Introduction to Design Thinking
What Is Design Thinking?
Design thinking is a user-centered innovation process that seeks to disrupt assumptions and spawn creativity in teams and groups.
It is an "iterative process in which you seek to understand your users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions which you can prototype and test" (Dam & Siang, 2022, para. 3).
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Design thinking is a unique process in that it helps to reduce assumptions and cultivate creative, out-of-the-box thinking. Traditionally, design thinking includes stages of:
This process is "iterative" which means it is ongoing and nonlinear. Often, a design thinking team will go through each stage multiple times. After testing a solution, a team may need to redefine the problem, tweak the prototype, learn more from the user, and so on. |
Who Uses Design Thinking?
Often, people connect design thinking with products, but design thinking can be used to develop programs, initiatives, advertising campaigns, user experiences, and more!
Design thinking is embraced by big companies, including IBM, Apple, and Google. However, it can be (and is) used by smaller companies, NGOs, governments, and not-for-profit organizations. Design thinking can be scaled and applied to many different types of products and challenges.
Transferrable Skills
In previous ASIP courses, we have emphasized the importance of transferable skills to complement the technical skills you gain from your academic studies and other life experiences such as work, volunteering, and extracurricular activities. According to the World Economic Forum Links to an external site. (Gray, 2016), problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity are among the top skills sought by employers. LinkedIn Learning Links to an external site. (2018) reports that 57% of business leaders say that soft skills are a priority in potential candidates. A great way to showcase your soft skills is through design thinking!
Design thinking requires skills that are desired in a workplace context Links to an external site. (ExperiencePoint, 2020), including:
- creativity,
- flexibility,
- communication,
- teamwork, and
- problem solving.
Activity: Examples of Design Thinking
Let's consider a few examples of design thinking in action. As you read through, consider how the UN Sustainable Development Goals Links to an external site. fit into each example.
Instructions:
Below you will find a flip card activity with six case studies. Choose at least three case studies to read thoroughly.
- Click "Turn" to read about the case study.
- Then, click the blue circle with the arrow at the bottom right corner to continue to the next case study.
This activity is best experienced on a laptop or desktop computer. Mobile devices are not recommended.
Want to learn more about the case studies presented above? Check out the following articles and reports:
- Changing Experiences through Empathy - The Adventure Series Links to an external site.
- How Singapore is Harnessing Design to Transform Government Services Links to an external site.
- Designing Waste Out of the Food System Links to an external site.
- Empathize - The Heart of Design Links to an external site.
- Airbnb, a Design Thinking Success Story Links to an external site.
- Transforming the Instructional Landscape Pilot Takeaways: Supporting Instructors to Teach Online Courses from Campus
- Work-Study Students to Provide U of T Professors with Tech Support This Fall
Discover U of T Innovation Hub resources related to:
For more examples, check out this article from Harvard Business Review, "5 Examples of Design Thinking in Business Links to an external site.."
Reflection
Do these design thinking case studies advance or challenge any of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Links to an external site.?
How are the UN SDGs at play in these organizations and activities?
References
BBVA. (2017, August 18). Airbnb, a design thinking success story. https://www.bbva.com/en/airbnb-design-thinking-success-story Links to an external site.
Dam, R. F., & Siang, T. Y. (2022, July 1). What is design thinking and why is it so popular? Interaction Design Foundation. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-design-thinking-and-why-is-it-so-popular Links to an external site.
ExperiencePoint. (2020, January 26). The most important skill for the future of work? Design thinking. https://blog.experiencepoint.com/design-thinking-the-most-important-skill-for-the-future-of-work Links to an external site.
Ganesan, V., Lam, Y., & Lin, D.-Y. (2019, October 19). How Singapore is harnessing design to transform government services. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/how-singapore-is-harnessing-design-to-transform-government-services Links to an external site.
GE Healthcare. (n.d.). Changing experiences through empathy - The adventure series. https://thisisdesignthinking.net/2014/12/changing-experiences-through-empathy-ge-healthcares-adventure-series Links to an external site.
Gray, A. (2016, January 19). The 10 skills you need to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution Links to an external site.
Han, E. (2022, February 22). 5 examples of design thinking in business. Harvard Business School Online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/design-thinking-examples Links to an external site.
IDEO. (2017). Designing waste out of the food system. https://www.ideo.com/case-study/designing-waste-out-of-the-food-system Links to an external site.
Kalvapalle, R. (2021, September 7). Work-study students to provide U of T professors with tech support this fall. U of T News. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/work-study-students-provide-u-t-professors-tech-support-fall
LinkedIn Learning. (2018, February 27). 2018 workplace learning report: The rise and responsibility of talent development in the new labor market. https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report-2018 Links to an external site.
Lomboy, M., Lee, T., Simpson, C., Bowman, I., & Sarwar, M. (2022, April 27). Project insights: 2021-22 mental health care delivery on campus 2021-22. http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/innovationhub/project-insights-2021-22-mental-health-care-delivery-on-campus-2021-22
University of Toronto Innovation Hub. (n.d.). Classroom accommodations & accessibility co-design. http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/innovationhub/classroom-accommodations
University of Toronto Innovation Hub. (n.d.). Food insecurity on campus. http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/innovationhub/food-insecurity
University of Toronto Innovation Hub. (n.d.). Get involved. http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/innovationhub/getinvolved
University of Toronto Learning Space Management & University of Toronto Innovation Hub. (2021, April). Transforming the Instructional Landscape Pilot Takeaways: Supporting Instructors to Teach Online Courses from Campus. http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/innovationhub/files/2021/05/TIL_FinalApril2021_Compressed.pdf
Woolery, E. (2019). Design thinking handbook. InVision. https://www.designbetter.co/design-thinking/ Links to an external site.