Design Thinking for Innovation – Reflection Paper

1. Challenge

The innovation challenge I faced is related to product development.  My wife and I are  interested in candle-making as a hobby.  Rather than creating candles that are based solely on  our personal preferences and assumptions, or copying products that are readily available in the  market, we wanted to apply design thinking techniques to better understand the mindset of  candle-buying consumers in order to create innovative products that better serve the needs of  the market.

2. Selection

The tool we selected for our challenge was the mind mapping tool.  This tool seemed well suited  for helping us to gather data about the greater candle-consumer market and segment this data  into workable components that could be actionable for candle-making innovation.  Specifically,  the mind mapping tool’s ability for looking for themes and pattern in the data, and then  analyzing the data to create different consumer personas seemed like just the thing that we  needed to help us better understand our target market.

3. Application

In order to first apply the mind mapping tool, we needed to generate a sizable data set that  could be analyzed.  To generate this data, we decided to call a number of our friends and family  and conduct brief interviews about what characteristics of candles they preferred, why/how  they purchased candles, and what they used them for.  After conducting approximately 20 of  these interviews, we used the mind mapping tool to analyze the data.  We used the tool to look  for themes and patterns among the interview responses, and then to group these patterns into  various personas.

4. Insight

After generating the data, analyzing the data, and applying the mind mapping tool to group  themes and patterns from the data into groups, we were able to identify 4 basic personas.  These groups ranged from people who were casual candle-consumers to those who were highly  sophisticated and knowledgeable about the space.  One the casual end of the spectrum, we  identified two basic personas: the Any-Candle-Will-Do group and the Special-Occasion group.   We found that the Any-Candle group rarely used candles and that they typically only  needed/wanted candles at seemingly unpredictable times of the year. This group tended to  impulse buy candles on rare occasions and were sometimes gifted candles which they stored for  future use. This group didn’t seem to care about specific candle features, rather they wanted  the candle to “look pretty” overall.  The Special-Occasion group tended to purchase candles  more predictably but centered around certain holidays.  Thanksgiving and Christmas were the  primary holidays in which they shopped for candles. As such, they wanted their candles to have  a holiday appearance and feature scents that are typically associated with that holiday.  This  group didn’t consume candles very much outside of these holidays.    On the more sophisticated side of the spectrum, we identified two groups:  the Mildly-Aware  and the Hyper-Aware.  Both of these groups tended to use candles fairly regularly, not simply

associated with the holidays but more throughout the year.  The main differentiator between  the groups was the level of attention paid to candle features and preferences.  For the Mildly- Aware group, they tended to have a particular preference (for example: white wax, floral scents,  glass container etc.) and tended to purchase candles that stayed within their common  preference for all their candle needs.  The Hyper-Aware group tended to alter their preferences  depending on their candle needs.  Members of this group tended to prefer specific types of  scents for specific rooms/areas and were the most frequent purchasers of candles.  For  example, one interviewee said they prefer floral scents in the main bathroom but more  masculine scents in the guest room. Without applying the mind mapping tool, we would not  have been able to gain this level of knowledge of different customer segments of the candle  market.

5. Approach

I would certainly use the mind mapping tool for generating customer personas.  It is very useful  for identifying patterns and themes and establishing market segmentation.  However, if I had to  do this exercise again, I would look for ways to help automate the process.  For instance, I would  possibly generate a questionnaire that asked the respondent to rank certain candle features on  a numerical scale (1-5).  We could then compile that data and use the numerical rankings to  seek out patterns in a more automated manner.


Design Thinking for Innovation – Reflection Paper 1 . Challenge The innovation challenge I faced is related to product development . My wife and I are interested in candle - making as a hobby . Rather than creating candles that are based solely on our personal preferences and assumptions , or copying products that are readily available in the market , we wanted to apply design thinking techniques to better understand the mindset of candle - buying consumers in order to create innovative products that better serve the needs of the market . 2 . Selection The tool we selected for our challenge was the mind mapping tool . This tool seemed well suited for helping us to gather data about the greater candle - consumer market and segment this data into workable components that could be actionable for candle - making innovation . Specifically , the mind mapping tool ’s ability for looking for themes and pattern in the data , and then analyzing the data to create different consumer personas seemed like just the thing that we needed to help us better understand our target market . 3 . Application In order to first apply the mind mapping tool , we needed to generate a sizable data set that could be analyzed . To generate this data , we decided to call a number of our friends and family and conduct brief interviews about what characteristics of candles they preferred , why / how they purchased candles , and what they used them for . After conducting approximately 20 of these interviews , we used the mind mapping tool to analyze the data . We used the tool to look for themes and patterns among the interview responses , and then to group these patterns into various personas . 4 . Insight After generating the data , analyzing the data , and applying the mind mapping tool to group themes and patterns from the data into groups , we were able to identify 4 basic personas . These groups ranged from people who were casual candle - consumers to those who were highly sophisticated and knowledgeable about the space . One the casual end of the spectrum , we identified two basic personas : the Any - Candle - Will - Do group and the Special - Occasion group . We found that the Any - Candle group rarely used candles and that they typically only needed / wanted candles at seemingly unpredictable times of the year . This group tended to impulse buy candles on rare occasions and were sometimes gifted candles which they stored for future use . This group did n’t seem to care about specific candle features , rather they wanted the candle to “ look pretty ” overall . The Special - Occasion group tended to purchase candles more predictably but centered around certain holidays . Thanksgiving and Christmas were the primary holidays in which they shopped for candles . As such , they wanted their candles to have a holiday appearance and feature scents that are typically associated with that holiday . This group did n’t consume candles very much outside of these holidays . On the more sophisticated side of the spectrum , we identified two groups : the Mildly - Aware and the Hyper - Aware . Both of these groups tended to use candles fairly regularly , not simply associated with the holidays but more throughout the year . The main differentiator between the groups was the level of attention paid to candle features and preferences . For the Mildly- Aware group , they tended to have a particular preference ( for example : white wax , floral scents , glass container etc . ) and tended to purchase candles that stayed within their common preference for all their candle needs . The Hyper - Aware group tended to alter their preferences depending on their candle needs . Members of this group tended to prefer specific types of scents for specific rooms / areas and were the most frequent purchasers of candles . For example , one interviewee said they prefer floral scents in the main bathroom but more masculine scents in the guest room . Without applying the mind mapping tool , we would not have been able to gain this level of knowledge of different customer segments of the candle market . 5 . Approach I would certainly use the mind mapping tool for generating customer personas . It is very useful for identifying patterns and themes and establishing market segmentation . However , if I had to do this exercise again , I would look for ways to help automate the process . For instance , I would possibly generate a questionnaire that asked the respondent to rank certain candle features on a numerical scale ( 1 - 5 ) . We could then compile that data and use the numerical rankings to seek out patterns in a more automated manner .