Overview

Design is often characterized as a process of creative problem solving yet framing the problem to be solved is a design opportunity that is often overlooked. Beyond helping us find solutions, design methods and mindsets also enable us to frame entirely new problem spaces full of unexplored possibilities and untapped potential. Framing new problems and re-framing old problems in new ways is often the key to discovering truly innovative solutions.

In this one-day course, we will explore problem framing in the context of design and innovation across fields such as the arts, sciences, industry, diplomacy, and humor. As a participant, you can expect to experiment with various applications of and approaches to this powerful practice in design.

Through interactive discussions and collaborative activities, we will cover topics including:

• Human-centered versus industry-centered problems
• The power of specification and abstraction in design
• "Wicked problems" and co-evolving solution spaces
• Framing and reframing across design-led processes

How You Will Benefit

Together, we will cultivate a critical awareness of different forms and features of problems and learn to see challenges in our lives and work as opportunities. Through interactive activities, you will craft and critique a design problem (or brief) of your own to better understand how perspectives shift and possibilities change when we frame and reframe challenges in different ways.

Who Should Attend

We welcome any anyone and everyone—with or without previous design experience—to join us for this course. It is open to anyone interested in more strategically approaching problems to more effectively develop solutions.

Having a basic familiarity with human-centered design is helpful but is not a prerequisite.

Additional Information

Online courses use Zoom for audio and screensharing and Mural as a collaborative, online workspace. You do not need to create accounts or download any programs in order to access these technologies. More information and instructions will be shared prior to the course.

Length 1 day
Contact Hours 4 hours

OPM Leadership Competencies Emphasized
• Creativity/Innovation
• Customer Service
• Entrepreneurship
• Problem Solving
• Strategic Thinking