Design Thinking: think outside the box

It is easy to say that thinking outside the box allows us to solve complex problems innovatively, but putting it into practice can be a big challenge as we fall into repetitive thinking patterns. It is difficult to challenge everyday assumptions.

However, Design Thinking and its focus on an iterative process with constant questioning forces us to challenge those assumptions and gain new insights, redefining the problem, strategies, and solutions.

Index

• Design Thinking
• Design Thinking process
• Think outside the box
• Design Thinking applications

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is more than a process; it is a way of thinking that provides a solution-based approach to creative and collaborative problem solving through a collection of practical methods and an iterative process that seeks to understand users.

In essence, Design Thinking:

• Focuses on understanding the people for whom the product or service is designed.
• Helps develop empathy with the user.
• Facilitates questioning, as the process leads to questioning the problem, assumptions, and ideas.
• Involves continuous experimentation, allowing for improvements based on feedback.
• It is useful when unknown, broad, or ill-defined problems must be addressed.
  
  

Blog of interest: Introduction to Design Thinking

Design Thinking Process

Just as there is no single solution to the problems we want to solve through Design Thinking, there is no single way to practice the process. Currently, there are several frameworks for Design Thinking, which have different names and stages; however, they all contain the same bases and consist of the same principles.

For example, one of the first versions of the Design Thinking process is that of Herbert Simon, which consisted of 7 stages: Define - Investigate - Ideate - Prototype - Choose - Implement - Learn.

On the other hand, there are simpler versions, such as AIGA, consisting of 3 stages: Solve - Empathize - Create. These are visually represented by the head, the heart, and the hands.

In this blog, you will see the Stanford School of Design d.school model; they teach an iterative and non-linear process conformed by five stages: Empathy - Definition - Ideation - Prototyping - Testing.

• Empathize - research your users' needs.
• Define - define your users' needs and problems.
• Ideate - question assumptions and create ideas.
• Prototype - create solutions through prototypes.
• Test - test your solutions.

Design Thinking Tools

The most important thing is understanding that "iterative and non-linear process." That phrase means that the executing team can use the result of one stage to evaluate and improve a previous step. This allows understanding the problem and redefining it when necessary, and creating new insights and alternative solutions that had not been thought of before.

Thinking outside the box

Design Thinking helps people think differently and from a new perspective. People who use this methodology develop the ability to:

• Think and solve problems in a different way than the most common methods.
• Challenge assumptions.
• Improve products, services, and processes.
• Analyze and understand the interaction between users and products.
• Question the conditions of a problem.

Blog of interest: Generating successful solutions with Design Thinking 

Design Thinking applications

Applying Design Thinking allows:

• Innovate under a human-centered approach.
• Design products, services, and processes.
• Change markets, trends and behaviors.
• Redefine standards.
• Integrate multidisciplinary teams.
• Be creative to adapt to rapid market changes.
• Reinvent business models.
• Solve complex social challenges.