What is Design Thinking and Why is it Important?

What is Design Thinking?

You might think that the term Design Thinking is exclusive to designers but that isn’t true! Great musicians, artists, scientists, educators, and engineers have all practiced it, because it reaps great results. Apple, Google, and other highly successful brands have implemented this style of thinking into the development of their services and products. Design Thinking often practices Human Centered Design strategies. The first question in the Design Thinking Process is what’s the real, human need?

Design thinking is used as an umbrella term for interdisciplinary, fast-paced, solution and human centered research and ideation. There are many subsets of design thinking, such as human-centered design, which will be mentioned a lot throughout this article. It’s never linear, but when followed creates a through problem solving approach focused around the basic need of the human. It’s an iterative process that encourages experimentation until the best possible solution is found.

Design thinking was originally created for engineers, so that they could learn how to creatively approach problems, similar to how designers did. The Nobel Prize Laureate Herbert A. Simon was one of the first people to write about many principles, such as Human Centered design, that are a part of the principles of Design Thinking. Stanford Professor John E. Arnold also wrote about Design Thinking and began to include it in the school’s curriculum.

The Four Principles of Design Thinking

There are four very basic principles of Design Thinking

1. The Human Rule:
   1. This principle states that any design-related activity needs to be social because being social is in our nature and will make it easier to think from a human-centric viewpoint. It’s imperative that you empathize with them and pay close attention to their complaints, feelings, and interactions.
2. The Ambiguity Rule
   1. In order to see things from different perspectives you must be ambiguous. Using all your knowledge and ability to experiment will really allow you to find the root of the problem and take you to a solution more quickly. Don’t think you know everything. Be open to learning and looking at things from viewpoints other than your own.
3. The Redesign Rule
   1. In Don Norman’s book Emotional Design he speaks on the one thing that will always remain the same no matter how much design changes, basic human needs. Since needs always remain the same we’re only ever redesigning things by finding a new way to meet the need.
4. The Tangibility Rule
   1. Ideas must be made tangible so that they can be fully understood for iteration, development, and communication.

What Does Design Thinking Look Like?

One great example of Design Thinking was Oral B’s upgrade of its electric toothbrush. The company wanted to add more functions to the usage of the brush; usage frequency, gum sensitivity observations, and music. The two designers they hired pointed out that for many people, brushing their teeth is a neurotic act and most people wouldn’t want extra functions, because it would cause more stress. Instead, they proposed two solutions. Either make it easier for the user to charge the brush or easier for them to order replacement heads. They practiced Design thinking by focusing on what the User wanted instead of just what the company wanted.

Benefits of Design Thinking

1. Drives Revenue
   1. Design Thinking is a thorough process that makes sure the best solution to the problem is found. When you’re making something that makes your customers happy and gains their loyalty, you’re also increasing revenue.
2. Allows You to Gain a Deep Understanding of Customers
   1. Design thinking forces you to gain a deeper understanding of customer’s motivations. Placing yourself in their shoes gives you the viewpoint you need to leverage your knowledge into marketing your product or service.
3. Saves You Time, Money, and Effort
   1. Design Thinking streamlines the solution finding process. This single efficient process gives affordance to failure, testing, and iteration.
4. Gives You a Leg Up in the Job Market
   1. Design Thinking skills have become more and more in demand in the job market. It’s a good skill to develop and will make you look more appealing to hirers. The jobs that are requiring design thinking skills are also the ones that pay higher salaries.
5. Helps Overcome Cognitive Fixedness
   1. Cognitive Fixedness is the state of mind where you become so set on an idea that you miss the opportunity to iterate on it or develop better ideas. Design thinking requires you to come up with multiple ideas, gain feedback, and iterate them.

Design Thinking Vs. Human-Centered Design

Human Centered Design and Design Thinking are often confused with each other. That’s because Human-Centered Design is a part of most Design Thinking. Not all Design Thinking is Human Centered but all Human Centered Design is Design Thinking. If you’d like to learn more about Human Centered Design you can read my article here… What is Human Centered Design and Why is it Important?