As Design Manager and Research Associate, I was responsible for the Living Lab Capacity building program. Furthermore, I was hired as an external consultant to teach Design Thinking and help the association on their brand development.

The Living Lab capacity building program teaches the value of applying a Design Thinking mindset, a Human-Centered Design approach and encourages Open Innovation. The users are the Living Lab Managers and the Teams who engage in this Living Lab Process.

Due to the pandemic, the format was mainly digital and consisted of a combination between interactive workshops, presentations and educational videos.

The main challenge was to understand the association’s needs and give those needs the necessary structure.

The complex nature of their network required a set of guidelines which allows both maximum independence and cohesive brand recognition.

How can we marry standardization & individualization?

Therefore we researched the principles of a social franchise.

Another challenge was to distinguish my roles as external expert and employee.

Last but not least, the project management & communication took place in French and required a careful translation of terminology.

• It is never too early to agree upon a vision & mission statement.

• The more complex the network, the more sophisticated the brand guidelines need to be in order to align all stakeholders.

• Coherence and consistency are key.
  It is important that all members of an organization are aligned regarding the organization’s purpose.

• A well-defined & communicated Design brief is invaluable when outsourcing projects or collaborating with third-parties.