term and Human Centred Vision.

Our Social Innovation team works with organizations promoting social impact and sustainability all around the world, both at social enterprises, governments, NGO’s, CSR departments of large and small companies and other organisations.
DesignThinkers has 18 teams located in Europe, UK, Latin America, North America, Asia, Australia and Africa.

27.01.2016

Rapid Change & Growing Complexity

Today’s world requires you to be agile and respond quickly to changing opportunities and end-user needs. You simply can’t wait for a research report to be finished before you start moving. You need a continuous and integrated approach to research.

As we all experience we are facing a growing complexity not easily understood by analyzing big data. Data does not tell you what to do. And in a complex environment you need design interventions, prototypes or MVP’s to turn data into knowledge.

This is why DesignThinkers has developed the Integrated Design Research method bridging the gap between research and business, customer insights and implementable Innovations.

Integrated Design Research is a continuous and iterative activity to ensure your decisions are based on real and validated end-user insights. The method is based on a combination of proven methods from Lean Startup and Service Design Thinking.

27.01.2016

Multidisciplinary Research Team

A new approach to research also needs a new kind of research team.

DesignThinkers Research teams are multidisciplinary and experienced in business development, change management, design and ethnography. They are facilitators, mentors and trainers and will help you plan and execute the research as part of an iterative user centred design approach. They will guide you and connect you to your end-users, build empathy, understand how people live, what they think and see the world through their eyes.

Want to know what DesignThinkers Research can do for you?
Send an email to info[@]designthinkersgroup.com

27.01.2016

Holland Branding: Brand Books including a typical Dutch Miffy

In collaboration with nation branding guru, Simon Anholt, we had the honor to design a publication for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to represent the Dutch Economic highlights in an appealing way. We designed a Brand Box: three books about water, export and design and one Miffy. The publication was used as a give-away for Dutch ambassadors all over the world.

…and the Dutch created Holland

25.05.2017

DTG launches DesignThinkers Academy ‘Learning-by-Doing’

The DesignThinkers Academy ‘Learning-by-Doing’ was initiated by the Founders of DesignThinkers Group in 2012

Our mission is to provide space and time for teams and individuals to be inspired and challenged, to learn by doing and strengthen their ability for creative problem solving.

In order to strengthen our client’s capabilities to innovate we felt it was important to embed the required skills in their organisation. This is why we set up the DesignThinkers Academy to offer and co-create Training Programs for Professionals and Teams in Corporate and Governmental environments, Study Tours, Masterclasses, Summer Schools and Personal Coaching.

We strongly believe in ‘Learning by Doing’, so our training sessions are high energy and hands-on events. In all of them, participants are challenged to work in small teams on a real case and learn to work with Service Design and Design Thinking tools like Personas, Cultural Probes, Customer Journey Mapping, Stakeholder Mapping, Value Network Mapping, Prototyping, Business Modeling, Road Mapping and more.

The Masterclasses from the DT Academy with top professionals from the Service Design field and the hands-on training inspired my work as a human centered design consultant and trainer. It was a wonderful experience. Thanks DT Academy! (Alexander Faga, Swisscom)

For the year overview of the DesignThinkers Academy training sessions click here.

18.12.2019

Now available paperback version ‘This is Service Design Thinking’

DesignThinkers Group co-authored the Red Dot Design Award Winner publication ‘This is Service Design Thinking: Basics, Tools, Cases’.

A set of 23 international authors created this interdisciplinary publication applying exactly the same user-centered and co-creative approach it preaches.

This publication outlines a contemporary approach for service innovation. ‘This is Service Design Thinking’ introduces a new way of thinking to beginners but also serves as a reference for professionals. It explains the approach, its background, process, methods and tools and connects theory to contemporary case studies.

How to design and market services to create outstanding Customer Experiences? We use the book as a source of knowledge and inspiration during and after many of our trainings.

A paperback version is available now. Click here to read the first chapter online.