Skip to content

Pre-order my debut book, "If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry"

Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube Email
Still Being Molly
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Brands
  • Contact
Buy the book

Pre-order my debut book, "If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry"

Still Being Molly

Using Human Centered Design to Change the World | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 141: Durell Coleman, DC Design

Using Human Centered Design to Change the World | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 141: Durell Coleman, DC Design

Today’s Purpose:

It’s no secret we live in a time of heightened social tension. There are issues all around us we’re inundated with through the media and around the dinner table. It’s overwhelming to consider how we should address issues including racism, foster care reform, recidivism rates, and healthcare. Today’s guest is tackling these issues with a unique kind of ammunition: human-centered design. Durell Coleman is the founder of DC Design, a social impact design firm that uses human-centered design to fix some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Listen to the episode...
0.75x
1x
1.25x
1.5x
2x
0:00
...
  • Using Human Centered Design to Change the World | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 141: Durell Coleman, DC Design
Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare
Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify

(Click the featured times below to jump forward in the episode)

Things You Don’t Want To Miss:

3:00 – The Durell 101

  • Durell starts with his childhood and shares of his upbringing in Texas.
  • His passion for design goes all the way back. He told his mom he wanted to be an inventor at the age of eight, and he made grand plans to own his own company.
  • Durell’s brother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when Durell was nine. His brother fought the disease for five long years, and he even played varsity soccer and graduated high school. However, he passed away at the age of 19.
  • Durell’s brother’s battle with cancer challenged him to evolve his dream. He wanted to create, and he wanted to do so in a way that improved quality of life for others. He wanted to give people a chance for success.

7:00 – A New Perspective

  • Durrell reflects on how his perspective changed upon the death of his brother.
  • The common mantra is “Life is short. Live it up.” Durell used that phrase as an opportunity to live with purpose.

9:00 – Lessons From Failure

  • As humans, we’re able to see our highs after going through lows. In short, we learn from our failures.
  • Durell’s first company designed renewable energy sources in the developing world. The plan made sense, but he lacked funding, and the vision was compromised. Durell began designing low-cost wind turbines for homeowners in America, and unfortunately, there wasn’t a need for that particular solution. He drew strength from his failure, and he studied it as well. As he started DC Design, those lessons became valuable pieces of insight.
  • Immersion is a great tool for learning. Durell emphasizes his working class background forced him to design by necessity. He knew there was no alternative solution if he couldn’t build or learn something himself.

16:24 – Explaining DC Design

  • DC Design is a social impact strategy and design consultancy. They help people on the front lines of addressing social impact. From criminal justice to foster care, DC Design wants to help world changers deliver on their mission.
  • The goal is to utilize the process of human-centered design. DC Design wants to understand the needs of people who live through a particular challenge. Going straight to the source helps organizations to shape the process for change.

19:10 – What Is A Design Thinking Impact Retreat?

  • The goal is to connect with the souls of other people and build them up. DC Design wants people to know they matter and can only be brought down if they allow themselves to be.
  • Design Thinking Impact Retreats are focused on helping people who want to impact the world. They teach effective strategies that help alleviate suffering.
  • Social impact innovators attend these retreats. They’re the ones who see the news at night and want to effect change.

24:48 – A Unique Approach To Social Justice

  • It’s the Average Joe who effects change, and we’re all impacted by social issues. We’re all in it together as we’re trying to make change happen.
  • Durell’s journey began when his first company failed. He’d been focused on his work in other countries. However, he realized many social issues affect us right here in the U.S. He wanted to design ways to fight for social justice, address poverty, fight wildfires, and champion prison reform right here “at home.” Durell realized the need to equip the people and organizations on the frontlines of these issues.
  • We’re not equipped to fight every issue, and DC Design wants to help individuals realize which specific issues they’re called to champion. He also wants to learn from the experiences of those in need, and use their insight to design change. The most effective strategies for change come from within.

31:52 – A Notion Of Privilege

  • The notion of privilege exists in many forms. Your education, background, and physical appearance can all leave you with privilege. Remember the Spiderman quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” How are we using our privilege to call out injustice and fight for restoration?
  • Justice and redemption go together. We’re quick to judge yet slow to forgive. We need to create a space for restoration. Rather than wanting people to suffer, we should focus on giving people the opportunity for rehabilitation.

