Design thinking is a practical, creative, and iterative approach to problem-solving that centers on a deep understanding of audience experience. It’s a non-linear way of thinking, starting with a deep understanding of what your audience needs (empathy) and working your way through problem definition, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration.
Design thinking is especially good at addressing “wicked” problems: complex, dynamic problems that are important to an organization’s success but have no clear-cut solution.
Wicked problems often involve people, technology, and culture… all of which are essential to an organization’s success. How might we attract more diverse audiences? How might we create more collaborative project teams? How might we use technology to its best advantage? How might we create a culture of learning? Design thinking is not a quick fix to these “wicked problems,” nor does it guarantee success. It does, however, represent a more inclusive, less risky, and more innovative approach.
How is design thinking different from what we do now?
- It’s a human-centered process… rather than focusing on the products or end results, we focus on the real human needs of our audience
- Starts by defining the problem, rather than assuming a solution. Rather than starting by saying, “We need an app!” or “We’ll host a two-day symposium” you take a step back to consider what problem you’re trying to solve. Are you trying to connect people to the information they need while they’re on your grounds? An app MAY be the solution. But it may also be a tour guide, a sign, or a physical map. Incorporates multiple perspectives. Design thinking typically involves the people for whom you’re designing as well as individuals from different disciplines that can bring diverse points of view to the conversation.
- Feedback happens throughout the process, rather than waiting until the end (until it’s too late to truly incorporate). We do a lot of evaluation, but typically it’s when a project is already complete. Design thinking introduces intermediary steps of feedback and improvement along the way.
When and why might we use design thinking?
As I mentioned above, design thinking is great at addressing ill-structured or “wicked” problems in ways that traditional methods can’t. Ill-structured problems are complicated, nuanced situations for which there may be many solutions.
Because you’re involving stakeholders throughout the process, and testing the ideas and prototypes along the way, the content / experiences / etc. you produce will be more relevant and useful to your audience. Rather than making assumptions about what they want, you’ve actually asked them!
It’s pretty risky to work on a project without feedback or input from your intended audience; what if you work on it for two years and it ends up hitting the mark? By iterating and prototyping, you mitigate this kind of risk.
Design thinking involves a wide range of perspectives and includes more diverse voices than a typical project. Having this type of diversity improves overall outcomes and creates a more collaborative environment overall.
Finally, design thinking contributes to an overall culture of continuous improvement, an environment where people are encouraged to be creative, take small risks, and learn from their mistakes.