A peek into the design sprint process during MICA’s 2022 DesignFest
Design / Leadership
A few months ago I completed my 3rd year as a Design Coach at MICA’s annual DesignFest sponsored by the T. Rowe Price Foundation. Designers from all over came together for an opportunity to craft solutions for nonprofits in need of design support. This year, I took part in two sessions, spending my weekends with amazing team members as we followed the design sprint process while crafting mascots and potential website designs for local nonprofits.
What is a design sprint?
A design spring is a process for solving challenges through designing, prototyping, and testing ideas with users.
Why are Designs sprints useful?
Design sprints save time,
create a clear roadmap for design solutions,
prioritize the user experience,
and allow solutions to be tested before launch.
What are the design sprint steps?
Understand - Map out the problem and define the area of focus.
Ideate - What are possible solutions?
Decide - which solution will we test?
Prototype - Design and build a realistic solution.
Test - Get feedback from real users.
Why are design sprints useful?
Design sprints prioritize the end-user and allow for diverse input while valuing the opinions of everyone present. Design sprints also allow the best ideas to shine while lowering risks.
2022 MICA DesignFest Design Sprints
Project 1: Patterson Park Public Charter School (PPPCS) & Clay Hill Public Charter School (CHPCS)
Team:
Allison Thompson
Trent Knight
Lauren Schooley
Gabriel Carter
Understand
PPPCS and CHPCS were looking for mascot logos for each school and a logo featuring the two mascots. We met with various stakeholders and had a fun discussion while developing the background stories and personalities of the mascots.
Ideate
As a team, we developed possible mascot designs.
Decide
We choose a few designs to focus our efforts on.
Prototype
We refined high-fidelity mockups.
Test
We presented the final mascot designs to the nonprofit leads.
Project 2: Liberty Village Project
Team :
Gabriel Carter
Understand
Our team’s goal was to design and publish a website for our nonprofit organization. We meet with Kim Trueheart to discuss what she needed for her organization, the Liberty Village Project.
Ideate
We discussed website solutions and website building platforms that would be best for our nonprofit partner for ease of use and updating.
Decide
Our team developed site designs using Figma and Google Sites.
Prototype
We built our site designs to present to our nonprofit partner.
Test
We presented the final website designs to the nonprofit leads.
Design sprints are used to solve challenges through designing, prototyping, and testing ideas with users. As a design coach during MICA’s 2022 DesignFest, I used the design sprint process to lead teams in crafting design solutions for nonprofit partners. Design sprints are a great way to allow for diverse input and allow the best ideas to shine while lowering risks.
Event Feedback
“Being able to use true illustration in a pro-bono setting where it seemed to fit for the first time was very rewarding. ”
“I really enjoyed designing in a team like this and definitely want to participate in more events like this - so I’d say yes, a very positive experience!”
“One of the most unified and structured teams I’ve worked with over my years of participating in Designfest / other volunteer design events. Everyone was able to contribute ideas freely to the project, and a lot of friendly / personable moments were had. Always open to connecting and collaborating further!”
