a. Why are the UN SDGs relevant to 21st Century innovators, inventors and designers?

The United Nati ons Sustainable Development Goals are relevant to 21st Century innovators,
inventors and designers as they demonstrate global issues that need solving, outlining a
framework and areas for demand for products and services yet to be invented. By paying
parti cular interest to the Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nati ons,
inventors and designers are able to take part in helping to end poverty, create peace and
protect the environment at a global level.

b. What strategies did you fi nd the most helpful to your project and why?

I believe that the most signifi cant concept I have gained this semester is research with
empathy. The weekly collaborates and the research project worked in conjuncti on to teach me
the importance of gathering data to see things from the point of view of stakeholders and
other community members to gain a bett er idea of how important others view my perceived
problem to be. Without completi ng this step, you may unwitti ngly put work into trying to ‘fi x’
an issue that the community does not consider to be a problem

c. You were asked to build a prototype or propose a soluti on, and then test it with
users/colleagues/signifi cant people. Why is receiving feedback so important in design? Who
would you ask for more feedback? Why would you choose these people?

Feedback is important in design as receiving feedback allows you to expand your thinking by
seeing design fl aws or strengths that you may not have realised yourself, allowing you to
develop your ideas further while also confi rming whether you are on the right track with the
design process. I would ask stakeholders specifi c to the design target audience, such as
business owners and members of the community that would be impacted by the design. I
would choose these people as they are the target demographic for the design, so their
feedback is directly applicable to whether or not my design is benefi cial to the problem they
are trying to solve.

d. Which Design Thinking stage did you fi nd the most challenging and why? Which stage did
you fi nd the most rewarding and why?

I found the most rewarding part of the design thinking stage to be the Empathy and Research
stage as it allowed me to gather a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of
the SDG at a local level. By tracking the amount of organic food waste on a day-to-day basis, I
was able to see the signifi cance of the carbon footprint produced by the café. Conversely, the
Research stage also opened my eyes to the existi ng soluti ons in my local community, as well
as those used in other communiti es that could be implemented here too. The most
challenging part of the design thinking stage was the Testi ng and Review stage as my original
script took me well over the 4 minute ti me limit, which meant that I needed to rethink what
informati on was really crucial to keep in my pitch in order to meet the ti me limit.

e. What is the most signifi cant skills/idea/concept you have gained this semester? Why?
 
The most signifi cant idea/concept I have gained this semester is the idea of thinking outside
the box. Throughout collaborates there has been much discussion about the importance of
creati ve thinking and recording ideas no matt er how big, small or silly they may seem. I have
always struggled with not being a very creati ve person, which at ti mes has caused some
‘school anxiety ’ when faced with tasks that require creati vity. This semester has taught me
that it does not matt er how outrageous or ‘wrong ’ an idea may seem, to sti ll jot it down and
investi gate where that path may lead.