Design Thinking: Story Design and Testing

Understanding and solving complex strategic communication problems

Design thinking is a people-centered approach to problem solving that encourages collaborative brainstorming and diverse ideation through systematic strategies and processes. Used in a variety of fields, from product design to web development, design œthinking serves as a powerful model for flexible and dynamic critical thinking that puts the audience/user at the center of idea generation.

In this session, Dr. Palilonis will share a number of design thinking strategies and explain how they can be used by communication and media professionals to inspire innovative, engaging approaches to storytelling. Dr. Palilonis will also share how she has used design thinking in a number of diverse projects, from working with USA Volleyball to promote the growth of boys’ and men’s volleyball nationwide, to developing a digital literacy curriculum for K-3 students.

This session is the first of three taught by the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development at Ball State University. Join our linked sessions on Transmedia Storytelling and User Experience Testing over the following two weeks. A portion of the instructor fees for these sessions will be donated to Puerto Rican hurricane relief.

Handouts:
- Design Thinking 101: Five strategies for collaborative brainstorming

Who should take this training:
- Communication designers
- Strategic communication professionals
- Producers/project managers