Design Thinking, Social Innovation, and Complex Systems

1h 1mIntermediate2021-05-14

Authors

Scott Boylston

Designer, Author, Professor of Design for Sustainability

Course details

Silicon Valley has always attracted talented designers looking to improve user experience. But designers can improve the human experience too. Social innovation is the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues. This course is for those who want to use social innovation and design thinking to achieve big results for their communities. Get ready to discover design opportunities to reimagine human behavior. Find out to break down impenetrable and unpredictable problems using concepts like the iceberg model and nested systems. Then find out how design can serve the higher purposes of inclusivity and social justice. Instructor and sustainable design expert Scott Boylston explains the relationship between design thinking and social innovation and teaches us about the impact design can have on global goals, including sustainable development, anti-racism, and equality.

Skills covered

Sustainability AwarenessDesign ThinkingUser ExperienceGraphic DesignProfessional DevelopmentOne-Off

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Rethinking innovation

1. What Is Social Innovation

02 - A closer look at the elements of social innovation
03 - Infusing your design thinking with systems thinking
04 - Developing a conscious competence with the iceberg model
05 - Working with the iceberg model
06 - Leverage points in complex systems
07 - Understanding nested systems
08 - Design contributions to social innovation

2. Inclusivity and Justice

09 - Where justice and design intersect
10 - Understanding systems stories
11 - Structural racism and design
12 - Design and anti-racism
13 - Equity-centered design
14 - Design's relationship with belonging and becoming
15 - Cultural competence

3. Capabilities and Design

16 - Seeking the right goal - Measuring genuine progress
17 - Three elements of a Moore s Law of social innovation
18 - Capabilities and four concepts of advantage
19 - Ten core capabilities
20 - Addressing disadvantage

Conclusion

21 - Next steps