What is Design thinking

And no, it’s not UX designing per se..

Design thinking is a problem-solving method ​employed to address intricate issues and discover ​innovative and novel solutions & ideas. This approach ​is centered around understanding the requirements ​and viewpoints of end-users. Generation of ideas is ​the core essence of design thinking.

Harvard Business School defines it as :

Design thinking is a systematic approach to ​developing an innovative product, service, business ​model, or strategy. It uses research and insights to ​inform design choices and strategic decisions.

Process: Design thinking typically involves multiple steps such as empathizing with ​users, defining the problem, generating ideas, apply tool and frameworks to discover ​insights, reframing the questions, ideating potential solutions, prototyping ideas, and ​testing them with users. It is a non-linear and iterative process that encourages ​creativity and collaboration.

Scope: Design thinking is a broader concept that can be applied to various disciplines ​beyond just design, including business, engineering, and social sciences.

Goal: The goal of design thinking is to generate innovative ideas and solutions by ​understanding and addressing the needs of users.

The output of Design thinking is not necessarily always a beautiful or visual User ​Interface (it could be though), but the output is more focused on how we can ​generate more ideas of innovative solutions.

Now let’s look at Synergy..

SYNERGY

Design thinking brings synergy between three important elements of usefulness:

• Desirability: What makes sense to end users. Is there a market for this innovation?
  
• Feasibility: What is technically/functionally possible? Can we produce this ​innovation?
  
• Viability: Can we sustain this innovation for a longer period of time? Economic ​sustainability.
  

Difference between Design thinking and UX Design

Disclaimer: I am not an UX expert so I won’t say much..

But as a general understanding, UX design focuses specifically on designing products, ​services, or systems with the user experience in mind. It is a process of creating ​meaningful and relevant experiences for users when they interact with a product or ​service.

Yes, UX designing also uses a lot of design thinking principles, tools and techniques, ​however there is still a difference between these two streams of creative work.

In short, design thinking is a problem-solving methodology that can be applied to ​various disciplines, while UX design is a specialized field within design that focuses ​on creating user-friendly and engaging experiences for products or services. Design ​thinking can support the UX design process by emphasizing the importance of ​understanding user needs and involving users in the design process.

Happy to discuss here if someone challenges me :) Bring it on !!