CHAPTER 13 On Creative Spirit
The d.school[...] approaches space as a tool to affect student behavior in biasing
toward action[...] when manipulated intentionally, space can be used as a tool
to fuel the creative process by encouraging and discouraging specific behaviors/
actions and by creating venues for emotional expression and physical nego-
tiation. With this disposition, the d.school[...] explore[s] the use of artifacts,
arrangements and the actual physical space of a designed environment, to
support the role of space as a teacher.Read that last phrase again: “to support the role of space as a teacher.”
At the d.school, space is now, rightly, a participant.
A space intended to ignite creativity, the d.school’s approach (which
was informed by its founder David Kelley’s previous experiments with
spatial design at IDEO) has filtered into other, larger creative business
environments, where space is seen increasingly as a critical tool in the pro-
cess of shaping ideas. Generous in spirit, the school has created a series of
guides that enable you to build your own tools to shape space. Encouraging
others to follow in their footsteps and create spaces that encourage open
exploration and facilitate chance collisions, the d.school offers the follow-
ing advice:We think the most important factor in creating a space for innovation is to
start: start small, and start now. What we learned from a year in the trailer
formed the foundation of our approach to space; if we’d waited until we had
a big, new building, it would have been five years before the learning process
would have begun. Make your space!The d.school’s open-minded and inventive approach to space, and how
it can be used as another tool in the ideas culture toolbox, manifests itself
through its students’ projects and their ongoing success. With its open-
source DIY guides and the book Make Space^13 by Scott Doorley and Scott13 http://dschool.stanford.edu/makespace/