Design the future shopping experience

 

Last week the Team SUI 1 had the assignment to design the future shopping experience of a shop with the concrete example of the Märitladen – a small organic store in Berne. Cathrine Frederiksen (see interview below) supported the students in this with the concept of design thinking as a creative process. They focussed on working with strategic foresight as part of the process - meaning spotting weak signals that might tell something about emerging trends.

 

 

 

Powerful about the design thinking is the mindset that you as a designer are not an expert, but try to understand and take in different perspectives in order to create a great concept in the end. The outcome after one week was 1000+ ideas and four sharp concepts that have been prototyped.

Cathrine Frederiksen is sure that if Märitladen has the courage to implement the concepts, they get massive PR as well as an increase in visitors and sales. The first reaction of the Märitladen after the presentation: Interesting ideas to move forward for the concrete planning of the shop and some great inspiration sparks that still lay further in the future. The KaosPilots will keep in touch and are curious to see...

 

 

Cathrine Frederiksen - Portrait of a KaosPilot Alumni

 

Cathrine Frederiksen supported the Team SUI 1 in the project to design the future shopping experience of a shop – we wanted to know a bit more about her:

 

1. What do you currently do?
I currently work as a strategic service designer, trend spotter and entrepreneur. I work as a consultant for companies that want to develop new services, as well as deliver insights and trends in order to inspire their businesses to develop. The past years I have been mostly working with developing the food industry as I believe there is a great gap between what is there and what could be. I do this with my company www.tomoland.dk. Besides that I am a part of arranging a new festival in Denmark called BASTARD, I am also a project leader of Restaurant Day Denmark.

 

2. Where do you come from and where do you live today?
I come from a small city in Denmark and currently live in Copenhagen, Denmark. During my time at the KaosPilots I lived in both China and Canada.

 

3. When did you graduate from the KaosPilots?
I graduated 1,5 year ago - The summer of 2011

 

4. Why did you choose the KaosPilots as your part of your education?
I have always had a very entrepreneurial mindset and I remember that I loved to play business-owner when I was a kid. I am also a geek about ideating and inventing things and for some time I though I was going to be an industrial designer. Then I realised that at the KaosPilots I could combine design with business.

 

5. What were the most valuable things you learnt or received at the KaosPilots?
I learned a great deal of important lessons at the KaosPilots, but one of the learnings that currently is most clear for me is that changing something starts with changing yourself and that the future belongs to the people willing to get their hands dirty.

 

6. Do you feel happy and successful today?
Yes, definitely. I am still working on making a sustainable income, but I am happy, free in my mind and I have a feeling that what I do can have the capacity to change something to the better in this worldwide community.