The Design Thinking Fundamentals for Social Change course breaks down the creative journeys of 5 world-changing innovators - Henry Ford, Madam CJ Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, Jonas Salk, and Clara Barton - to teach you the Design Thinking process like never before. If you’re interested in starting to create social change right now by applying the same design thinking mindsets these innovators used to build businesses that uplift their workers, write groundbreaking broadway plays, develop vaccines to eradicate disease, and build social enterprises to help the most vulnerable, you’re in the right place.
By the end of this program you’ll be able to:
...applying the real-world experience you learn here to improve outcomes and innovate for more people in the future.
...of your first design affecting an issue in your community after having tested it with your target population.
...products, services, experiences, apps, artwork and more, by using design thinking.
...on any design you create and layout a clear plan for further development and testing afterwards.
...about the fundamental building blocks of Design Thinking and how the 5 key phases work together.
...and how to make change having seen, step by step, how people throughout history have done so throughout time.
Durell has collaborated with international non-profits, large tech companies, and small businesses to create products and services that solve the problems they face. Trained in mechanical engineering (B.S) and sustainable design (M.S.), he is a two-time alumnus of Stanford University and its famous Institute of Design (the Stanford d.school) and has received the Jefferson Award for public service.
Criminal Justice Reform
Minority Community Support
Designed & developed an App to connect Latino & other immigrant communities to the supportive and educational resources needed to raise great kids in the US.
Education Reform
Design Thinking Fundamentals for Social Change is a 7-part, self-paced online course that guides you, step by step, to design and test a solution to a problem you care about in your community. Don't have a project? We'll help you find one. By the end of this course, you’ll have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of Design Thinking that you can use to build on top of as you continue to grow your social impact skills. You’ll also have real-world experience from designing and testing your first solution to a problem you care about.
Getting Started & Getting the Most Out of this Course
What Is Innovation? What is Design Thinking?
Scoping a Project : "How Do You Just Become Thomas Edison?"
Choosing Your Project
Why Empathize?
The Story of Business-Woman Madam CJ Walker: America's First Self-Made Female Millionaire
3 Ways to Develop Empathy Over and Over Again
Quiz: Insights from Empathy
Applying These Learnings to Your Own Project
Why Define?
The Story of Dr. Jonas Salk & His Quest to Eradicate a Worldwide Disease
Two Ways to Clearly Define a Problem
Quiz: Insights from Define
Applying These Learnings to Your Own Project
Why Ideate?
The Story of Henry Ford & His Quest to Make Cars Accessible to All
How to Come Up With Game Changing Ideas & Why Most People Don't
Quiz: Insights from Ideate
Applying These Learnings to Your Own Project
Why Prototype?
The Story of Lorraine Hansberry: The first Black female playwright on Broadway
A Guide to Prototyping Products, Services, Experiences, Apps, Artwork, & More
Quiz: Insights from DefQuiz: Insights from Prototype
Applying These Learnings to Your Own Project
Why Test?
The Story of Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross
How to Test & Get Real Feedback to Improve Your Design
Quiz: Insights from Test
Applying These Learnings to Your Own Project
What You & History's Greatest Innovators Have in Common
The Story of Lorraine Hansberry: The first Black female playwright on Broadway
Before You Go...
Additional Resources to Help You on Your Journey
Private Social Innovator Community
Continued Learnings
Course Certification
Receive your Design Thinking Fundamentals Certificate of completion via email as a downloadable PDF.
Weekly, one hour group question and answer sessions with the instructor for personalized help with your project.
Why should I take this course instead of another?
There are a number of other courses out there that teach Design Thinking. But, there are none that teach Design Thinking for social innovators, give you a deep understanding of the foundational Design Thinking principles, show you how those principles have been applied throughout history, and guide you to start making change around you right away. As we looked around and talked with our students, we noticed a lack of content and guidance for those who are serious about acting to make the world a better place. This course is the first in a series of courses and offerings that fills that gap and guides social innovators to become changemakers.
What’s your refund policy?
Your satisfaction is really important to us and at DC Design, we stand by whatever we create. Because of that, if you go through the course and find that this content didn’t move you forward, we offer a 100% money back guarantee. We just ask that you send us some images or screenshots of your work that follows the course content to demonstrate you really gave it a try. Once we receive that, we’ll process your refund.
How long does the course take to complete
This is really up to you. The course has seven parts, each with 4 videos and at least one assignment. If you do one section a week, the course should take you 7 weeks to finish. However, since this course is self-paced, you could feasibly complete the course in 3 weeks time or less if you wanted to move at a faster speed.
Who is this course for?
- Beginner and intermediate design thinkers who want to understand how Design Thinking can be applied specifically to social issues.
- Anyone who wants to make a career change to a social impact field and wants to gain additional skills, experience, & credibility in this space.
- Those who have a grasp of Design Thinking theory, but who have a hard time applying the process to a real project.
- Those who want detailed facilitation, the opportunity for expert help and guidance with their own project, and a community of peers for support.
Who is this course NOT for?
- People who aren’t serious about getting their hands dirty. Design thinking isn’t a skill you can learn from reading a book, or watching some videos. You have to be willing to get out there and try these concepts yourself. If you’re looking for a resource you can use to passively, this isn’t the course for you.
- People who shy away from sensitive topics. The innovators we are going to learn from had to overcome racism, sexism, societal disbelief, political opposition, and more to change the world. If understanding how those issues played a big role in their journey’s is not your cup of tea, this probably isn’t the course for you.
- People who are so attached to one solution that they aren’t willing to consider other ideas. Design Thinking requires us to challenge our assumptions about what we’re creating. You may have a great idea, and that idea might actually be the best one to help people, but design thinking is meant to help you think outside of the box. It asks the question, how do you know? if you aren’t willing to consider that there may be a better way, this course won’t help you.
- If you already have a deep knowledge of the Design Thinking process and have successfully applied it for years and years, this might not be the right course for you. Instead, you should join the waiting list for our more advanced course -- Design Thinking for Systemic Social Change.
