Design Thinking - again

I was interviewed for a magazine this month. I tried to open up ideas about service innovation instead of service design, about thinking outside the box, about end user value instead of solution/product/service-centric mindsets.

The article in Finnish.

New people joining the Provoke Strategic team

I am thrilled to announce that new professionals are joining our multi-disciplinary Strategic team. The team has been busy with helping companies and the public sector in creating user-driven innovation models.
The core idea behind the projects is applying Design Thinking into building communities. We have already built several innovation communities for leading companies in co-operation with our network.

For many, it is not about service design - it is about new open service innovation models. I see these projects as a positive sign - maybe even the end of inside-out innovation.

Services become products, products become services and it all becomes solutions. To build solutions, one must understand the usage and the needs. This requires new ways to innovate.

Mikko

Design Thinking in Finland.

Video of the presentation by Mikko Kämäräinen, CEO of Provoke, about the changing role of design and Design Thinking in Finland. Presentation was held at the Estonian Development Fund in Tallinn, on 19th March 2010.

The Estonian Development Fund was created by the Estonian Parliament with the purpose of initiating and supporting changes in the Estonian economy and society that would accelerate modernisation of Estonian economic structure, lead to growth in exports and contribute to creating new jobs requiring high qualifications.

See the video here:
http://www.arengufond.ee/videocasts/videocast1622/

Interested to know about Design Thinking in Business?

Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland - May 5th and 6th, 2010.

Anyone interested in how Design Thinking in business context should join.

http://taydennyskoulutus.taik.fi/taik/koulutukset/530027.html

Seeking a multidisciplined group of participants who want to familiarize themselves with the notion of Design Thinking and want to find a new approach to generating and developing new ideas by learning to apply design thinking in their business.

The training program consists of a 2,5 day intensive workshop with lectures and group work. Through this training you will gain an insight into what Design Thinking can signify and have in it for you and your organization. This you can apply directly to your work with your team and co-workers.

The program is run by professor Peter McGrory and Provoke CEO Mikko Kämäräinen.

TeollisuusSuomi 1/2010

TeollisuusSuomi 1/2010 has an article about creative thinking and design thinking.

Read the PDF-version online. (in Finnish)

Tim Brown urges designers to think big

More excellent talks from TED. Tim Brown talks about Design Thinking and pushes designers to think big. He claims that most designers are preoccupied with creating nifty, fashionable objects - even as pressing questions like clean water access show it has a bigger role to play.

Could not agree more.

What do you think?

Provoke on Finnish TV: Creative Industries?

CEO Mikko Kamarainen was interviewed on Finnish TV1 news about creative industries. According to the news, Provoke is a model student among creative industries - and without doubt, the creative industries have a huge potential. But there are challenges, too - as Kamarainen stated in the interview:
"The category is loosely defined. Also, within the category, most of the companies are too small." Both make it more difficult for the industry to gain credibility among potential corporate users. At the same time, in hard economic times, creating new solutions should be the first priority for corporations - to prepare for the next upturn. And to innovate new business before the old disappears.


Read the full story in Finnish at yle.fi.

World will be different after the recession?

A lot will have changed; more regulations, old respected companies disappearing, fresh business models booming, marketing and branding changing through co-creation, viral marketing, community/consumer power?

Agile virtual networks of companies and individuals will boom: why buy an office/factory and hire 1,000 people when you can do the same - or more in a flexible network?

Could be that one common nominator will be adaptability? Building new businesses that have a minimum of fixed costs, yet the capability to scale up rapidly. Moving brands instead of fixed ideas? Integrator-role might become dominant, pursuing solution-driven offerings that can be rapidly adjusted to user needs on the fly.

Sustainability will grow in importance; not only ecology, but social and financial aspects as well.

And people will once again try and build models that would never be hit by another recession again. The next recession will eventually hit people by surprise after some years. But in between, there is going to be an interesting phase of growth; will it focus on financial growth alone - or growth of meaning as well?

Design Thinking helps when the economy poses new challenges

by Mikko Kämäräinen

Design Thinking is gaining more popularity among companies wanting to refocus their strategies around end-customers. Cutting costs is obvious - but to keep innovating cost-effectively at the same time is the key to turn the challenges into new opportunities. Understanding real user needs and being able to innovate end-customer value, then test it before going too far in development is crucial as companies face an economically demanding era.
Move On! magazine by Fintra featured a case story about Design Thinking in issue 04/2008. You can download the article (in Finnish).

More info: mikko.kamarainen@provoke.fi