Designing Thought part1: Crossing the river

Designing Thought part1: Crossing the river

Good day, this is my experience of the Postgraduate Diploma Design Management subject for the year 2023. In our 1st week our brief consisted of 2 parts. For the 1st part we each completed 5 linkedin learning courses, 4 we were given and the 5th was of our own choosing. We received a certificate for each course and did a one page reflection on what we learnt from each course. For the 1st course, Project management for creative projects by Richard Harrington, we looked at organizational leadership within the design industry. This course is an introduction to project management and how it serves to benefit business owners, business managers, those who aspire to management roles and those who work in creative industries. For the 2nd course, Change management foundations by Scott Mautz, we looked at the foundations of change management. The course covers the human side of change and how to implement change management, as a path not a process, paying careful attention to the emotional and mental state of those who are affected by the changes that take place within organizations.

For the 3rd course, design thinking: Customer experience by Geoffrey Schwartz, we looked at Resolving design thinking for customer experiences. This course is an introduction to design thinking applied to creating customer experiences (CX), and the organizational interactions with customers. By building and maintaining solid relationships, customers are made to feel emotionally satisfied and loyal enough to continue supporting the brands they love. For the 4th course, Agile user experience design and research by Eric Nordquist, we looked at incorporating agility and flexibility in future environments. This course covers strategies for agile user experience designers for UX teams and projects. This course was useful as an introduction to the UX components I employ in my daily life yet when it comes to UX planning I often get confused by all the terminology and processes involved. The 5th course I chose was ‘Take a more approach to problem solving’. This type of course was challenging to find, combining risk and creativity within 20 minutes. It is a Big Think course and it features top creative practitioners sharing their insights from personal experiences they have gained in their respective fields.

For the 2nd part of the brief we were placed into groups in order to complete a miro mind map applying the RACEIM approach looking at the benefits of the 4 courses. Each of our group members, consisting of part-time students, was tasked with mapping one of the 4 courses. I did the creative project management map, Elaine did the change management map, Eli did the design thinking customer experience map and Louw did the agile ux map. This was busy week in that there were many components to this brief and it was interesting as I learned about new theories and methods that I can apply in my design management journey.

In our 2nd week we did a literature reading and review. We read 5 articles relating to 5 different themes of management. For design management I read -  Evolving Praxis in Design Management: The transdisciplinary trajectory authored by Miller, Palsikar and Spears, published in 2022 . For change management I read ‘Leading changes through adaptive design: Change management practice in one of the universities in a developing nation, authored by Muluneh and Gedifew, published in 2018. For stakeholder engagement I read Stakeholder engagement in business models for sustainability: The stakeholder value flow model for sustainable development, authored by Attanasio, Preghenella, Toni and Battistella, published in 2022. For Innovation I read Design thinking for innovation: practices and intermediate outcomes authored by Jaskyte and Liedtka, published in 2022, and for Future user environments I read Immediations and rhythms of speculative design: implications for value in design-based research, authored by C Ehret, L ehret, Low and Ciklovan.

We then had to find another 5 articles that related to the 5 themes provided in the brief. I chose 5 that either matched the themes or the methods. I struggled to find articles that I could use to weave a thread with a solid argument. I decided to highlight the points made by each article and the mutli/transdisciplinary approach that they utilize as research tools or frameworks as design management strategies. One of my research interests is discovering how multidisciplinary approaches are being incorporated into evolving design management projects and the benefits they produce. I found the brief challenging and it became clear that I need to invest more time and effort into design research theory and how to apply it so that I can construct meaningful text that adheres to correct formats. The inherent significance of words to express thought that can potentially lead into action is powerful and it’s an art that deserves a lifetime of mastery. As I work through the assignments that make up the postgraduate diploma, I can see how each subject is crafted to compliment the whole field of design, as invaluable tools we can use in our work as students and professionals.