More impact in innovation: Design thinking meets AI in the card deck

We are always on the lookout for new tools that make innovation easier and smarter. The AI Co-Innovation Deck makes AI tangible in the idea process: Our students receive simple, immediately applicable prompts that provide creative impulses and make it easier to get started with AI-supported innovation. Fast, practical and inspiring for the next generation of founders.

At first I thought: do we really need another card deck? After my students and I have used it in various situations, I say: Yes, definitely! Thanks to the symbiosis of methodical tips, concrete prompts and real-life design thinking, the AI Co-Innovation Cards should provide exactly the innovation boost that so many companies urgently need.

As a student in the Master's program in Leadership in Digital Innovation, I am particularly fascinated by the AI Co-Innovation Deck. It shows how modern leadership formats can be developed actively and collaboratively with digital tools. The combination of design thinking and GenAI makes it possible to explore and test innovative approaches with AI in an uncomplicated way. For anyone who wants to rethink and redesign leadership, the deck offers real added value.

In the “AI-driven Innovation” workshop of our current Meetup series on AI and civil society, the group of laypeople and experts went through a complete innovation process under Carl's guidance. In a practical combination of teaching design thinking methods and effective AI use, we defined problems and created a minimum viable product (MVP). In my opinion, this AI-supported process is ideal for associations, social institutions, and individuals with limited resources to develop an innovation even without innovation experts. The AI Coinnovation Card Deck serves as a helpful support for non-digital use.

I am particularly impressed by the fact that the AI Co-Innovation Deck combines creative openness and linguistic precision. It not only opens up new perspectives on design thinking with AI, but also introduces users to the topic of prompting. It is a well thought-out tool that inspires and empowers and can also be a creative sparring partner, especially in technology-driven innovation environments. The cards have sufficient methodological depth and can be used for a playful introduction to validation and AI-supported innovation processes. They train important skills: design thinking competence and language sensitivity when prompting.

In my opinion, the AI Co-Innovation Deck is a practical tool that helps us to combine proven innovation methods with new technological possibilities. I particularly liked how easy it is to integrate into our existing processes. By combining design thinking, generative AI and a digital prompt database, we can develop innovations in the team in a more targeted way and implement them more quickly. I see this approach as a clever combination of tradition and modernity that helps us to bring creative ideas to life with more structure and less effort.

In the Design Thinking with AI workshop at our current EdTech Academy Batch at the Founders Foundation, Carl used lots of practical examples to show us how to challenge ideas with AI, define a “job to be done,” and gave us tips on using generative AI in the start-up phase. He made the theory easy to understand with fun facts, illustrations, and short videos. The participants (a group of about 60 people) really appreciated the interactivity of the session and Carl's expertise. Those who had never used AI for this purpose before were genuinely impressed. At the end, it was clear to everyone: AI can create real added value for innovation processes!

Carl Robert Brand's AI Co-Innovation Card Deck has brought real added value to my work – and continues to do so. I have tried out the cards in several projects and have often found that they not only provide new impetus, but also help me and everyone involved to concretize and implement ideas more quickly. I think it's brilliant that I was able to integrate the cards into my existing processes very easily and that they had an immediate effect. By using the deck, I was able to create noticeably more clarity, structure, and creativity in my teams—results that would not have been possible without the card deck in this form, or only with considerable additional effort. For me, it's a tool I wouldn't want to be without!