Designing Environmental Solutions
Course Content
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Lesson 1: Designing for Humans
How do I understand the needs of those involved with my challenge, in order to design solutions they’ll love?
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Lesson 2: Generating New Ideas
How do I come up with innovative ideas for environmental solutions?
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Lesson 3: Prototyping and Iteration
How do I prototype, test, and iterate an environmental solution?
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Explore More
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Lesson 2: Additional Resources
Tips for leading a brainstorming session: This is a helpful, detailed guide that you can refer to for future brainstorms you lead.
Refer to Anne Manning’s tips on Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking as a reminder of why we need to defer judgement in the first phases of ideation, and set aside a separate session for converging.
Links to other ideation methods and sources of inspiration: here are more details on the ‘other ideation methods’ introduced in class:
- Biomimicry Resources: asknature.org and biomimicry.org offer more examples, exercises, and information.
- Fast Idea Generator
- SCAMPER explanation
- Osborn Checklist
- Mashup (worksheet & video, and Analogous Inspiration Worksheet)
Moonshots! A Game of Radical Thinking amps up the playfulness of your brainstorming.
Why you can’t brainstorm creative ideas is a critique that lends a nuanced view of brainstorming’s shortfalls. As you read, consider: which of these shortfalls are inherent in any brainstorm, and which are the result of poor planning or facilitation?
Sketching: Thinking Visually offers an example of how sketching can help us move from a concept through to a prototype and beyond.
If you’re struggling to decide which idea to pursue, Kevin Hale from Y Combinator shares some tips: How to Evaluate Startup Ideas
The Sprint Book’s “Tuesday” chapter digs deeper into ideation, through the lens of the sprint methodology.