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Picture showing up for your first day of class with little prior knowledge of the course you are enrolled, only to find out that you will be working with the 16th largest brewery in the United States to brew a beer.
If that were the case, you would be a Grand Valley State University student taking INT 323: Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs which is offered through Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Founders Brewery partnered with GVSU students to design, develop, market, and distribute a "Born and Brewed in Michigan” beer.
Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs is a unique course in that students work with a client on an actual project. In this case a Grand Rapids, Mi based company that was founded in 1997 and has grown to 600 employees, distributing beer in 50 states and 20 countries. GVSU students worked with Founders to promote local business and highlight the history of beer in Michigan.
BY Darien Ripple, Ph.D. for MiBrew Trail
Brewing Through Design Thinking
MIBREW TRAIL MAGAZINE
WINTER 2022
Dave Engbers, Co-Founder of Founders Brewery talking with Design Thinking students about “Chasing your What If”.
Photo Credit: Darien Ripple
Students in Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs courses typically engage in applied research methods, consult experts in particular fields, while working with a client to solve a problem or meet a need. The idea is to go beyond theory and engage in practices of creativity and innovative problem solving. In this project, the client and experts were one in the same. Students learned from Founders coordinators, managers, brewers, vice-presidents, and even Dave Engbers the co-founder and president. Founders’ employees visited the classroom (in person and ZOOM) to explain the beer industry. Guest lecturers discussed such topics as three tier system, research, and product development, naming and branding, sales and marketing, and brewing, while focusing on promoting social responsibility and sustainability efforts.
Design thinking is a problem-solving process in which students engage in interdisciplinary teams to collaborate with stakeholders. Students engaged in human-centered design incorporating empathy and creativity to inspire the process of ideation and implementation of a prototype that will be tested and refined.
The partnership was born when Liz Wonder the sustainability coordinator at Founders and Darien Ripple assistant professor at GVSU met over a beer to discuss an experiential learning hands-on project that they were developing for the Boy Scotts of America. A side conversation about hops farming strayed off into the possibility of having GVSU students work on Founders’ "Born and Brewed in Michigan” campaign.
After six months of planning, the first class started working on the project in January of 2020. In this same semester the COVID pandemic would hit the United States turning college campuses upside down, while at the same time also providing GVSU design thinking students with the inspiration to design and brew a beer that would one day reconnect friends and family.
Winter 2020 students tour Founder’s Brewery (pre-pandemic). Photo credit: Darien Ripple
A revised beer label with a name (New Age Old Fashioned) developed by the Winter 2021 students.
The Founders/GVSU design thinking partnership involved 46 students and over a dozen Founders employees. Each semester students learned about the Founders’ philosophy and business model, brewing beer, sustainability, and the design thinking process. A common thread throughout all three semesters was having Dave Engbers speak to the class in the third week of the course, normally captivating students with personal stories, the history of the company, and explaining the Founders’ "Way” while inspiring students to "chase the what if." Dave would also attend the final session of each semester to listen and comment on the various prototypes. The students would also meet with brewer Diamond Deschaine who would explain the brewing process and update them on the beer that they designed, developed, and brewed. In addition, students were walked through Founders’ process of developing a final product from VP of Finance and Analytics, Patrick Brang who with Liz Wonder served as points of contact.
It must be noted that with each semester, a new set of students were introduced to different stages of product design and development, while working through the design thinking process of inspiration, ideation, and finally implementation of a final product and plan. The first team worked on Research & Development (Winter 2020), the second team focused on Branding and Labeling (Fall 2020), and the third team laid out a plan for Product Release, Marketing & Sales (Winter 2021).
Is a label developed by students in the Fall 2020 course. The idea is friends reuniting by a campfire on Lake Michigan. Credit: Joy Shoemaker and Fall 2020 INT323 Students
The process of teaching and learning was also structured differently for each semester because of the global pandemic. The Winter 2021 term started out as an in-person evening course, although because of COVID was transformed into a synchronous real-time ZOOM-based course. The Fall 2020 course involved both synchronous ZOOM and asynchronous (self-paced with deadlines) learning, and Winter 2021 was a combination of in-person, synchronous ZOOM and asynchronous learning. In many ways the different teaching and learning models reflected the essence of design thinking in that it is premised on ideas of adaptability and open to new ways of engaging in creativity.
In the beginning of each semester, students are asked to self-identify particular skillsets associated with the project. The self-assessment is used to place students into teams of five to six students to work on the project.
In the first semester of the project, the newly formed teams were tasked with developing liquid briefs to serve as a blueprint for a beer to be brought to market. Each team competed to develop a Liquid Brief that would serve as a beer prototype. Teams were asked to take a deep dive into successful Founders’ beers that had not been brewed in the past five years. Team members collaborated to re-envision a former beer that could meet the needs of the current market, while taking into consideration sustainability and the "born and brewed in Michigan” theme.
As the project progressed with new eyes on the product each semester, students worked through various prototypes but always positioned the beer in its Michigan roots, awareness of sustainability, sense of nostalgia, and providing a beer with strong familiar flavors founded in the Founders Way. The students wanted the beer to be a conversation piece. The selected label design highlighted a small group of friends sitting by a campfire overlooking Lake Michigan. There would be a QR code on the bottle that would link back to Founders’ Big Pitcher — a program that gives back to the community — webpage with information about possible local companies like Archangel who works on reforestation projects, Peterson Farms which was the source of cherries for the brew, and Iron Fish Distillery who could be a possible future collaborator. There would also be a Spotify link that played Michigan based bands from a variety of eras.
