Design Thinking: Project 2030

The initiative

In the course Design Thinking (first grade middle school) students work on Project 2030. During this project they develop solutions and products that they expect in the year 2030. This is approximately the year in which they graduate from a bachelor's degree, enter the labor market ... This product they don't develop for themselves, but for a predetermined customer or persona. They follow the steps of the Design Process (empathize, understand, invent, create). They make their prototype with 3D software on the computer and in Virtual Reality!

The innovation

This project combines content from Design Thinking with Image and ICT. Students develop a product for a customer, devise and sketch solutions, make their idea in 3D with a software package on the computer and then build it in virtual reality.

They combine all this in a presentation (pitch) in which they present their solution to classmates, teachers and 'the customer'.

Why and how?

Students go through the different steps of the Design Process. They are given one of several personas and a problem statement. They try to find out the characteristics of this persona and outline different solutions.

Let's get started with the best solution! We build a 3D model of the solution and then recreate it in VR.

Finally, the students process their material in a short, but convincing, presentation.

Results

Students use the design process when solving products and dare to use 3D models more often to shape and present their ideas.

Materials used

Tinkercad and SketchUp for the 3D designs. Tilt Brush and/or Gravity Sketch for the VR models. In terms of hardware, we use Oculus Quest headsets. More info about this in our other story 'Digital Storytelling in VR'.