Design Thinking for AV returns this year as a three-day course the weekend before InfoComm 2019. This is a fast-paced, hands-on dive into Design Thinking methods for innovation and problem-solving. With three instructors and a limit of 30 participants, there’s plenty of opportunity for interactive learning. I’m excited to be coaching the course again this year, along with Jesse Fishman from The Sextant Group and Nathan Bohl from Legrand.
If you’re not familiar with design thinking, it’s a non-linear process made up of five elements:
Design thinking is different from other methods because it involves users in the design process from beginning to end. It also encourages multiple rounds of ideation and prototyping to discover an ideal solution. The end result? Clients aligned around a shared vision, and deep end user buy-in to the final product.
We recently asked colleagues from last year’s course what they learned, and what value Design Thinking delivered back home. Here’s what they said.
Building Stronger Customer Relationships
Michael is a Market Development specialist for an international audio manufacturer. He described how the course brought back empathy skills he first learned from his grandfather in their family business. Michael’s now using these skills to help integrators more clearly define their audio system goals, and assist them in product selection. This process is leading Michael’s customers to better solutions and building stronger relationships with his company.
Opening New Strategic Markets
Susan is design director for a large systems integration firm. Learning about ideation and prototyping inspired her to explore virtual reality to differentiate her company’s services. This new strategy gives customers and the sales team a new way to quickly explore and critique potential AV room designs and system solutions. Susan says this approach has increased client engagement, improved the collaborative culture within her company, and opened new markets for the firm.
Advancing Your Career
Last year Philip was a senior AV engineer for a financial services firm. After taking the design thinking course, he decided to build an AV prototype and testing lab. This successful lab lets end users test AV technologies before they’re deployed firm-wide. Building the lab also gave Philip a new skill set, and propelled him into his self-described “dream job.” Today he’s the manager of virtual health for a large medical center, creating a new telemedicine program for infants and children.
These are just a few reasons to learn about Design Thinking. The three-day course offers a unique chance to practice new skills in a fun and fast-paced setting. We would love to have you join us in June. To register follow this link and select Design Thinking for AV: https://www.infocommshow.org/education--conferences/three-day-courses
InfoComm is giving our readers a free Exhibit Hall pass to the show! Use VIP Code "FUTURE" to redeem your free pass. Click here to register.
