Thank you all for coming out to the OpenIDEO: Los Angeles Chapter 2018 kickoff. We had a great time meeting all of you and getting to know where you find your inspiration.
As some of us mentioned, inspiration can come from all directions; from our own background and experiences, the people around us, and the environments we put ourselves in.
We spent the evening with fun activities that got our minds to make connections that might not have been so obvious. The first activity posed the question, “what inspired this?” where we tried to figure out what problems could have inspired the solution.
From floating air mattresses to sound proof undergarments, these solutions were inspired by a problem we come to face in our day-to-day lives.
In our other activity, we used our imaginations to make connections between two seemingly unrelated topics. Like what connection does tumbleweeds have with an eCommerce company?
Or what does a forklift operator have to do with beauty supplies?
When conducting user research, designers are taught to not only look at our core demographic but also at the users at the ends of the bell curve, or on the fringe. By doing this we can better understand how all types of people use our product for all types of needs, not just what we would expect.
So what does a forklift operator have to do with beauty supplies? Through user research designers found a forklift operator who frequent the shop for epson salts for his foot spa and foot creme for his tired feet. Who would have ever thought?