42:30 – How To Learn More

  • Sign up for the DC Design newsletter.
  • Attend an Impact Retreat.
  • Send your high school students to a Design The Future workshop.

Getting To Know Our Guest:

  • 45:16 – Durell shares with us his favorite desserts, his dumbest injury, and a song he could listen to on repeat.

A Memorable Moment:

We learn about issues when we start having conversations with people about what they're going through. - Durell Coleman
Tweet This

Meet Your Guest:

Durell Coleman is the founder of DC Design, a social impact design firm that uses the design thinking process to address the world’s biggest problems. In his journey as a designer, Durell has collaborated with international non-profits, large tech companies, and small businesses to create products and services that solve the problems they face.

Trained in mechanical engineering (B.S) and sustainable design (M.S.), he is a two-time alumnus of Stanford University and its famous Institute of Design. He partners with diverse clients to help them successfully overcome challenges and capitalize on the opportunities before them. His clients include governments, foundations and nonprofits working to address challenges in the criminal justice and foster care systems, Syrian refugees designing solutions to challenges in refugee camps, students at Stanford University designing a more inclusive campus, and corporate executives from Sony, Oracle, and Santander.

He is an expert in multi-stakeholder, human-centered design and is one of the subjects of the PBS documentary: “Extreme by Design,” which is used as a design thinking teaching aid all over the world.

Website: dcdesignltd.com

Facebook: @dcdesignltd

Twitter: @dcdesignltd

Instagram: @dcdesignltd

Design The Future Workshop

Additional Resources:

Your Host: Molly Stillman

Website: www.stillbeingmolly.com

Instagram: @stillbeingmolly

Facebook: @stillbeingmolly

Podcast Instagram: @businesswithpurposepodcast

Twitter: @stillbeingmolly

Podcast Facebook: @businesswithpurposepodcast

Click To Subscribe To The “Business With Purpose” Podcast:

Get some encouragement in your inbox!

Subscribe

* indicates required

I’d like to thank my dad for everything he taught me about exterior illumination.

108 7
Open
I’d like to thank my dad for everything he taught me about exterior illumination.

Help me pick a new headshot! After almost 6 years I finally got updated headshots and one gets to go on the back of my book! I’m very indecisive so help me pick, if you are so inclined.

Shoutout to the amazing @stellaandbirdiephotography for the new pics and to @kns.ellis for her makeup magic. #authorphotos #headshots

328 179
Open
Help me pick a new headshot! After almost 6 years I finally got updated headshots and one gets to go on the back of my book! I’m very indecisive so help me pick, if you are so inclined. 

Shoutout to the amazing @stellaandbirdiephotography for the new pics and to @kns.ellis for her makeup magic. #authorphotos #headshots

Here are a few things I know to be true:
👉🏼 we can be having the time of our lives while also experiencing great disappointments
👉🏼 we can laugh so hard our stomachs hurt while in the depths of grief
👉🏼 we can feel confident in the work (or art) we’ve created while also fighting the battle of imposter syndrome
👉🏼 we can feel grateful for the life we are living while also lamenting that which we’ve lost
👉🏼 we can lament the life we are living while being grateful for where we’ve come from
👉🏼 we can document a really fantastic hair day and then also document the horrors of how we feel when we have the stomach bug (swipe for a real life example) 🤣

The beauty and brutality of life is in the both / and, not the either / or. And if we are blessed to live long enough, we will experience all those things and so much more.

What both / and are you sitting in today?

338 26
Open
Here are a few things I know to be true:
👉🏼 we can be having the time of our lives while also experiencing great disappointments
👉🏼 we can laugh so hard our stomachs hurt while in the depths of grief
👉🏼 we can feel confident in the work (or art) we’ve created while also fighting the battle of imposter syndrome
👉🏼 we can feel grateful for the life we are living while also lamenting that which we’ve lost
👉🏼 we can lament the life we are living while being grateful for where we’ve come from
👉🏼 we can document a really fantastic hair day and then also document the horrors of how we feel when we have the stomach bug (swipe for a real life example) 🤣

The beauty and brutality of life is in the both / and, not the either / or. And if we are blessed to live long enough, we will experience all those things and so much more. 

