21.11.16

Dear	
  Peer	
  Reviewers,	
   	
   My	
  assignment	
  starts	
  from	
  my	
  Week	
  1	
  thread	
  “Disruptive	
  vs.	
  Incremental”.	
  	
   	
   It’s	
  an	
  outline	
  of	
  how	
  I	
  would	
  set	
  a	
  design	
  thinking	
  process	
  to	
  find	
  solutions	
  to	
  mitigate	
  the	
  tourism	
   challenge	
  on	
  the	
  coastal	
  region	
  of	
  the	
  city	
  of	
  Rimini.	
  Application,	
  insights	
  and	
  approach	
  are	
  “fiction”.	
   	
   Cheers,	
  Omar	
  Vulpinari	
   	
   	
   —CHALLENGE—	
   	
   I'm	
  from	
  Rimini,	
  the	
  most	
  popular	
  Italian	
  seaside	
  town	
  spread	
  along	
  34	
  kilometres	
  of	
  Adriatic	
  Sea	
   coastline.	
  From	
  the	
  60s	
  to	
  the	
  90s	
  Rimini	
  boomed	
  on	
  beach	
  resort	
  tourism:	
  sun	
  and	
  sand,	
  beach	
   sports,	
  discotechs,	
  concerts,	
  fun	
  parks,	
  bars,	
  restaurants,	
  shops	
  and	
  millions	
  of	
  visitors	
  each	
  summer.	
   Today	
  it	
  has	
  a	
  population	
  of	
  120.000	
  and	
  6	
  million	
  visitors	
  (mostly	
  from	
  Southern	
  and	
  Eastern	
  Europe	
   and	
  Russia)	
  during	
  the	
  summer	
  but	
  trendier	
  locations,	
  low-­‐cost	
  flights	
  to	
  more	
  exotic	
  places,	
  a	
   polluted	
  sea	
  environment,	
  and	
  the	
  general	
  economic	
  crisis	
  are	
  killing	
  the	
  region’s	
  central	
  economy.	
   Incremental	
  innovations	
  via	
  design	
  thinking	
  have	
  not	
  been	
  effective	
  so	
  far.	
  	
   	
   Lonely	
  Planet’s	
  online	
  introduction	
  to	
  Rimini	
  goes…	
  “Roman	
  relics,	
  jam-­‐packed	
  beaches,	
  hedonistic	
   nightclubs	
  and	
  the	
  memory	
  of	
  film	
  director	
  and	
  native	
  son	
  Federico	
  Fellini	
  make	
  sometimes	
  awkward	
   bedfellows	
  in	
  seaside	
  Rimini.	
  Although	
  there's	
  been	
  a	
  settlement	
  here	
  for	
  over	
  2000	
  years,	
  Rimini's	
   coast	
  was	
  just	
  sand	
  dunes	
  until	
  1843,	
  when	
  the	
  first	
  bathing	
  establishments	
  took	
  root	
  next	
  to	
  the	
   ebbing	
  Adriatic.	
  The	
  beach	
  huts	
  gradually	
  morphed	
  into	
  a	
  megaresort	
  that	
  was	
  sequestered	
  by	
  a	
  huge	
   nightclub	
  scene	
  in	
  the	
  1990s.	
  Despite	
  some	
  interesting	
  history,	
  Fellini-­‐esque	
  movie	
  memorabilia	
  and	
  a	
   decent	
  food	
  culture,	
  95%	
  of	
  Rimini's	
  visitors	
  come	
  for	
  its	
  long,	
  boisterous,	
  sometimes	
  tacky	
   beachfront.	
   Once	
  a	
  thriving	
  Latin	
  colony	
  known	
  as	
  Ariminum,	
  Rimini	
  changed	
  hands	
  like	
  a	
  well-­‐worn	
  library	
  book	
   in	
  the	
  Middle	
  Ages	
  when	
  periods	
  of	
  Byzantine,	
  Lombard	
  and	
  Papal	
  rule	
  culminated	
  in	
  the	
  roguish	
   reign	
  of	
  Sigismondo	
  Malatesta	
  in	
  the	
  15th	
  century.	
  But	
  the	
  worst	
  was	
  to	
  come.	
  Rimini	
  got	
  whacked	
   more	
  than	
  any	
  other	
  Italian	
  city	
  during	
  WWII,	
  when	
  bombing	
  raids	
  were	
  followed	
  by	
  the	
  brutal	
  'Battle	
   of	
  Rimini',	
  during	
  which	
  an	
  estimated	
  1.5	
  million	
  rounds	
  of	
  Allied	
  ammunition	
  were	
  fired	
  on	
  the	
   German-­‐occupied	
  city.”	
   	
