DESIGN BRIEF TEAM HUB, WINTER 2012 OPPORTUNITIES IDEA AUDIENCE GOALS APPROACH PROBLEMS CHALLENGES THE FIVE W’S
TEAM MEMBERS Azadeh Abrishami, Danny Taft, Page Small, Rebecca Horton
OPPORTUNITIES While there is growing interest in the field of design strategy from both within and outside the design community, there is still no formal entity that ties all parties interested in design thinking together. This lack of a formal network is a clear business opportunity for a group of individuals with expertise regarding the way that design thinking functions in organizations and relational ties to professionals operating in this domain. Based upon extensive research on design innovation and marketing over the course of approximately two years, several SCAD graduate students have identified an opportunity to build and launch a collaborative network that will fill this gap within the current marketplace. In terms of what has been done in this regard and what still needs to be accomplished, the HUB team has identified five specific opportunities for design: 1. Lack of a unifying element amongst different user groups interested in design thinking. 2. Need to identify and hone competitors and user base for an online design thinking network. Prior iterations of the HUB idea have primarily explored the market for an online or print magazine, but now that the HUB will function as a web platform for discussion, information-sharing, and networking, additional research is needed. 3. Absence of a business plan that refines the HUB idea so that it is ready for launch. 4. Clear opportunity to define the scope of the HUB’s digital presence. 5. Need for a clearly defined pitch statement that will enable students to take this idea to interested parties. This pitch statement should take the form of intellectual or physical collateral that can be presented to: a. Funders, b. Initial users, and c. Institutions
IDEA The HUB team will lay a solid foundation for an online network that unifies and facilitates collaboration amongst disparate entities interested in design thinking.
AUDIENCE As determined by prior courses in Design Innovation Development and Marketing Strategies at SCAD, the audience for the HUB network includes designers, ethnographers, and the business community. Throughout the coming weeks, as it works to hone the user groups for the HUB business model, the HUB team will describe each of these audience categories in greater detail.
GOALS At its formation, the HUB Winter 2012 team has identified seven goals for the coming quarter. These goals include the following: 1. Clearly define and articulate the objectives of the “Working Title� project as a whole. Distill these objectives into a crisp mission statement for the project that uses language accessible to a wide variety of individuals, including those not widely familiar with the disciplines of design. 2. Undertake additional research to crystallize the focus of the project. Areas for further research include: a. Competitors b. Users c. Need definition (what language is accessible to the widest audience?)
3. Begin development of a formal business plan for the online hub. Components of the business plan will include: a. Incorporation status (exploratory only, later legal counsel will likely be necessary) b. Organizational structure c. Membership d. Budget e. Financing f. Ownership (who will own the network? SCAD?) 4. Refine the existing user definitions and personas based upon the team’s research findings. 5. Develop a pitch deck that can be used in meetings with potential funders, users, and institutions. 6. Develop a site map for the online hub. 7. Create rough guidelines for online HUB content, in conjunction with the radio team.
APPROACH During the next ten weeks, the HUB team will define small components of the online network that need developing and work towards their completion. At the end of the quarter, the HUB team will clearly map out a plan for next steps to be completed by a Phase II Implementation Team.
PROBLEMS The HUB team’s review of prior classes’ work identified a few problems with the HUB framework in its current form: 1. Incomplete Research 2. Weak need definition (it is not clearly defined why this network is necessary for individuals outside the design management community) 3. Lack of go-to-market strategy 4. Lack of unifying _______________________ This element is critical because successful online networks recognize the importance of identity and the role that language plays in forming this type of identity.1 5. Lack of conceptual consistency across all network components (e.g. the diving metaphor is not reflected in the title of the network). Correspondingly, there is a lack of a unifying brand language.
CHALLENGES Additionally, the HUB team identified a few challenges that it will face in the coming weeks: 1. Compressed schedule 2. Resource availability: a. Technical expertise b. Funding 1
See, for example, Agarwal, M. M. “Through a Glass Darkly: Information Technology Design, Identity Verification, and Knowledge Contribution in Online Communities” Information Systems Research, vol. 18, no. 1, 2007, pp. 42-67.
3. Isolation of design team from other elements of the potential network (e.g. SCAD students do not have ready access to faculty networks or the design thinking community at large due to time, space, and institutional constraints)
THE FIVE W’S Who?
Designers, Ethnographers, Business Community
What?
Network of design thinkers
Why?
To unify disparate entities to facilitate collaboration, cross-pollination, and networking
Where?
Online, face-to-face
When?
Beginning in Spring 2012, after the project is handed off to the Phase II Implementation Team.
How?
By developing a coherent business framework and compelling narrative structure around the idea for a design thinking network.