Living On The Edge of Chaos

154: This Is A Prototype by Scott Witthoft

Episode Summary

In this episode, I speak with the thought provoking Scott Wiffhoft and his latest book, This Is A Prototype. You might have heard, read, used, and still use his previous book Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration. Scott works as an educator, designer, and author. Drawing from his past life in the practice of forensic structural engineering, he incorporates that expertise with current pursuits in space, furniture, and product design—teaching & speaking widely. He is co-author of the book, Make Space — a tool for creating collaborative environments. He has also authored articles for the Conference Board and Harvard Business Review. His work has been featured in The Design Museum and publications such as Fast Company, Architecture and Urbanism, and Metropolis.

Episode Notes

TOPICS WE EXPLORE

1.  
   1.  
      1. What is a prototype?
      2. There a tension between a prototype as a question and a prototype as a statement
      3. The struggle of the muckety muck phase of bringing ideas to life aka "the solution"
      4. It is really hard to sit in a room of silence and watch people think.
      5. Power of space and time to sit with ideas to marinate
      6. Prototyping with focus more on the learning journey vs. final product
      7. Perspective changing of seeing materials as valuable resources
      8. Disservice that when we need/want to be creative we also have to consider "garbage" as material to be able to create.
      9. When making a statement to convince someone of the idea vs. actually showing something to someone to ask a question.
      10. There is only value to be gained by engaging other people in the work.

YOUR CHALLENGE

Share ideas you gathered from the conversation with us on the socials.

What resonated with you?

RESOURCE MENTIONED IN SHOW

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  • Read more about the book here - https://dschool.stanford.edu/book-collections/this-is-a-prototype

HBO's From Earth to the Moon (this is mentioned in the show)

These two are from Apollo 13 which are likely stuck in your head too if you've seen that one:

https://youtu.be/ry55--J4_VQ  (connection to "one material prompt")

https://youtu.be/f6F6MzMT2g8

• LinkedIn
• Medium

Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration