Design Thinking 101
Category: Internal Techbyte Article
Role: Writer/Designer
What Is Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is a human-centered innovation process that provides solutions to problems, drives innovation, and creates growth in sales and profits. It is for anyone regardless of their industry and role—from creative employees to leaders, across every level of an organization—who seeks innovative solutions based on the needs of the customer.
It can be applied across different organizations such as businesses, government organizations, educational institutions, social institutions, and at an individual level. It can be even used to tackle worldwide issues such as global warming, water scarcity, and many more potential issues.
As you can see in the diagram below, Design Thinking encompasses three overlapping circles which include desirability, viability, and feasibility, and often takes the form of a non-linear problem-solving process. The innovation starts with defining the desirability of the customer. Does it attract the customer? Does it provide business value? Is it technically feasible or achievable?
Good Design Thinking vs Bad Design Thinking
Here is an example of Good Design Thinking vs Bad Design Thinking that we see in our daily lives. As you can see in the image below, you see two individuals looking at two different parking signs. Which sign will get them a parking ticket?
The left sign is the outcome of Good Design Thinking. It displays all the information with a clear visual hierarchy with infographics rather than using long text. Drivers simply want to know whether they can park at a spot or not—Yes or No, that is all they need. By displaying a green block for Yes, a red-striped block for No Parking, it makes it easy for them to understand. It is even designed for the color blind, with stripes for No Parking. It understands users' pain points, needs and goals.
However, the sign on the right is the outcome of Bad Design Thinking. Just by looking at these signs, drivers are already overwhelmed by the poor visual hierarchy and heavy text. It is hard to understand because the traffic rules are complex. There is a full load of information in a small area which is hard to digest. It does not understand users' pain points, needs and goals.
To See More Great Design Thinking Examples
How Do We Apply Design Thinking?
Here’s a 5-Step process to applying design thinking with different tools and concepts
PRFAQ: Blueprinting Future Products
Press Release & Frequently Asked Questions (PRFAQ), is a tool originally used by Amazon as a “Working Backwards” process to understand requirements and important features of yet to be developed products.
Please see below the 5-step process of PRFAQ. It begins with the customer's needs and wants as the starting point and then working backwards to deliver solutions to problems. PRFAQ serves as the blueprint to outline the key benefits and what needs to be built and how it should be built for the user. Also, it tests the excitement and engagement of the market toward the product before it’s even released.
How Can We Be More Successful with Design Thinking?
Here are some tips for being more successful with Design Thinking.
While it requires more work upfront, Design Thinking helps focus on the problem and determine its root cause from a different perspective. It ensures that the final outcome meets the objectives and client requirements and improves the product development process for better outcomes.It helps us to focus on building products or services that solve the right problem. In addition, it efficiently utilizes the organization's resources so nothing is put to waste.