Speaker Spotlight: Kim Goodwin

Kim Goodwin has spent more than a decade working to make design a more central part of everything we do. Author of the bestselling Designing for the Digital Age, Kim was for many years a vice president at Cooper, where she led cross-disciplinary teams and developed internal curricula. We spent a quick minute chatting with her about her upcoming talk at AEA Seattle and a few other things.

Q. What's the main takeaway from your talk?

I'll show you how scenarios–which are essentially character-driven stories–can help generate better solutions faster, while also building commitment on the team.

Q. What's a useful tip or trick you've learned in the last few months?

Most designers are used to making stuff up, but that blank-whiteboard effect is a real barrier to generation for some people. When I teach, I've started using detailed journey maps of the current experience to help people get started imagining a better future. It's been working very well.

Q. What professional website are you visiting most these days?

I've been pretty focused on organizational culture and design leadership lately, so the Harvard Business Review is a frequent stop.

Q. Tell us something we don't know about you.

I think the first few minutes after sunrise is the best time of day, especially when I have a camera in my hand.