Michael Roller

Design Thinking Gets a Skeptic

I’m glad to see Frog’s Tim Leberecht criticize design thinking in his recent blog post. He addresses many of the issues we discuss on a daily basis: isn’t design thinking just basic problem solving? Isn’t design thinking just good thinking? Haven’t we been doing this for years? If you’ve ever used the words “design thinking,” you should read his post and make sure you’re not part of the problem.

My hope for design thinking is that it will help us find a way to further formalize design’s process, skills, and benefits to the business world. Tim’s skepticism helps push this dialogue forward and forces us to think hard about what we designers can really offer to business that complements the work of marketing, R&D, and other functions.

Tags: design thinking

1 Comment to Design Thinking Gets a Skeptic

1. 

   I agree with you that many people use the term Design Thinking as a substitute term of plain problem solving. When used that way, the term Design Thinking loses its meaning and impact.

   Actually Design Thinking is much more than mere problem solving. It is a way to eliminate all problems in a designed product or service in one go rather than taking a piece meal approach. This calls for more in-depth and well rounded thinking from various perspective and it also addresses the problems of different stake holders.

   There is obviously a process, though quite simple enough to look at but actually quite difficult to put it into practice. Briefly the process might be described as Holistic Observation followed by Gaining Insights that leads us onto Appropriate Response (manipulating the levers for maximum impact) — Prototyping, Implementation and Feedback.

   In short, Design Thinking is the choice of response to aet of problems rather than a problem.

   It certainly helps companies gain a lot in a very short time and they can enjoy the benefits for years to come.

   Would like to have your feedback on this.
   regards,
   dibyendu de
Dibyendu De on November 5th, 2008

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