Last month, EMDD students participated in our first informal learning event of the semester at SmallBox, a mission-centered design firm in Indianapolis. A small group of us made the trek from Muncie to Broad Ripple to work on-site with designers at SmallBox, an experience that gave students the opportunity to see the real-world application of what they’re learning in design thinking and provided Smallbox with some design research data from an audience of young adults.

After introductions, the SmallBox team introduced us to their current client, a Broad Ripple community organization looking to grow its membership. Because this client was looking to better understand its audience, the SmallBox design team took students through some exercises in design research showing us some ways they approach empathy, the first step in the design thinking process.

For this first step, the prompts were the most important part. The development of the questions was thoughtful and intentional. The questions were broad, yet focused to encourage discussion and produce relevant data. These prompts allowed us, the participants, to give honest answers rather than what we thought the designers wanted to hear. We answered these questions in pairs and wrote our answers on giant sticky notes, allowing our peers to see and comment on our answers as we moved from prompt to prompt and during discussion following the activity. This strategy was also helpful when it came to telling stories, as working one-on-one encouraged conversation with our partner rather than just stating facts. Stories, as we’ve discussed in our EMDD design thinking class, are extremely valuable in empathy research, as it helps designers discover the things a user may not even know she needs.

Our second activity was much more introspective; we were asked to define what spirituality meant to us by creating a collage out of magazine clippings. This technique is a great way to turn an abstract concept into something tangible, as we were able to talk through our rationale with the group after we had completed the collage. Again, the team was careful not to ask us any leading questions—instead, we took the time to talk through our decision-making process individually, which organically led to some interesting connections that may not have been obvious at first glance.

The best part of this event, I think, was the reciprocity. We learned how SmallBox uses some of the same design thinking methods we are studying in class, and the SmallBox team was able to use our input to help with a project.

Fellow first year student, Elijah Yarde, said it was a great way to see how design research and design thinking skills are implemented in a professional space.

“I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the value of working with a team and in a group setting… the design thinking process doesn’t work in a vacuum.”

Collaboration was key—not just among the designers, but among the participants as well. The rapport we developed created an environment where we could share our thoughts without fear of judgement, which is critical when conducting empathy research. This is a testament to the skills of the SmallBox design team that created a space where we felt comfortable and connected.

A huge thank you again to SmallBox for hosting us!