What both / and are you sitting in today?

Selah Farm Thanksgiving 2023 ✅
Carrying on the tradition my parents started so many decades ago. Love breaking bread with family, friends, strangers, international students, and more. Missing some family today, but feeling thankful. 🧡

277 7
Open
Selah Farm Thanksgiving 2023 ✅ 
Carrying on the tradition my parents started so many decades ago. Love breaking bread with family, friends, strangers, international students, and more. Missing some family today, but feeling thankful. 🧡

I thank God every single day that social media didn’t exist in 2003. #highschoolthenandnow

636 53
Open
I thank God every single day that social media didn’t exist in 2003. #highschoolthenandnow

She’s been gone 21 years, but it feels like I blinked.

324 12
Open
She’s been gone 21 years, but it feels like I blinked.

God is in the details.

57 5
Open
God is in the details.

Happy 30th Anniversary to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial! What an incredible day with incredible veteran friends. I pray that I was able to honor my mom 🇺🇸 She should have been here. ❤️

Happy Veteran’s Day to all who have so selflessly served. ❤️

134 6
Open
Happy 30th Anniversary to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial! What an incredible day with incredible veteran friends. I pray that I was able to honor my mom 🇺🇸 She should have been here. ❤️

Happy Veteran’s Day to all who have so selflessly served. ❤️

Today was so special. I had the privilege of representing my mom as she was posthumously honored (among six other incredible women veterans) at the Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery @womensmemorial. I was able to reconnect with and hug so many dear sister and brother Vietnam veterans that I hadn’t seen in a few decades. We hugged, laughed, and cried as we shared stories.

We ended the night with a candlelight ceremony at the Vietnam Veteran’s Women’s Memorial. And to answer your question, no.. I can’t get through listening to taps while I watch as a bunch of retired Veterans salute. 😭

This weekend, instead of taking advantage of mattress sales, thank a veteran for his or her service. 🇺🇸 #veteransday🇺🇸

274 13
Open
Today was so special. I had the privilege of representing my mom as she was posthumously honored (among six other incredible women veterans) at the Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery @womensmemorial. I was able to reconnect with and hug so many dear sister and brother Vietnam veterans that I hadn’t seen in a few decades. We hugged, laughed, and cried as we shared stories.

We ended the night with a candlelight ceremony at the Vietnam Veteran’s Women’s Memorial. And to answer your question, no.. I can’t get through listening to taps while I watch as a bunch of retired Veterans salute. 😭

This weekend, instead of taking advantage of mattress sales, thank a veteran for his or her service. 🇺🇸 #veteransday🇺🇸

My once in a decade “visiting where I grew up” photo dump 👉🏼

1️⃣ where I carved my name in the cement of the sidewalks I lobbied the town council for when I was 8
2️⃣ in front of my childhood home
3️⃣ on my sidewalks. Yes. They are mine. I put them there.
4️⃣ crying in front of the abandoned Tortilla Factory. May it rest in peace.
5️⃣ peering in the windows of the Tortilla Factory - the back room where the Tuesday night Folk Club met every week. Literally hasn’t changed in the 12 years it’s been closed.
6️⃣ downtown Herndon
7️⃣ at the Veteran’s memorial in downtown Herndon that my mom helped to dedicate when it was established.
8️⃣ visiting grandma
9️⃣ with my mama

312 29
Open
My once in a decade “visiting where I grew up” photo dump 👉🏼

1️⃣ where I carved my name in the cement of the sidewalks I lobbied the town council for when I was 8
2️⃣ in front of my childhood home
3️⃣ on my sidewalks. Yes. They are mine. I put them there. 
4️⃣ crying in front of the abandoned Tortilla Factory. May it rest in peace. 
5️⃣ peering in the windows of the Tortilla Factory - the back room where the Tuesday night Folk Club met every week. Literally hasn’t changed in the 12 years it’s been closed. 
6️⃣ downtown Herndon
7️⃣ at the Veteran’s memorial in downtown Herndon that my mom helped to dedicate when it was established. 
8️⃣ visiting grandma
9️⃣ with my mama
Follow on Instagram
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Brands
  • Contact

© 2023 Still Being Molly - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP

  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Brands
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Brands
  • Contact