Palo Alto - Stanford d-school, IDEO and Apple

From Martin Binks

The d- School shouts informality, flexibility and apparent chaos. In fact this appears to be a requirement for the sponteneity that is part of good design. The emphasis is upon the selection of 'T' shaped students who are then provided with an appropriate learning environment and supported in their learning rather than being 'made' to cover a curriculum.

A candid explanation of the rationale for this approach and some of the lessons learned was very useful in relation to developments at Nottingham on mainstreaming entrepreneurship education. The flexible configuration of space and observations on optimising team size were particularly relevant.

Reactions to the integrative learning approach adopted at Stanford in the context of design education were reassuring in their similarity to experiences in many UK universities.

The enthusiasm and open minded commitment of our hosts, staff and students, was contagious and fed back into the group's growing sense of identity.

Onto IDEO and the commercial application of many of the approaches experienced at the d-School. The emphasis upon 'humanising technology' and the notion of design as a process of creative problem solving reinforced the direct links with entrepreneurship education. Disruptive design as a vital part of innovation is akin to Schumpeter's entrepreneur in the 21st century. The focus upon storytelling as part of design practice and dissemination was valuable. The use of ethnography and the motive of trying to 'make a difference' gave useful insights to process and commitment.

SME relevance is beginning to emerge.

To Apple. Delightfully frank explanation and discussion of Apple, past and present. The demolition of the 'focus group' concept for the purposes of evaluating the acceptability and future performance potential of a new design was particularly well supported. Dont ask people to tell you their opinion on a concept with which they have no experience and expect an accurate reflection of future progress in the market.

The role of intuition rather than data as the foundation of good design was refreshing and somehow familiar.

'Focus means saying no!'

End of a long very hot and very fruitful day!

Martin