Design Thinking

What is design thinking?

Design thinking is not just a way of making things look good; it is a way of thinking and working that puts the user at the center of everything. According to Tim Brown, CEO and president of design company IDEO, design thinking is "a methodology that we use to solve complex problems, and it’s a way of using systemic reasoning and intuition to explore ideal future states" ¹.

Design thinking is rooted in a set of skills that can be learned and practiced by anyone, not just designers. These skills include:

• Empathy: the ability to understand the emotions, needs, and perspectives of users and stakeholders
• Define: the ability to frame and articulate the problem clearly and concisely
• Ideate: the ability to generate a wide range of possible solutions without judging or limiting them
• Prototype: the ability to create low-fidelity models or representations of solutions that can be tested and improved
• Test: the ability to gather feedback from users and stakeholders and learn from failures and successes

These skills are not applied in a linear or sequential way; rather, they are part of an iterative process that cycles through different stages of exploration and experimentation. Design thinking is flexible and adaptable to different contexts and challenges.

Why use design thinking?

Design thinking offers many benefits for individuals, teams, organizations, and society. Some of these benefits are:

• Innovation: design thinking helps generate novel and original solutions that meet the needs and desires of users
• Collaboration: design thinking fosters a culture of teamwork and co-creation that leverages diverse perspectives and expertise
• Customer satisfaction: design thinking improves the quality and usability of products and services that delight users and create loyalty
• Business value: design thinking enhances the competitiveness and profitability of organizations that deliver value to customers and stakeholders
• Social impact: design thinking addresses complex and wicked problems that affect people and the planet in positive ways

How to get started with design thinking?

Design thinking is not a one-size-fits-all method; it can be adapted and customized to different situations and goals. However, there are some general steps that can help you get started with design thinking:

1. Define your challenge: what problem are you trying to solve? Who are you solving it for? What are your objectives and constraints?
2. Research your users: who are your target users? What are their needs, pain points, motivations, behaviors, preferences, etc.? How can you empathize with them?
3. Synthesize your insights: what are the key findings from your research? How can you organize and communicate them? What are the main opportunities for improvement or innovation?
4. Ideate your solutions: what are some possible ways to address the problem or opportunity? How can you brainstorm many ideas without judging them? How can you select the most promising ones?
5. Prototype your solutions: how can you make your ideas tangible and testable? What are the key features or functions of your solutions? What materials or tools can you use to create prototypes?
6. Test your solutions: how can you get feedback from your users and stakeholders? How can you measure the effectiveness of your solutions? How can you learn from failures and successes?

These steps are not fixed or rigid; you can go back and forth between them as needed. You can also use different tools and techniques to support each step, such as interviews, surveys, observations, personas, journey maps, brainstorming sessions, sketching, storyboarding, wireframing, mockups, etc.

Examples of design thinking

Design thinking has been used by many organizations across different industries and sectors to create innovative solutions for various problems. Here are some examples:

• Sephora: the makeup retailer used design thinking to improve its online shopping experience by observing how customers used its website and other platforms. It discovered that customers often went to YouTube to watch videos of people using products before making a purchase. Sephora then integrated video content into its website and app, increasing customer engagement and sales ².
• Airbnb: the online platform for renting homes used design thinking to overcome a crisis in 2009 when it was struggling to attract users and investors. It realized that the quality of the photos of the listings was a key factor in influencing customers' decisions. It then hired professional photographers to take pictures of the homes and offered them for free to the hosts. This simple intervention boosted the bookings and revenues of Airbnb dramatically ³.
• KONE: the elevator manufacturer used design thinking to develop a new service that monitors the performance and condition of its elevators in real time. It used sensors and data analytics to provide insights and recommendations to its customers and technicians, improving the safety, reliability, and efficiency of its elevators ⁴.

Conclusion

Design thinking is a powerful way of solving complex problems in a creative and human-centered way. It can help you generate innovative solutions that meet the needs and expectations of your users and stakeholders. It can also help you collaborate better with your team and organization, and create positive impact in your domain and society.