What we’re about
PDT is a community of creative problem solvers advancing human-centered design literacy through high-quality events, lively conversation, and practice-based development.
We're made up of all kinds of people: practitioners who use human-centered design methods and mindsets every day, designers and researchers, design strategists, Agile scrum leaders, urban planners, and many more who use or appreciate Design Thinking.
One way to define design thinking is that it is a mindset, approach, and set of tools and techniques for problem-solving and innovation anchored around human-centered design. Design thinking is different from other innovation and ideation processes in that it’s solution-based and user-centric rather than problem-based. This means it focuses on the solution to a problem instead of the problem itself. Design thinking is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity, and rationality to meet human needs and drive business success.
Typically, we meet monthly, mostly virtually, and occasionally in person. Our monthly meetings, announced through MeetUp, may be webinar-style, or interactive and focus on some topic of interest to our community.
But we're about more than just meetup events.
You can find information about our upcoming events as well as links to recordings of past events on our website [PortlandDesignThinkers.com](portlanddesignthinkers.com).
We have an active, private Slack workspace – it is a thriving online discussion space for all things design thinking. Please join us there --[ https://bit.ly/2JuQ2V6](https://bit.ly/2JuQ2V6).
We also have a private LinkedIn group. Please join us there as well – https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13997019/.
PDT is a volunteer-run organization. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs. If you or your organization is interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Deb Mrazek (debmrazek@gmail.com ).
Portland Design Thinkers are excited to welcome Skipper Chong Warson: Mapping out your customers who care a lot
Most teams can describe their product perfectly but struggle to answer "Who cares about this most?" In this 50-minute working session, we'll explore Google Ventures bullseye customer framework and April Dunford's positioning canvas to help you think through who might need what you're building most desperately. You'll work with practical tools and leave with ways to test your customer focus.
About our Speaker:
I’m a product strategist, designer, and workshop facilitator with a services practice called How This Works co. I’m focused on building winning products and experiences that customers need, want, and solves their problems, zeroing in on what actually drives business growth by zeroing in on outcomes not outputs. Currently focused on early stage startups and mid-market companies, I bring substantial Fortune 500 experience as well to every challenge. I also host the How This Works show, a podcast.
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If you have any questions or would like to connect with other members of PDT, join our Slack community.
PDT is a volunteer-run Oregon nonprofit organization, and as you can imagine, organizing events can be expensive. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs. If you would like to help, we accept donations through Venmo @PortlandDesignThinkers.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Mapping Out Your Customers Who Care A LotLink visible for attendees
Portland Design Thinkers are excited to welcome Skipper Chong Warson: Mapping out your customers who care a lot
Most teams can describe their product perfectly but struggle to answer "Who cares about this most?" In this 50-minute working session, we'll explore Google Ventures bullseye customer framework and April Dunford's positioning canvas to help you think through who might need what you're building most desperately. You'll work with practical tools and leave with ways to test your customer focus.
About our Speaker:
I’m a product strategist, designer, and workshop facilitator with a services practice called How This Works co. I’m focused on building winning products and experiences that customers need, want, and solves their problems, zeroing in on what actually drives business growth by zeroing in on outcomes not outputs. Currently focused on early stage startups and mid-market companies, I bring substantial Fortune 500 experience as well to every challenge. I also host the How This Works show, a podcast.***
If you have any questions or would like to connect with other members of PDT, join our Slack community.PDT is a volunteer-run Oregon nonprofit organization, and as you can imagine, organizing events can be expensive. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs. If you would like to help, we accept donations through Venmo @PortlandDesignThinkers.
