UP Talastasan Lecture Series: Adopting Design Thinking To Solve Creative Economy Problems

Baguio adopting a colorful creative economy has been a long time coming. Since becoming a creative city under the United Nations Creative Cities Network, Baguio solidifies itself into a status where it can thrive economically with the help of the city’s artisans and creative folk.

The UN Creative Cities Network defines a creative city as a community where creativity is one of the driving forces for sustainable development. That being said, one of the biggest challenges that Baguio faces is knowing how to put creativity at the forefront of its economy effectively. Thankfully, we have “design thinking” to help us understand how the city can propel its creative economy forward.

The University of the Philippines Baguio hosted a week-long lecture series, titled “Talastasan,” to serve as one of EntaCool: Baguio Creative Festival’s academic events to promote and discuss creativity, as well as to celebrate Cordilleran art. One of the talks that Pilipinas Popcorn was heavily invested in was UP Cebu Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Palmy Pe-Tudtud’s talk about “Adopting Design Thinking in Product Design.”

Highlighting Functionality and Usability Through Design Thinking

It’s important to understand that creativity thrives on design. For any creative economy, the products and materials that would eventually help gain traction are largely anchored in design. Prof. Tudtud stressed the importance of design thinking as a way to solve the problems of creative economies—one that Baguio needs immensely.

Before getting into what design thinking has to do with a creative economy and product design, Prof. Tudtud defined the elements that make design a crucial part of development and success. Design thinking believes in a “design for all” perspective. This heavily promotes creative participation for everyone in the society, regardless of social status and attainment. Keeping that in mind, design for all can also be translated to Universal Design—a way of thinking where accessibility, functionality, and usability can be accessed through design. It’s a design practice that allows inclusivity and more room for people to use a certain design piece or product to their liking and with ease.

Prof. Tudtud also identified the major trends that are currently making rounds across the design sphere. First is the global scale of consumer-oriented design where every product is made entirely for appeasing customer’s preferences and delivering value. In the modern market, especially in Baguio, Prof. Tudtud noticed that consumers are more “discriminating” when it comes to finding the perfect product. Maybe a bag is too colorful, or the handle doesn’t fulfill their expectations. Perhaps a particular type of rug does not go well with the vision they have for a living room. It’s a dilemma that designers have learned to accept, but one that makes work harder.

Another trend is the rapid changes that the world and a creative economy faces. As time passes, there’s more attention given to the preservation of the quality of life regardless of technological feats. The third—arguably the most important trend of all—is how the economy demands a higher standard of usability.

So how does design thinking fit into a starting creative economy like Baguio?

The answer can be found in the design thinking process.

Design Thinking: Non-Linear Process To Fuel Baguio’s Creative Economy

Prof. Tudtud encourages a solution-oriented way of thinking for a creative economy to flourish in Baguio. The city has a vast number of weavers and painters and artists that come up with world-class products that, if given more exposure and support, would unmistakably allow creativity to become one of the city’s economic powerhouses.

The design thinking process typically follows (but isn’t limited to) this process: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This, again, is a non-linear way of thinking where the designer can go back and forth from each step to come up with a design that effectively hits what universal design aims to propagate.

Empathizing is where the creative process starts. This is where immersion and research play a crucial part in understanding the needs of the consumer. The designer then defines the design problem through the observations gleaned from empathizing. Ideation is where collaboration, analysis, and understanding the product’s value takes place. For Baguio artists, this wouldn’t be a problem. As a city of artists and creatives, ideation can be executed easily. Baguio artists are known to be eager collaborators, especially with Creative Baguio initiative in mind.

Prototyping and testing go hand in hand as one of the latter stages of the design thinking process. This way, the designer can go back and forth from developing samples to testing them to see if it follows the Universal Design way of aesthetics and usability.

How can Design Thinking help Baguio as a Creative City?

Again, Baguio as a creative city can only truly become one if creatives come together and adopt one voice. Even before the city was designated as such, artists and creatives have been thriving quietly. Design thinking, on the other hand, allows not only the creatives but also business owners and the local folk to formulate a way for everyone to come together. Collaboration is key here, as what Prof. Tudtud stresses.

In order to stand out in the midst of market saturation of creative products, Prof. Tudtud emphasizes the need for a Unique Selling Point. This, however, serves as a welcome task for Baguio creatives—after all, they’re natural storytellers.

Design thinking can help the Creative Baguio initiative gain the right amount of traction to establish itself as a full-fledged creative city. The bottom line here is to meet the needs of the consumer and the artist. By putting systematic thought and collaborative effort into one plate through design thinking, the city’s creative economy will ultimately advance toward a level of grand economic proportions.

Watch the talk in its entirety below: