IDEO’s Fred Dust talks about the importance of Design and I LOVED the approach he took. Using examples of ‘creators’ who are not traditional designers, he demonstrates that we are ALL design thinkers. We are creating and altering design in our lives all the time. Every minute of the day, we are making design decisions without even realizing it. Referencing Julie Gilbert, Antanas Mockus and Dr. Jay Parkinson, he shows us how breaking rules and trying new things can open up groundbreaking ideas and opportunities.
Columbian mathematician Antanas Mockus used mime techniques to decrease violence in a part of Bogota, and then used those principles to teach police how to implement them in other areas.
Dr. Jay Parkinson was revolutionary in how he treated his patients. He put his Google Calendar online and patients would book through the open calendar and then pay for their appointment using PayPal, bypassing the healthcare system altogether. The concept became Hello Health, which took his prototype and allowed other doctors to practice this way too.
Hello Health is a mixture of secure social network and electronic medical record that enables doctors and patients to connect both in their office and online via email, IM, and video chat.
The take away from Dust, is that we’re all designer thinkers. Every problem is a design problem. We in fact, transform our environment on a regular basis to make it easier for people around us, i.e., how we adjust our physical bodies when we’re in a conversation with someone, where we stand in a conversation, how we adjust our voice — all to improve the situation and the ‘design’ environment around us.
Photographer Rick Smolan talks about his own life as a designer and creator, through the world of photography. He references common trends we’re seeing in our digital lives today: personalization and customization. People are grabbing at things that allow us to personalize our creations because it makes them feel connected.
In walking us through the Obama Capsule Project and sharing the history behind how The Day in the Life of Series became successful, he laughs and says, “sometimes telling people to shoot for the moon and believing that you can is the best advice that you can give.”
Thinking outside the traditional photography book paradigm, Smolan brought us a fresh new approach to publishing: personalization at its best. He believed in his project and the world around him joined forces to help him make his vision a reality.
To echo a sentiment that was shared by many of the speakers at TEDX on Saturday, don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself: what makes you become alive? When you’re alive, you’re living your true purpose. When you are living your true purpose, you ARE giving the world what it needs.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
