Resources

Abstract

I love the image of the tools in a toolbox as an analogy for the talents, skills, and resources we possess and put to use toward completing our daily work and building our businesses. Think of this collection of resources—books, magazines, websites, schools, and templates—as your starter set of tools.

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

I love the image of tools in a toolbox as an analogy for the talents, skills, and resources we possess and put to use toward completing our daily work and building our businesses. Think of this collection of resources—books, magazines, websites, schools, and templates—as your starter set of tools.

Read, Read, and Read Some More

The following books from highly regarded thought leaders are valuable resources on design thinking and its affiliated methodologies, such as innovation, change management, and culture. Some are highly theoretical; some are not. All will give you additional perspectives that I think you’ll find valuable.

Books

Tim Brown, Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. New York: HarperBusiness, 2009.

Nigel Cross, Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2011.

Steve Diller, Nathan Shedroff, and Darrell Rhea, Making Meaning: How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences. San Francisco: New Riders, 2008.

Hartmut Esslinger, A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business. New Jersey: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo, Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. California: O’Reilly Media, 2010.

Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. New York: Random House, 2007.

Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. New York: Crown Business, 2010.

Tom Kelley, The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm. New York: Crown Business, 2001.

Tom Kelley, The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO’s Strategies for Defeating the Devil’s Advocate and Driving Creativity throughout Your Organization. New York: Currency/Doubleday, 2005.

Roger L. Martin, The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage. New York: Harvard Business School Press, 2009.

Grant David McCracken, Culture and Consumption 11: Markets, Meaning, and Brand Management (v.2). Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2005.

Marty Neumeier, The Designful Company: How to Build a Culture of Nonstop Innovation. New York: New Riders, 2008.

Dev Patnaik, Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy. New Jersey: FT Press, 2009.

Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. New York: Riverhead Trade, 2006

Dov Seidman, How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything. New Jersey: Wiley, 2011.

Nathan Shedroff, Design Is the Problem: The Future of Design Must Be Sustainable. New York: Rosenfeld Media, 2009.

Robert I. Sutton, Weird Ideas That Work: How to Build a Creative Company. New York: Free Press, 2007.

Never Stop Learning

The Internet and its vast stores of information, for all of its timewasters and nonsense, is our only constantly evolving real-time resource for the latest news, innovations, and developments in design thinking and its related disciplines. The list below includes my go-to resources.

Websites, Blogs, and Online Tools

• Smashing Magazine: www.smashingmagazine.com . Although it’s targeted toward web designers and developers, it contains great perspectives on user experience and design that can be applied across the board.

• Fast Company: www.fastcompany.com . The website of one of today’s top business magazines is lush with valuable insights on trends and interviews with up-and-coming leaders. To get the full content—and to enjoy the iPad and iPhone apps—you should subscribe. Its value is far beyond its cost.

• Inc.: www.inc.com . Another website for a top business magazine, this one leans more toward advice, tools, and growth-specific content.

• GOOD: www.good.is. When you need a healthy dose of inspiration, a reminder about why doing good is as important as doing well, or proof that there’s more to life and business than the bottom line, this is your best resource.

• Mashable: www.mashable.com . Hands down, this is the ultimate source for news related to social media and digital innovation.

• Tech Crunch: www.techcrunch.com . Synonymous with technology news, Tech Crunch also provides great content on start-ups and digital innovation.

• Design Thinking—Thoughts by Tim Brown: www.designthinking.ideo.com . If there was a god of design thinking, Tim would be it.

• Psychology Today: www.psychologytoday.com . I personally find the content fascinating and useful in my professional and personal lives.

• Survey Gizmo: www.surveygizmo.com . This is a great professional resource for building, distributing, and evaluating survey research. Its brand carries a stronger message than other web-based offerings.

• Survey System Sample Size Calculator: www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm . I use this tool when I’m trying to gauge whether a survey would be appropriate for my research project and, if so, what sample size I’ll need.

• User Effect 25-point Website Usability Checklist: www.usereffect.com/topic/25-point-website-usability-checklist . This tool is a great, covers-it-all checklist for website usability. Use it when you build a new site or refresh an existing one.

• Information Architecture Institute: www.iainstitute.org. IAI is simply the go-to source for information architecture.

• American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA): www.aiga.org. Another go-to source but not just for graphic arts; the information frequently applies to all forms of design.

• HowTo.Gov/Customer Experience: www.howto.gov/customer-experience. Seriously, the federal government has some great information on customer experience. It’s presented in terms useful for government agencies, and it’s applicable in multiple business sectors.

• Eisman Center for Color Information and Training: www.colorexpert.com . It is possible to know the psychological and branding implications of color in great depth, and Letrice Eisman is the expert.

Form Follows Function

To pursue a more in-depth or specialized formal study in design thinking and other related subjects, we are fortunate to have a good number of top-rated programs based in the United States. (I’ve included one from London, not only because it is a good program, but also because I’d like to go there some day.)

Education Programs

California College of the Arts: www.cca.edu

Cranfield University/University of the Arts, London: www.cranfield.ac.uk

Illinois Institute of Technology: www.iit.edu

Pratt Institute: www.pratt.edu

Rhode Island School of Design: www.risd.edu

Savannah College of Art and Design: www.scad.edu

Stanford University Design School: www.dschool.standford.edu

Suffolk University: www.suffolk.edu

Templates

I unabashedly love templates. They are adaptable and incorporate best practices. More important, they provide a starting point so you aren’t staring at a blank page wondering what to put on it. I have included two templates here for documents that tend to present the biggest challenges: a moderator’s guide for a focus group and a marketing template. Use them as you will.

Figure D-1a.

Sample moderator’s guide (page 1). Source: Jessica Massay, JUMP Insights. Used with permission

Figure D-1b.

Sample moderator’s guide (page 2)

Figure D-1c.

Sample moderator’s guide (page 3)

Figure D-1d.

Sample moderator’s guide (page 4)

Figure D-2a.

Marketing plan template (page 1)

Figure D-2b.

Marketing plan template (p. 2)