What is design thinking

what It is

What it’s not:

  • aesthetic sensibilities

  • design capabilities

  • implementation

  • a scientific approach to problem solving

  • a linear and prescriptive process

  • a free-for-all Wild Wild West

Design thinking is fundamentally an explorative process. Design thinking is innovation intelligence. It is a practical application and a systematic approach to problem solving and innovation with a very unique way of thinking. To me, design thinking is both an innate quality and a learned, practiced skill; art and science; heart and mind.

In this very congested tech world filled with a massive influx of apps, goods, and services fighting for a piece of the Millennial (Generation Y) pie, differentiation can be the most powerful business strategy. What powers differentiation? Innovation. And what drives innovation? Design thinking. Design drives innovation, innovation powers brand, brand builds loyalty, and loyalty sustains the bottom-line, profits. Awesome-sauce!

Disruptive innovation can be the greatest advantage any company can tap into with the help of design thinkers.

Wikipedia defines disruptive innovation as:

...the innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology. The term is used in business and technology literature to describe innovations that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically first by designing for a different set of consumers in the new market and later by lowering prices in the existing market.

Be mindful. Be designful. Be a catalyst.

I believe that design thinking empowers. It is the key to innovation. And it is hard work because it's about action. In the commercial sphere, it is the intelligence that allows innovation, customer experience, and brand value to intertwine into one solid chord. However, there's a greater purpose that's evident the minute you step outside the corporate sphere and consider the human race as ONE people sharing and consuming the Earth's resources. What are we going to do with this incredible tool we hold in our hands, the power of innovation for a greater good? How can we improve not just our lives but the lives of others around the globe? How can we improve our environmental footprint? How can we collaborate, share knowledge, contribute more and consume less?

Methods/frameworks:

Visualizations, Empathy Mapping, Customer Journey Mapping, Ethnography, HMW, UCD Brainstorming, Gamestorming, Napkin Pitch, Assumption Testing, Prototyping, Listen, Learn & Iterate, Be Curious