   How	
  can	
  we	
  apply	
  design	
  thinking	
  to	
  this	
  wicked	
  problem	
  to	
  find	
  the	
  needed	
  DISRUPTIVE	
  solutions	
  to	
   avoid	
  the	
  total	
  erosion	
  of	
  the	
  region's	
  economy?	
   	
   	
   —SELECTION—	
   	
   The	
  tool	
  I	
  select	
  is	
  Visualisation,	
  which	
  is	
  very	
  effective	
  in	
  revealing	
  unarticulated	
  user	
  needs	
  during	
   the	
  user-­‐research	
  phase,	
  in	
  visualizing	
  napkin	
  pitches,	
  and	
  aligning	
  all	
  actors	
  during	
  the	
  problem-­‐ framing	
  and	
  ideation/brainstorming	
  phases.	
  	
   Visualisation	
  uses	
  simple	
  drawings	
  to	
  represent	
  thoughts	
  and	
  ideas.	
  Drawing	
  activates	
  different	
  parts	
   of	
  the	
  brain	
  compared	
  to	
  verbalization,	
  therefore	
  augmenting	
  creativity.	
  	
   During	
  brainstorming	
  and	
  napkin	
  pitching	
  images	
  also	
  help	
  to	
  bridge	
  the	
  gap	
  between	
  who	
  is	
   communicating	
  and	
  who	
  is	
  interpreting	
  the	
  message	
  communicated:	
  a	
  verbal	
  message	
  can	
  be	
  easily	
   misinterpreted	
  while	
  a	
  simple	
  and	
  clear	
  image	
  cannot.	
   	
   	
   —APPLICATION—	
   	
   An	
  important	
  application	
  of	
  visualisation	
  in	
  this	
  challenge	
  could	
  be	
  during	
  the	
  What	
  Is	
  /	
  What	
  If

phases	
  where	
  we	
  reveal	
  and	
  collect	
  unarticulated	
  user	
  needs,	
  generate	
  insights	
  and	
  create	
  napkin	
   pitches.	
  	
   I	
  would	
  use	
  visualisation	
  most	
  effectively	
  during	
  user-­‐research	
  interacting	
  with	
  all	
  key	
  stakeholders:	
   tourists,	
  operators	
  that	
  offer	
  tourist	
  services,	
  locals	
  that	
  do	
  not	
  offer	
  tourist	
  services	
  but	
  are	
  impacted	
   by	
  the	
  tourists,	
  tourists	
  of	
  rival	
  locations).	
  I	
  would	
  ask	
  the	
  tourists	
  to	
  make	
  an	
  end-­‐to-­‐end	
  visual	
  diary	
   of	
  their	
  vacation	
  experience,	
  while	
  I	
  would	
  ask	
  the	
  non-­‐tourists	
  to	
  make	
  a	
  visual	
  diary	
  of	
  their	
  daily	
   relations	
  related	
  to	
  tourism/tourists	
  in	
  Rimini.	
  Finally	
  I	
  would	
  ask	
  the	
  users	
  to	
  walk	
  me	
  through	
  their	
   diaries.	
  An	
  analysis	
  of	
  these	
  visual	
  and	
  verbal	
  experiences	
  would	
  lead	
  to	
  unarticulated	
  needs.	
   	
