Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving.

Design thinking has a human-centered core. It encourages organizations to focus on the  people they're creating for, which leads to better products, services, and internal processes.  When you sit down to create a solution for a business need, the first question should  always be what's the human need behind it?

In employing design thinking, you’re pulling together what’s desirable from a human point  of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable. It also allows those  who aren't trained as designers to use creative tools to address a vast range of challenges.  The process starts with taking action and understanding the right questions. It’s about  embracing simple mindset shifts and tackling problems from a new direction.

Design thinking can help your team or organization:

•  Better understand the unmet needs of the people you’re creating for  (customers, clients, students, users, etc...).

•  Reduce the risk associated with launching new ideas, products, and services.

•  Generate solutions that are revolutionary, not just incremental.

•  Learn and iterate faster.

Design Thinking Applications:

Design thinking is applicable no matter your role or industry. Whether you work in  business, government, education, or nonprofit, design thinking can help you develop  innovative solutions based on the needs of your customers. See case studies showcasing  the impact of design thinking across a variety of industries and practices.

Phases of Design Thinking

We teach the phases of design thinking as linear steps, but in practice the process is not  always linear. Some of these steps may happen several times, and you may even jump back  and forth between them. Moving through the phases of design thinking can take you from a  blank slate to a new, innovative solution.

•  Frame a Question—Identify a driving question that inspires others to search  for creative solutions.

•  Gather Inspiration—Inspire new thinking by discovering what people really  need.

•  Generate Ideas—Push past obvious solutions to get to breakthrough ideas.

•  Make Ideas Tangible—Build rough prototypes to learn how to make ideas  better.

•  Test to Learn—Refine ideas by gathering feedback and experimenting  forward.

•  Share the Story—Craft a human story to inspire others toward action.

When done right, design thinking will help you understand the mindsets and needs of the  people you're creating for, surface opportunities based on these needs, and lead you to  innovative new solutions starting with quick, low-fidelity experiments that provide  learning and gradually increase in fidelity.

