Design Thinking: Reflection | Mind Mapping

Challenge

I am a college student in Brazil and this semester I was faced with a challenge: for my

sustainability class, my colleagues and I had to develop a sustainable brand from scratch for

our final assignment. The project consisted of creating and developing all the aspects involved

in a brand, from the product to the mission and vision and even the visual identity. At first, we

had nothing in mind and we were faced with no plan, but we had to do something.

Selection

For that reason, we decide to use the mind mapping tool, hoping that it would help us in the

process of brainstorming and finding which ideas we had in common and which of those could

actually work in a practical way. The mind mapping strategy came in handy, especially now in

the middle of a pandemic, when social distancing has made group projects harder.

Application

We applied the mind mapping strategy by listing all of our ideas for products and then all the

possibilities that could be linked to them. The strategy really helped us annalize which

possibilities were more sustainable and which of them would be less complicated to work with

while social distancing. We built the mind map during a brainstorming process that was divided

into a series of meetings where we would all share our thoughts and ideas. In my opinion, it was

a very effective way to use the tool and it really helped us in the process of coming up with a

plan that would satisfy all the members of the group. It was also very practical since we could all

access our notes and thoughts in the mind map later on, which was helpful in guiding each

member on doing their part of the project.

Insights

I believe I learned a lot by applying the mind mapping tool. It was a very positive experience

and it definitely made working in groups - which is usually very hard - much simpler and faster

than it used to be. It helped us focus and come up with better and more effective ideas, making

our final project a lot better. It also made us feel less concerned about the assignment, giving us

the idea that we had more control over the situation and what we could do about it.

Approach

Next time, I plan on applying this technique in a more complex environment, challenging

myself a little more. I would also try to use a better tool instead of doing it in google slides, which

was the tool that I used. But overall, I believe that the tool was very effective and helpful in

making my group project the best it could’ve been.


Design Thinking : Reflection | Mind Mapping Challenge I am a college student in Brazil and this semester I was faced with a challenge : for my sustainability class , my colleagues and I had to develop a sustainable brand from scratch for our final assignment . The project consisted of creating and developing all the aspects involved in a brand , from the product to the mission and vision and even the visual identity . At first , we had nothing in mind and we were faced with no plan , but we had to do something . Selection For that reason , we decide to use the mind mapping tool , hoping that it would help us in the process of brainstorming and finding which ideas we had in common and which of those could actually work in a practical way . The mind mapping strategy came in handy , especially now in the middle of a pandemic , when social distancing has made group projects harder . Application We applied the mind mapping strategy by listing all of our ideas for products and then all the possibilities that could be linked to them . The strategy really helped us annalize which possibilities were more sustainable and which of them would be less complicated to work with while social distancing . We built the mind map during a brainstorming process that was divided into a series of meetings where we would all share our thoughts and ideas . In my opinion , it was a very effective way to use the tool and it really helped us in the process of coming up with a plan that would satisfy all the members of the group . It was also very practical since we could all access our notes and thoughts in the mind map later on , which was helpful in guiding each member on doing their part of the project . Insights I believe I learned a lot by applying the mind mapping tool . It was a very positive experience and it definitely made working in groups - which is usually very hard - much simpler and faster than it used to be . It helped us focus and come up with better and more effective ideas , making our final project a lot better . It also made us feel less concerned about the assignment , giving us the idea that we had more control over the situation and what we could do about it . Approach Next time , I plan on applying this technique in a more complex environment , challenging myself a little more . I would also try to use a better tool instead of doing it in google slides , which was the tool that I used . But overall , I believe that the tool was very effective and helpful in making my group project the best it could ’ve been .