Sacrificing to Design

In my time at Cedarville, I was and am always amazed at how my professors can tie Scripture into absolutely everything we do. I know I shouldn’t have been surprised, as it is a Scriptural command: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31 ESV). As I continued on, even when the connections maybe even seemed a stretch, the message remained – our work serves Him by serving his people. Innovation is no exception. I love Jordan Raynor’s statement in his book, Called to Create: “All of us have the opportunity to create for the kingdom, laying our work products down at the feet of the First Entrepreneur” (p. 217). Innovation has been around since the beginning of Creation, and it is through this that most important narrative has been told. We, sinful humanity, are the most wicked problem in every sense of the word. Our sin, without God’s intervention, is impossible for us to escape by ourselves. However, through His ultimate design, he provided a solution, the sacrifice of Jesus to save us from ourselves. Through that act, God showed His love for his people in a way no deity ever had, and we also got a glimpse of one of the most important parts of innovation – sacrifice.

???????????If this course has taught me anything, it is that we cannot innovate without giving up something. Whether it is our time, our money, our blood, sweat, and tears, something will be required of us for any worldly problem to be resolved. In researching for my wicked problem of poor nutrition in low-income families, when generating my design-thinking framework, I felt it necessary to include immersion as a research tactic. It involves leaving one’s life of financial security to experience firsthand a life of little to no means, so that the designer truly understands the hardship of financial and food insecurity, and the effect it can have on families. Along with immersion, I also decided to include contextual inquiry, so I can have an opportunity to ask the hard questions and dig into why nutritional decisions are made the way they are. We don’t often think about the “why behind the how” of mundane tasks like grocery shopping and dinner, so these tactics will allow me to explore that a little more, to hopefully gain some insight into how to make healthy choices favorable.

???????????In order to better understand my problem, both in a wider scope and on an individual level, I included both stakeholder mapping and persona profiling. The mapping techniques allows me to explore the relationships between all parties in the food production and consumption process, and what their thinking is on their role. This could potentially help unlock some opportunities for key changes in decision-making and priorities. Persona profiles help me look past the numbers to see the person I’m designing for. Without them, my work is pointless, as the purpose of innovation is to serve.

???????????The final two strategies I included were storyboarding and using video scenarios to brainstorm concepts. Since food is such a personal issue for families, I thought “what better way to relay the story of their life than by illustrating it?” This helps designers identify any leaps in logic or gaps in the market, as well as see the families for what they are – human. Video scenarios provide a unique opportunity to compare and contrast changes to processes and systems, and even get an idea for further questioning and research.

???????????Our book, Innovating for People, says that “the disciplined practice of Human-Centered Design involves planning” (LUMA, p. 85). Each strategy in the framework plays a role towards a holistic design plan, with a goal of empowering kids and families to eat healthy. After looking at this plan, I find myself hopeful that with a little sacrifice, we can preserve the health of the next generation.

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References

LUMA Institute. (2012). Innovating for people: Handbook of human-centered design methods. LUMA Institute LLC. ISBN: 9780985750909

Raynor, J. (2017). Called to create: A biblical invitation to create, Innovate, and risk. Baker Books. ISBN: 9780801075186