In the final semester of the project, while anxiously waiting for the beer to be tapped, students took a deeper dive into sales and marketing, rethinking how the beer could be released as a full consumer experience. Students hypothetically looked at the beer as a way Founders could meet the customer demand for cocktail style beers by adding new products beyond their very popular Mas Agave beer. Students came up with an idea to have the New-Age Old Fashioned produced in 24-ounce bottles that could be served in the taproom with whiskey style glasses. The beer would be poured on the rocks and garnished with an orange and cherry. In the final presentation to Founders, GVSU design thinking students introduced other creative considerations as deliverables, such as a Fall farmers market, and designing a tree style tap that could promote a partnership with Archangel who would be commissioned to grow a Founders’ Forest in North Michigan.
The Founders/GVSU partnership allowed design thinking students to interact in an authentic learning experience with a client to meet real world needs. Almost all of the students who participated in the partnership found working with Founders to be a positive experience and were excited to design an actual product. The project is a great example of how partnerships can be developed between the business community and higher education to engage in practical experiences that can help students prepare for future careers and creative endeavors. If Founders decides to implement any of the ideas or not, at the end of the project, GVSU design thinking students got to brew their own beer and "chase the what if."
Is a prototype of how an Old Fashioned would be served over the rocks and garnished with an orange and cherry. Photo credit: Darien Ripple
Picture showing up for your first day of class with little prior knowledge of the course you are enrolled, only to find out that you will be working with the 16th largest brewery in the United States to brew a beer.
If that were the case, you would be a Grand Valley State University student taking INT 323: Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs which is offered through Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Founders Brewery partnered with GVSU students to design, develop, market, and distribute a "Born and Brewed in Michigan” beer.
Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs is a unique course in that students work with a client on an actual project. In this case a Grand Rapids, Mi based company that was founded in 1997 and has grown to 600 employees, distributing beer in 50 states and 20 countries. GVSU students worked with Founders to promote local business and highlight the history of beer in Michigan.
Design thinking is a problem-solving process in which students engage in interdisciplinary teams to collaborate with stakeholders. Students engaged in human-centered design incorporating empathy and creativity to inspire the process of ideation and implementation of a prototype that will be tested and refined.
The partnership was born when Liz Wonder the sustainability coordinator at Founders and Darien Ripple assistant professor at GVSU met over a beer to discuss an experiential learning hands-on project that they were developing for the Boy Scotts of America. A side conversation about hops farming strayed off into the possibility of having GVSU students work on Founders’ "Born and Brewed in Michigan” campaign.
After six months of planning, the first class started working on the project in January of 2020. In this same semester the COVID pandemic would hit the United States turning college campuses upside down, while at the same time also providing GVSU design thinking students with the inspiration to design and brew a beer that would one day reconnect friends and family.
The Founders/GVSU design thinking partnership involved 46 students and over a dozen Founders employees. Each semester students learned about the Founders’ philosophy and business model, brewing beer, sustainability, and the design thinking process. A common thread throughout all three semesters was having Dave Engbers speak to the class in the third week of the course, normally captivating students with personal stories, the history of the company, and explaining the Founders’ "Way” while inspiring students to "chase the what if." Dave would also attend the final session of each semester to listen and comment on the various prototypes. The students would also meet with brewer Diamond Deschaine who would explain the brewing process and update them on the beer that they designed, developed, and brewed. In addition, students were walked through Founders’ process of developing a final product from VP of Finance and Analytics, Patrick Brang who with Liz Wonder served as points of contact.
It must be noted that with each semester, a new set of students were introduced to different stages of product design and development, while working through the design thinking process of inspiration, ideation, and finally implementation of a final product and plan. The first team worked on Research & Development (Winter 2020), the second team focused on Branding and Labeling (Fall 2020), and the third team laid out a plan for Product Release, Marketing & Sales (Winter 2021).
The process of teaching and learning was also structured differently for each semester because of the global pandemic. The Winter 2021 term started out as an in-person evening course, although because of COVID was transformed into a synchronous real-time ZOOM-based course. The Fall 2020 course involved both synchronous ZOOM and asynchronous (self-paced with deadlines) learning, and Winter 2021 was a combination of in-person, synchronous ZOOM and asynchronous learning. In many ways the different teaching and learning models reflected the essence of design thinking in that it is premised on ideas of adaptability and open to new ways of engaging in creativity.
In the beginning of each semester, students are asked to self-identify particular skillsets associated with the project. The self-assessment is used to place students into teams of five to six students to work on the project.
In the first semester of the project, the newly formed teams were tasked with developing liquid briefs to serve as a blueprint for a beer to be brought to market. Each team competed to develop a Liquid Brief that would serve as a beer prototype. Teams were asked to take a deep dive into successful Founders’ beers that had not been brewed in the past five years. Team members collaborated to re-envision a former beer that could meet the needs of the current market, while taking into consideration sustainability and the "born and brewed in Michigan” theme.
Winter 2020 students tour Founder’s Brewery (pre-pandemic). Photo credit: Darien Ripple
A revised beer label with a name (New Age Old Fashioned) developed by the Winter 2021 students.
Is a label developed by students in the Fall 2020 course. The idea is friends reuniting by a campfire on Lake Michigan. Credit: Joy Shoemaker and Fall 2020 INT323 Students