AMNA NAWAZ: For decades, David Kelley has helped# people to unlock their creativity.

A pioneer of## design, he founded Stanford's d.school as a# place for cross-disciplinary problem-solving.

In tonight's Brief But Spectacular, he reflects on## the journey that shaped his belief that# everyone has the capacity to be creative.

DAVID KELLEY, Stanford University: I met Steve# Jobs soon after I started IDEO in 1978.

He## didn't have an internal design group, and# so he was using people from the outside.## He liked what he saw and we ended up# doing 53 projects for Apple after that.

The most impactful project that I think we ever# did for Apple was the computer mouse.

It's one of## those great things where to see something adopted# that quickly was really gratifying as a designer.

These are things I designed.

So this is# the chassis for the Apple III computer.## This is the Palm V. It's a personal# digital assistant before your time.## My mom's spatula, I don't# know why that's memorable.

I grew up in Barberton, Ohio, the# Rust Belt of the country.

As a kid,## I was always tinkering.

You know# my grandfather was a machinist,## and if you needed a part for the washing# machine, you made a new one.

When I first## arrived at Stanford, I really didn't# have any knowledge of what design was.

Design was in the engineering school, but it# was very human-centered, so that was a better## fit for me.

I was much better at going out# and trying to understand what was meaningful## for people.

Twenty years ago, I was diagnosed# with throat cancer, and it really hit me hard,## but I really had the epiphany that I wanted to# do something that was meaningful in the world.

And as I started teaching, I realized# that my purpose in life was figuring## out how to help people gain confidence# in their creative ability.

Many people## assume they're not creative.# Time and time again, they say,## a teacher told me I wasn't creative or that's not# a very good drawing of a horse or whatever it is.

We don't have to teach creativity.# Once we remove the blocks,## they can then feel themselves as being# a creative person.

Witnessing somebody## realizing they're creative for the# first time is just a complete joy.

You## can just see them come out of the shop and# beaming that I can weld.

Like, what's next?

I couldn't get that anywhere else, I think,# other than being an educator.

The way the## d.school idea came to me basically was,# I was in a bunch of meetings in those## days about multidisciplinary.

Early# prototypes for the d.school were just## some of us getting together from different# departments and teaching a class together.

The way of thinking and working together in a# radically collaborative way results in really## life-changing, world-changing kind of# ideas.

The d.school is really focused## on helping people gain a new mind-set,# designing in a way that's human-centered.

What's different about design today,# I think, is, we used to be at the## kids table and now I think we're at the adult# table, that we're getting to work on the most## interesting problems.

Design is just one of the# disciplines, along with business and technology,## we can actually contribute to making solutions# that are meaningful and fit with people.

My name is David Kelley, and this is my Brief# But Spectacular take on creativity and design.

AMNA NAWAZ: And you can watch more Brief But## Spectacular takes on our Web# site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.