Human-centered design is a divisive topic in the business innovation community. In one camp, you have enthusiastic defenders; innovators who’ve seen the effects of human-centered design firsthand. In the other, you have skeptics. They see the approach tossed around in workshops and auspiciously mentioned in emails, but ultimately ignore it.
At Do Tank, we know it’s impossible to change the hearts and minds of the business world within a 16,000-character limit—but you can’t blame us for trying. In this article, we’ll explore how human-centered design can help your organization’s future by looking at our past. Here’s how Do Tank fosters innovation within its own brick walls.
In December 2021, Do Tank gathered its international team of artists, web developers, and business designers in Chicago for the annual strategy week. The goal: Identify tangible, revenue-generating strategies for the new year and expand our digital playbook. The results blew us away, but we’ll get to that later.
Identifying standout themes and ideas is large part of our work at Do Tank. One such idea that emerged from the 2021 retreat we now refer to as “Pick a Brick.” It all started when CEO Marc McLaughlin (shown above) attempted to rally the team after a hefty lunch. Thinking on his toes, Marc pointed to the large brick wall behind him.
“Pick a brick,” he said, “a brick this wall cannot stand without. Tell us how that brick relates to one important element of the Do Tank value proposition.” The team got to work, relating bricks to current projects, pitching ideas, and identifying what they’re excited about in the future. It was a lot of bricks, but the Do Tank team had plenty of ideas to fill them.
Playfully simple tools to conquer complex conversations
At Do Tank, we like to cut the blah and make things happen. Our results speak for themselves. The 2021 internal design sprint created at least four tangible, revenue-generating products. We’ve already launched three of those products this year. While some companies don’t trust their teams to develop new ideas, we did—and it paid off.
The 2021 strategy retreat was an excellent shakeup event for us. After a long hiatus from in-person gatherings, we were finally allowed to meet again. Chatting amongst team members left us joyful and rejuvenated, but it also clarified our focus for the new year.
The effects of human-centered design don’t need a physical space to take root. Since December, our ever-expanding catalog of digital tools has let us host effective events, classes, and webinars—using custom webpages and design—for a range of clients.
Gave us an opportunity to work as a team in the truest sense, real-time, prototyping for the new year
We’ve seen the impact of the digital tools and designs sprints firsthand. With this in mind, we’re looking forward to the upcoming 2022 retreat, a five-day session taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, this December. Who knows what new strategies could emerge?
At Do Tank, we’re making a community of human-centered design thinkers to nurture and scale innovative ideas. We’re excited to share more about these plans and the people behind them in the coming months. Until then, reach out to learn about our case studies, and feel free to share this article with leaders looking to innovate themselves.
