Summer of Design: Applying Design Thinking to Local Problems

IMPORTANT NOTE: DT:DC’s Summer of Design is a series of events that will run from mid-June through early September. Locations/ dates for specific events will be released to participants as they are finalized in the coming weeks.

Are you ready for something different?

Do you want to change and impact the community right here in DC? Join us this summer and apply design thinking to real-world, local problems!

The Summer of Design offers participants a facilitated, team-based design thinking experience for local impact. DT:DC’s Summer of Design is a series of events where DT:DC members use design thinking to address real problems faced by organizations in our local community.

This team-based design competition includes introductory workshops and a six-week design challenge. After the workshops, each team works independently and structures its own approach to researching, prototyping and designing their solution. The core activity of the Summer of Design is the design challenge, which will take place from late July through early September.

The design challenge period has three key stages:

Challenge Kick-Off (DATE CONFIRMED: July 31, 2013): Several local organizations will present real problems they are facing framed as business model, service, or interface design challenges for DT:DC teams to address during the design challenge. The partner organizations will present their challenges to the participants at a kick-off event in late July. Participants will form teams of 4-6 people to develop solutions using design thinking methods and tools over the coming weeks. Teams will be composed of individuals with various levels of design thinking experience and a variety of skills (coding, graphic design, strategy, etc...). Design Work and Updates (Throughout August): There will be occasional check-ins with Summer of Design leaders and challenge partners to receive feedback and advice over the six week design challenge. Outside of these structured check-ins, teams will convene on their own as often as they want to, to prepare their design solutions. In the end, teams will deliver prototypes and actionable recommendations for future development based on a process of research, synthesis, prototyping, and testing. Design Showcase & Awards (Second week of September. Exact date TBD): Winners will be announced, solutions will be showcased, and our work will be celebrated with the broader DT:DC community at an awards event at the end of the summer.
Leading up to the design challenges, DT:DC will offer two skill-building workshops to introduce participants to the design thinking framework. These workshops will ONLY be available to those who have registered for the Summer of Design.

Design Thinking 101 (DATE CONFIRMED: June 10, 2013): Many DT:DC members have already taken the Design Thinking 101 course we have offered twice already. Participants that have already taken the course won’t need to again. The course will be offered on June 10. If we exceed 75 participants in Summer of Design we will open a second offering of the course for June 19. Prototyping Course (DATE: July 17, 2013): Following the Design Thinking 101 in June, DT:DC will host a deep dive into prototyping techniques in July.
Details for each event (dates and location) will be added as they are finalized.

Communications:
The vast majority of information about the Summer of Design will be communicated via a google group for SOD participants. Exact event locations, dates, and times will be posted there. Group communications, such as introductions, challenge information, and teaming discussions will also occur on that site. When you sign up for SOD you will receive an invite for the google group. Make sure to accept it!

Fee and Refunds:
The cost for the Summer of Design covers workshop materials, event space, and other costs associated with operating the summer of design for three months. Refunds are available until 2 weeks before the first Design Thinking 101 workshop. After that, there will be no refunds.

The Wait List Process:
The Meetup.com Wait List function works on a first come first served basis. This means that when a seat opens up, the people on the Wait List will all get an email notifying them that a space has become available. The first person to login to Meetup and claim the seat will get the space. When spaces become available, they usually get claimed within 1-5 minutes so you must act quickly.