The San Diego Service Jam brought people together to learn design in community—and have a ridiculously good time doing it at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education in Liberty Station.
For one fast, idea-fueled weekend, people gathered to think, make, test, research, and of course, design.
In just 48 hours, five teams built five new services. The ideas ranged from strengthening parent-child connection to helping people get unstuck with support from others, break the ice, turn down the volume in a noisy world, and build stronger connections with neighbors.
All the thinking was done on white boards and paper and sticky notes, making thinking visible. People didn’t get bogged down looking down at their laptops.
On Saturday, the teams interviewed nearly 100 people in Liberty Station. On Sunday, they tested with just as many. They learned quickly, adjusted in real time, and jammed their way through design skills and community building all at once.
In between the creative sprints, local design professionals dropped in to give flash talks on designing, prototyping, and testing. I was delighted to capture their words of wisdom as a graphic recorder.
But what amazed me most? How quickly ideas moved from the conceptual stage into something real.
Turns out good ideas move a lot faster when you stop polishing and start testing.
Big shoutout to Brian and Grace De Lac and the San Diego Service Jam.