   	
   —INSIGHTS—	
   	
   Tourists	
  clearly	
  evidence	
  the	
  very	
  convenient	
  cost/offer	
  balance.	
  They	
  all	
  refer	
  however	
  that	
  the	
   quality	
  of	
  the	
  seawater	
  is	
  much	
  better	
  in	
  many	
  other	
  places	
  that	
  can	
  be	
  reached	
  when	
  they	
  have	
  a	
   slightly	
  higher	
  budget	
  and	
  a	
  little	
  more	
  vacation	
  time.	
  	
   Insight:	
  Rimini	
  cannot	
  change	
  the	
  overall	
  conditions	
  of	
  the	
  Adriatic	
  Sea.	
  How	
  can	
  it	
  explore	
  creating	
   local	
  and	
  environmentally	
  low-­‐impact	
  human-­‐made	
  alternatives?	
   	
   Tourists	
  of	
  rival	
  locations	
  refer	
  that	
  Italy	
  has	
  an	
  extraordinary	
  art/history	
  appeal	
  but	
  that	
  Rimini	
  is	
   disconnected	
  from	
  this	
  type	
  of	
  experience	
  because	
  it	
  was	
  almost	
  totally	
  destroyed	
  during	
  the	
  war,	
  so	
   they	
  might	
  as	
  well	
  go	
  to	
  Greece	
  or	
  even	
  more	
  exotic	
  or	
  trendier	
  places	
  where	
  the	
  beach	
  resort	
   experience	
  is	
  much	
  better…	
   Insight:	
  Rimini	
  has	
  an	
  international	
  airport	
  that	
  is	
  unfortunately	
  literally	
  inoperative.	
  How	
  can	
  it	
   become	
  the	
  needed	
  hub	
  to	
  conveniently	
  connect	
  visitors	
  with	
  daily	
  round	
  trips	
  to	
  the	
  unique	
  art	
  and	
   history	
  attractions	
  of	
  Rome,	
  Florence,	
  Naples	
  and	
  Venice?	
   	
   Operators	
  that	
  offer	
  tourist	
  services	
  (hotels,	
  beach	
  attendants,	
  restaurants,	
  discos,	
  bars,	
  taxis,	
  etc.)	
   all	
  feel	
  that	
  they	
  are	
  “alone”.	
  They	
  feel	
  that	
  all	
  the	
  forces	
  at	
  play	
  are	
  not	
  synched	
  and	
  that	
  trade	
   associations	
  and	
  local	
  and	
  national	
  governance	
  should	
  help	
  to	
  network,	
  coordinate	
  and	
  facilitate.	
   Insight:	
  Rimini	
  has	
  6	
  million	
  visitors	
  a	
  year.	
  How	
  can	
  this	
  great	
  human	
  capital	
  bring	
  creativity,	
  fresh	
   quality	
  knowledge	
  and	
  international	
  networking	
  advantages?	
  	
   	
   Locals	
  strongly	
  feel	
  the	
  impact	
  of	
  6	
  million	
  visitors	
  mostly	
  in	
  the	
  negative	
  terms	
  of	
  traffic	
  density,	
   smog	
  and	
  delinquency.	
  Only	
  the	
  under-­‐30-­‐year-­‐olds	
  appreciate	
  the	
  abundance	
  of	
  cultural	
  events	
  the	
   tourism	
  offering	
  also	
  makes	
  available	
  for	
  them.	
  	
  	
  	
  	
   Insight:	
  How	
  can	
  the	
  under-­‐30-­‐year-­‐olds	
  become	
  “ambassadors”	
  of	
  Rimini	
  in	
  order	
  to	
  create	
  a	
  new	
   bonding	
  between	
  Rimini’s	
  over-­‐30-­‐year-­‐olds	
  and	
  the	
  city’s	
  visitors?	
   	
   	
   —APPROACH—	
   Along	
  with	
  the	
  visualization-­‐based	
  approach	
  described	
  above	
  I	
  would	
  also	
  use	
  an	
  ethnographic-­‐ observational	
  approach	
  to	
  have	
  a	
  more	
  objective	
  view	
  to	
  examine	
  and	
  compare	
  with	
  the	
  visual	
   diaries.

