Promote Design Thinking

As best-selling author Daniel Pink points out in A Whole New Mind, design thinking is imperative these days.  Modern technology and cheap labor abroad drive manufacturing costs to the floor.  Low price, therefore, isn't the only way for products and services to stand out from the crowd.  Instead, people make buying decisions based on how something makes them feel. 

Design is important because it engages our emotions.  Our kids should be made aware of this.  They can learn how to become design thinkers by paying attention to the little things that connect us to our experiences.  

This summer, I'm trying to encourage design thinking with my own kids by asking questions like these:

What do you like about this _________ (book, movie, restaurant, hotel, etc.)?  How could it be improved?  What kind of person would enjoy it?  Can you think of anything that would help win more fans for it?

I've enjoyed the conversations that have resulted from these questions.  Hopefully you'll have a positive experience as well!

 

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