GDTA Spotlight with Dark Horse Innovation

How passion, collaboration, and persistence turned an idea into a thriving business. Born from one of the first cohorts of the D-School Potsdam, Dark Horse defied the odds to become a sustainable business venture.

December 18th 2024

Since 2009, they’ve exemplified Design Thinking in action—co-creating innovative products and services rooted in user needs, leveraging diverse expertise, and thriving through interactive, iterative processes.

Co-Founders Mia Konew and Daniela Keizer shared their inspiring journey, discussing the opportunities, challenges, and how Dark Horse has evolved alongside the Design Thinking movement.

More Spotlight Events

GDTA Spotlight with i3lab Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

At our GDTA Spotlight session on May 23rd, 2023, we welcomed Guido Caicedo, Executive Director of i3lab, Dr. Sharon Guamán-Quintanilla, Academic Coordinator, and Isabel Alcívar, Lecturer and Design Thinking Facilitator. They discussed about “Turning freshmen into DThinkers.”

March 2025: GDTA Spotlight with HPI d-school Potsdam

The D-School Potsdam is stepping into a new chapter! With a fresh brand identity and an updated teaching structure, they continue to push the boundaries of Design Thinking education. At the GDTA Spotlight: “Crafting Tomorrow”, Monika Frech, co-head of the academic program team shared

GDTA Session #7 with Western University: Design Thinking Education without a D.School

Western University is a large, public university in Canada with 11 faculties and schools. Since 2013, they have slowly built up the presence of Design Thinking across the university.

November 2024: GDTA Spotlight with Andrey Khusid

Join us for an exclusive GDTA Spotlight session featuring Andrey Khusid, founder and CEO of Miro! Discover the inspiring journey behind Miro’s creation, the pivotal role of Design Thinking in its development, and the founder’s unique philosophy that shaped the intelligent canvas model. Andrey will share insights on Miro’s latest AI features and his vision for the platform’s future. Don’t miss this chance to learn from a leader who has transformed collaborative workspaces worldwide.

GDTA Spotlight – “Teach to Start Up!” with Prof. Dr. André Bresges, Executive Director of the Institute for Physics Didactics at the University of Cologne

At our GDTA Spotlight session on  December 14th, Prof. Dr. André Bresges, Executive Director of the Institute for Physics Didactics at the University of Cologne talked about “Teach to Start Up”. 

Session #5 with Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

In this session, Dr. Assaf Krebs, Dr. Yigal David, and Daniel Altman of GDTA member institution Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art talked about: “Intermediate spaces – Two perspectives on engineering, design, Design Thinking, and life itself. From Sound Engineering to Human Surfaces”.

GDTA Spotlight with V&A Dundee – “Entangled Values: The Power of Networks”

In our session held via zoom on April 7th, 2022 at 4:00 pm (CEST) / 10:00 am (EDT), we welcomed our speakers Lynne Martin, Strategic Lead for Design for Business at V&A Dundee, and Annie Marrs, Lead Officer at UNESCO City of Design Dundee. Lynne and Annie talked about “Entangled Values: The Power of Networks”.

April 2024: GDTA Spotlight with Prof. Dr. Jeanne Liedtka “The Experimentation Field Book: A Step-by-Step Project Guide”

On April 30th, 2024 Prof. Jeanne Liedtka from University of Virginia shared the insight from her most recent book, The Experimentation Field Book: A Step-by-Step Project Guide, co-authored with Natalie Foley, David Kester and Elziabeth Chen, published in February, 2024.

GDTA Spotlight with Dr. Martin Schwemmle of The Future Company

Martin Schwemmle: “Future Skills Navigator: Upskilling Humankind For a Better Future”

April 2025: GDTA Spotlight with Michael Lewrick

Michael Lewrick, bestselling author of The Design Thinking Playbook and AI and Innovation, leads an inspiring session exploring how Artificial Intelligence is transforming Design Thinking practices worldwide.

GDTA Spotlight with Linda Hickman

At the GDTA Spotlight session on April 26th, 2023, we welcomed Dr. Linda J. Hickman, Associate of the London School of Economics. She talked about “Design Thinking for Startups.”

March 2024: GDTA Spotlight with Prof. Jochen Schweitzer, & Prof. Sihem BenMahmoud-Jouini on “Transform with Design: Creating new Innovation Capabilites with Design Thinking”

Transform with Design presents examples of creative organizations across industries and geographies, and recounts the stories of how they adapted design thinking to build their innovation capabilities. Written by leading industry experts and design-thinking scholars, the book features ten anecdotal experiences by professionals who detail the implementation of design thinking as it unfolded for them. Contributors share how they navigated the many barriers and obstacles they encountered along the way and describe their experience from early beginnings to the present, revealing valuable lessons for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

May 2024: GDTA Spotlight Special with Maria Stashenko “Playing the Future: A Trend Watching Game”

On Tuesday, May 21st we held a free interactive 60-minute session with Maria Stashenko & her team form Design Thinking Center Asia. After a brief introduction everyone played a round of their game live online:

GDTA Spotlight: “Celebrate Design Thinking Coming of Age”

Design Thinking has been reshaping the minds of many students and professionals globally for the past 20 years and is fast becoming the winning mindset that drives innovation and solutions to complex problems of our time. The mindset has seen major support from academia and professional networks with some great expansion over the years.

GDTA Spotlight – “Innovation Pace in Times of Pandemic: Research Insights” with Maria Stashenko, Director, Design Thinking Center Moscow

At our GDTA Spotlight session on November 12th, Maria Stashenko, Director, Design Thinking Center Moscow, talked about “Innovation Pace in Times of Pandemic: Research Insights”.

Session #2 with Linlin Shui, Communication University of China

In a discussion with GDTA president Prof. Uli Weinberg and other GDTA members, Linlin Shui, Head of the Design Thinking Innovation Center at the Communication University of China (CUC), shared impressions from China during the Covid-19 pandemic and explained how CUC build a prototype for an online Design Thinking course in only two weeks.