Unleash your inner innovator
Chris How at UX Brighton 2023
About this talk
Design is about creating change. As designers, we offer the most value when we’re shaping problems to tackle and not just shipping features. However, in many organisations, it is easy for designers to get boxed into a pure delivery role merely adding polish at the end of the process.
Innovation is a mindset and a set of skills that with a little effort can be developed. So stop waiting to be struck by that eureka moment. Stop waiting to be asked to head up an innovation project. Instead, take the initiative and introduce design-led innovation techniques to your workplace and your work practice.
In this talk, Chris will share some practical strategies for designers to develop their inner innovator. With a focus on looking at what’s in your gift to change, starting small but thinking big, and embracing constraints. He’ll help you to kickstart a move in your organisation to use design to identify, investigate and incubate innovative ideas.
About Chris
Chris is the Head of Experience Design at Clearleft, an award-winning design transformation agency based in Brighton. He helps clients create meaningful audience-centred digital products and services through design leadership, strategic thinking, and robust research.
Chris is passionate about using design to improve people’s lives and transform organisations for the better. You can read his thoughts on creating standout digital products and services on the Clearleft website.
Chris relishes the chance to learn from and share with the digital design community. He has spoken at conferences across Europe and the USA and is one of the co-organisers of the popular annual un-conference UX Camp Brighton.
Related reading
Books, research, ideas and people referenced in this talk.
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Projects and resources
- The Human Library02:25The talk describes the Human Library as a Danish project where people borrow human books for conversations that challenge prejudice.
- Gossamer Condor14:50The talk uses Paul MacCready's Gossamer Condor as an example of a prototype designed to make learning from crashes easy.
- The Red List of Endangered Crafts22:16The talk recommends Heritage Crafts' Red List of Endangered Crafts as a source of inspiration for creative projects.
Papers and articles
- Stop Thinking Outside the Box05:48The talk recommends a Harvard Business Review article arguing that innovation begins with better-framed questions rather than broad outside-the-box brainstorming.
- Walking and creative thinking24:19The talk recommends a video about Marily Oppezzo's research into going for a walk with a problem to ponder.
Concepts
- How Might We07:44The talk presents How Might We questions as a way to combine bold ambition with a significant constraint.
People
- David Ogilvy08:42The talk attributes the idea that constraints can support creativity to advertising man David Ogilvy.
- Linus Pauling12:39The talk quotes Linus Pauling's advice that the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.
Books
- Green Eggs and Ham09:15The talk uses Dr Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham and its fifty-word constraint as an example of creativity within limits.
- Six Frames For Thinking About Information11:59The talk attributes a shape-selection exercise to Edward de Bono and uses it to illustrate the value of looking for more than the first answer.
- The Back of the Napkin16:34The talk cites Dan Roam's The Back of the Napkin when describing different kinds of visual thinkers in co-design.
- How to Write One Song21:41The talk recommends Jeff Tweedy's How to Write One Song as a resource whose songwriting advice can apply to digital design.
