Tag: innovation

  • Behind the scenes – Tools in innovation designers’ sandbox Part 4/5

    The New York University (NYU) students I referred to in my last blog post about virtual work were asked to prepare a 1-minute video to communicate their ideas for the next class. There are so many ways to visualize projects and their components that I can only just begin to grasp the subject in this post. I…

  • Getting steamrolled by the Jam! #GSJTampere#Innovation#Happy

    There are some things in life that you need to experience yourself in order to truly understand them – Jamming is definitely one of those! You simply can´t capture the spirit of Jamming with words. Any attemp would result in lines full of superlatives and corny phrases, and in the end, readers would think you…

  • Once upon a time in Tampere Global Service Jam

    What is The Global Service Jam? It’s a global innovation burst of 48 hours. Think of a bunch of musicians starting to play together. They all have their individual instruments, but after some try and error, they will be able to reach harmonies and create a unique sound and create new music. It’s the same…

  • Attitude matters in lean thinking: learn to fail fast for success!

    “Focus on the problem, not solution. You cannot quantify your way to the big max.” – Ola Sundell I still remember when ‘lean’ was a buzzword in manufacturing industry years and years ago. Lean concept was originally based on production process optimisation principles invented in Toyota for automotive industry back in early seventies. Now the…

  • Behind the scenes – Tools in innovation designers’ sandbox Part 3/5

    My last blog post discussed simple tools our team uses in our everyday work at the UNICEF Innovation Unit in New York. This time my topic – virtual work – is especially current for our team. At the moment, we are having “virtual January” which means we can choose where we want to work, be it…

  • Behind the scenes – Tools in innovation designers’ sandbox Part 2/5

    This post is a sequel for my last one that dealt with teamwork – one of the most important tools in design. I briefly introduced our team’s working habits here at the UNICEF Innovation Unit in New York. Now, I will discuss simple design tools that have a much bigger impact than we might first think. Simple…

  • Behind the scenes – Tools in innovation designers’ sandbox Part 1/5

    In my last blog post I talked about key principles behind successful innovations. This time I want to share some of the tools our innovation team uses in our daily work here at UNICEF Headquarters in New York to help envision and test successful innovations. Because the list is long, I will keep posting during…

  • Thinking like a Designer

    In September 2013 started my SID journey at Laurea Leppävaara unit with Design thinking –course and I must say – what a start for our Master program!  Laurea had invited Design professor and entrepreneur Katja Tschimmel and Founder and author of FORTH Innovation method Gijs van Wulfen to teach us what Design thinking is. During…

  • Energized by Design Thinking

    Evening after the final contact session of Design Thinking course ended at Laurea, we made a family visit to our friends. Right from the door, they asked about my studies and that pretty much set the course of the evening. Eager to share the experience, I started telling about Laurea environment and learning principles, new…

  • Innovation in perspective

    In our first contact session with Gijs van Wulfen and Katja Tschimmel, we experienced a lightning version of an innovation process with Design Thinking: 2 days, not even 14 hours of work. And I’ve been wondering… What about real-life innovation? Can you expect to find a great brand new solution in just a couple of…