This session is for those who are curious about the secret sauce that makes startups thrive by turning raw ideas into high-value offerings.
An MVP, or
Minimum Viable Product, is a simple, usable version of a product with just the essentials to attract early customers.
Design Thinking is a unique approach to innovation, finding the sweet spot where human needs, technical feasibility, and business viability intersect.
When applied to product development, Design Thinking ensures you're not just making a product or solution that "works" and is viable, but one that people DESIRE. It helps you understand your customers' needs, innovate using empathy and creativity, and continuously refine without friction or wasting resources.
In this session, we will approach Design Thinking in the context of physical product development. However, this workshop is relevant to any WSSW participant, as the essential design framework empowers innovation in any industry and can be applied to service and program design. Startups can use Design Thinking to improve multiple areas of their operations, such as customer experience, marketing, and internal processes.
In this workshop, you will:- Learn the design thinking toolbox
- Play with novel approaches to idea generation
- Discover how to eliminate idea bias through fun and collaboration.
- Choose practical strategies for implementing your most promising ideas
Meet your facilitator:Celeste Herron is a strategist, multidisciplinary designer, and creative director who helps startups, service agencies, and small businesses rapidly design, develop, and scale their product and service offerings.
From complex UX and user journeys to creating million-dollar pitch decks to designing products and programs for critically underserved communities, she teaches and uses design thinking daily.
She is also the Programming Lead for WSSW 2023.
