iDesign Seminar: IDEO's Amy Schwartz on Human-Centered Design Research

Amy Schwartz, PhD, Principal for Empathic Innovation and Director at IDEO, opens a new seminar series organized in conjunction with the 2017 iDesign Prize by by Integrated Product Design Master's Program.

Design research equips innovators to uncover unmet needs, empathize with stakeholders, synthesize qualitative and quantitative information into meaningful insights, and translate these insights into design. Design research methods go beyond traditional market research to draw from fields as diverse as psychology, anthropology, and architecture.  Through tight coupling with design expression, they help you move through exploration to evaluation in rapid iterative cycles. The aim is find the sweetspot among people, business, and technology and end up with a design that is useful, usable - and even delightful. 

Upcoming events in the series:

December 2, 2016
Compelling Ways to Present Your Ideas
Mathieu Turpault, Managing Partner and Director of Design, Bresslergroup
Chris Murray, Design Director, Bresslergroup

January 20, 2017
How to Fail Early and Often to Achieve Success: Iterating and Prototyping, and Refining Your Ideas
Carla Diana, Lecturer, PennDesign

February 17, 2017
Developing Your Venture’s Economic Model for Growth, Profitability, and Competitive Advantage
Leslie Mitts

The $50,000 iDesign Prize supports a Penn student team in launching an innovative product design venture after graduation. The award is made to an innovative physical product that solves a real problem in the world and is supported by a holistic design, engineering and business plan. Submissions are due March 31, 2017.