Tim Brown begins his talk by discussing the invention of the Great Western Railway that runs from London to the West coast of England. Brunel, the technologist and designer wanted to create an experience of floating across the countryside for his passengers. In order to achieve this among other things long tunnels had to be built. J. M. W. Turner painted a picture of this magnificent trian.
Brown then goes on to explain, the need to to think divergently and create new choices and apply those to come up with unique solutions. Second he emphasises on the need to think in an integrated way. Integrated thinking can be explained by holding multiple tensions in your head and by resolving them together. Desirability, feasibility and viability are the key objectives. For example Jamie Oliver is trying to make food more accessible in the US and incorporating the objective of ‘accessibility’.
Tim Brown also hopes that we get many people involved in the design process and feels that prototyping speeds up the innovation process. ‘Open Idea’ measures the design quotient or the contribution of oneself in the design process. Brown urges us all to participate in the creative economy and differentiates between creator and creative. He talks about classified advertising in San Francisco as well as how fear can discourage collaboration. He explains that learning that comes from failure is often great and that space and organisation of the designer can help him/her support the desired goal.
Towards the end of the Ted Talk, Tim urges the audience to ask the right questions and claims for this to be the most important principle of design thinking. He says it is pivotal to start from the right place and that we should “start movements, not just tell stories.” According to him, it is also crucial to cultivate participation in multiple organisations and not just our own.
Reflection- I found this talk particulary helpful for my personal project. His points cleared many doubts in my mind regarding the initial steps and how to begin finding a solution for such a far reaching problem. He was systematic in explaining his ideals and articulate in getting them across to the audience.
