“Yes, so… what does the Sauder Studio actually do? Design thinking, what’s that really about?” Very good questions. Indeed, those were the few questions I threw at my supervisor on the first day of work. Well, maybe not exactly “threw”, but those were the questions that bombarded my inquisitive mind as I started work on the first day.
Yeah, maybe I was like that. So, I’m a third year Marketing Co-op student that has recently started work with the Sauder Studio this week. “I’m their marketing eyes”, they said. But I believe before I can develop a marketing plan for the Studio, I have to immerse myself into the environment of understanding what design thinking really is, and how does the Sauder Studio play a part in bringing that across?
After a few days of intensive reading and Q&A sessions with my supervisors, my definition of design thinking is: an innovative way of thinking to solve complex problems. A current example I can think of would be how Mcdonalds are undergoing changes to be the new Starbucks in 2015.
Well, the design thinking that Sauder Studio is promoting would be the innovative way of thinking to solve complex problems, and the kind Mcdonalds is employing is more of the physical evidence of how design thinking plays out. But what does that really mean? Sounds confusing? Oh yeah, it is.
I know that this definition is somewhat vague. And “What does the Design Studio exactly do?”. I’m on my way to explore these questions for the next 3 months!