Have you ever heard of the term ‘design thinking’? Design thinking is a human-centric approach to evolving products and generating new ideas with the main focus on customers. The main principles of this method are finding out what the users’ needs are, planning various potential solutions, and conducting live tests of these solutions with users.
Let’s look at the power of design thinking in business and how to gain more innovation with less.
What is Design Thinking?
Design thinking is a creative problem-solving method that begins with observation, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation. Design thinking uniquely combines several aspects of design and development, such as ideation and visual design, as well as business strategy and user research.
Designers using this design thinking method can research and empathize with users to find solutions to their problems. The primary key of this method is to make problem-solving more than design to understand what users need.
How Design Thinking Can Lead to Innovation
Creativity is the foundation of all innovations. Among the many elements of product design that should not be overlooked is design thinking, which serves as a creative engine and has a major influence on the user’s overall experience.
Designers who properly utilize this design thinking method can be one of the main drivers of the existence of the product or service that your brand offers. The design and development process will be more efficient as everyone is focused on solving problems with the best solutions, so production time will be shorter and with a faster development process.
Innovation is the desired outcome for design thinking. Under the principles of design thinking, you and your team are encouraged to frequently explore new ideas and disregard assumptions about your target audience. By going beyond a purely visual design, the process is more capable of understanding and addressing customer concerns and demands. The unconventional design thinking approach is the brand’s source of innovation.
The Design Thinking Process
You should now have a solid understanding of the term ‘design thinking’ and how it applies to the innovation process. Then, how about implementing a design thinking process?
1. Empathize
The first stage in design thinking is to develop a deep understanding of customers, their unique perspectives, and the problems they face. In this first stage, you and your team must set aside assumptions about the customer’s situation to look at the phenomenon objectively for all possible solutions.
2. Define
The information and data obtained from the first stage can be used to determine the real root of the problem. In determining the root of the problem, you and your team must uphold the human-centered principle to answer their needs, not just what the brand is looking for.
3. Ideate
You and your team are possible to move on to the ideation phase if you have a proper problem definition. Brainstorming is the most appropriate activity to obtain various ideas and solutions for customers.
4. Prototype
Already bring up some solutions for customers? It is time for you to experiment. Develop your brand’s products or services into a prototype that users can try to get feedback.
5. Test
It is possible to begin testing after the prototype has been developed. This prototype embodies the ideas and solutions you and your team have been working on. In light of this, make sure you seek feedback from users during the testing phase. Users’ reactions reveal their feelings about the prototype and the experience as a whole. Determine if the solution is appropriate or if there is need for improvement based on user feedback.
Best Practices of Design Thinking
Design thinking can be utilized in various contexts. However, there are some basic things that you need to apply to use design thinking methods properly for your business.
- Keep an Open Mind – Always be open to many things to understand customers’ needs. Do not overemphasize design, but understand the overall journey of the user experience.
- Start Sketching – Sketching is a great starting point for developing an idea. Sketching helps you to focus on the main goal without overwhelming yourself with details.
- Learn to Walk in Your Customers’ Shoes – Learn the ins and outs of customers’ feedback and concerns. Put yourself in the customers’ shoes and see things from their perspective.
What’s Next for Design Thinking
If you look at current developments, especially in the business context, design thinking will still be desirable in developing creativity and innovation. Below are some paragraphs from the future or upcoming design thinking trends.
- Humanity-Centered Design – Design thinking will not only focus on the needs of each individual customer but expand its scope to societal and environmental impacts. Designers will increasingly gravitate towards the process of creating products or services that have a significant effect on a more sustainable and equitable world.
- AI-Augmented Design – Present times, all activities in product development are almost inseparable from the role of artificial intelligence (AI). AI will significantly influence the design thinking process, where it can help you in data analysis, idea generation, and prototyping. That way, designers can focus more on the creativity-building aspects of product development.
Therefore, design thinking methods will still be relevant continuously. As a problem-solving process that emphasizes creativity, the approach that design thinking offers is convenient for observation, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation.
Not only you and your team are thinking about the design, but you’re also attempting to figure out what the consumers prefer. For brands that want to understand their customers’ pain points, create meaningful change, and leave a lasting impression, design thinking is the way to go.