Design Thinking Is For Everyone

Treehouse Institute and Yona Belfort of Vital Innovation present “Design Thinking is for Everyone,” a two-hour workshop where participants will jump into design thinking to solve a real problem in Portland. Design Thinking is a set of principles, from mindset to process, that can be applied to solve complex problems. It combines empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions and rationality to analyze and fit solutions to the context.

Treehouse Institute is a nonprofit organization that connects people, places, and ideas to fuel innovations that foster more resilient and prosperous communities. Treehouse produces TEDxDirigo and is in the process of creating more opportunities for everyday collaborative creativity.

Yona is a product designer and founder of Vital Innovation. During his 8 years at IDEO’s Boston office, he developed experience in packaging, action sports apparel and medical devices. Two recent product launches from teams led by Yona include call2recycle’s new battery collection box (in use at RadioShacks nationwide) and Quiksilver’s Cypher Massive Boardshorts worn by 11 time world champion Kelly Slater. Yona excels at leading teams, concept generation and bringing ideas to life. He earned a BS in Engineering and Applied Science from the University of Rochester. He graduated from Stanford’s Joint Program in Design in June 2003 with an MS in Product Design. Yona co-founded Engine Room, a creative co-working space in Portland’s Old Port, in the summer of 2012.