Methods in Psychology and Design Research
New Year always makes me think about the future and this provokes a lot of anxiety, so I wanted to write about some methods in psychology and design research that help to think about the future in a constructive, playful way.
A lot of work at BWP focuses on helping our clients reinvent themselves and imagine their futures. Thinking about future is both exciting and anxiety provoking, so it requires a special approach.
This summer BWP worked with a client who wanted to come up with more effective ways to partner with other local organizations. During one of our workshops we encouraged our client to enact these future collaborations. We prepared a role playing exercise using personas of potential partners that were developed through ethnographic research. Richard and I role played potential partners who members of the client team had to engage with. Together we brainstormed ideas for future collaboration and programming. Through this exercise, the client team developed empathy with and better understanding of their potential partners and created actionable solutions for future collaborations.