Design Thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive [project] success.
Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a creative process based around the “building up” of ideas. There are no judgments early on in design thinking.
This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input and participation in the ideation and prototype phases. Outside the box thinking is encouraged in these earlier processes since this can often lead to creative solutions.
[Definition courtesy of this Wikipedia link]
Process of Design Thinking
There are various schools, organizations and companies that specialize in design thinking. While each may have its own language, the process essentially contains the following stages:
- Define the problem
- Research the problem’s context and previous efforts
- Ideate/Brainstorm without disregarding ideas
- (Rapid) Prototype concepts and models
- Choose a particular solution to develop
- Implement the solution
- Test/Learn by getting user feedback and collecting data
Note: The process is not meant to be linear nor completed like a checklist. Steps can be repeated throughout the process, allowing tremendous flexibility for student teams to truly test their thinking.
Additional Explanations for Design Thinking
Videos
- Shaping Space: The d.school’s Environments Collaborative from Stanford University’s d.school
- “Emily Pilloton: Teaching Design for Change” TED Talk
- “Deep Dive: IDEO’s Shopping Cart” episode on ABC Nightline
- “Innovation Through Design Thinking” presentation by Tim Brown (IDEO) at MIT
- “Design Thinking Can Be Learned” interview with David Kelley (IDEO, Stanford d.school) via Businessweek
- “Tim Brown Urges Designers to Think Big” TED Talk
- “David Kelley on Human-Centered Design” TED Talk
Articles
- “Design Thinking: special report“, Businessweek, 9/30/09
- “Design Thinking” (PDF) by Tim Brown for Harvard Business Review, 6/08
- “Design Thinking… What Is That?”, Fast Company, 3/06
Books
- Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, Tim Brown
- The Third Teacher: 79 Ways You Can Use Design to Transform Teaching and Learning, OWP/P/Cannon Design, VS Furniture, and Bruce Mau Design
Schools / Programs / Initiatives
- World’s Best Design [Thinking] Schools slideshow compiled by Businessweek
- Stanford’s d.school (and the d.school’s K-12 Lab)
- Studio H, Bertie, NC — for HS students — sponsored by Project H Design
- Design Ignites Change — for HS + college students
- Tinkering School — for young + HS students
- Public Workshop — for HS students
- Project: Interaction — for HS students
- Study Partner — for college students
- Design for America (@ Northwestern University) — for college students
- Rural Studio (@ Auburn University) — for college students
- OpenIDEO by IDEO (crowd-sourced design solutions)
- frogMOB by frog design (crowd-sourced design solutions)
- Ideas Foundation (UK) and the I Am Creative initiative — for HS students
Purely for Fun (Yet Very Useful)