Design Thinking In Simple Terms.

Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that involves understanding the problem, challenging assumptions about it, and identifying multiple strategies and solutions that might resolve it for good. It is essentially a solution-based approach to solving problems.

This approach is extremely useful in tackling complex problems by understanding the human needs involved, reframing the problem in human-centric ways, creating ideas in brainstorming sessions and by adopting a hands-on approach in prototyping and testing. Understanding these processes will help anyone to apply the design thinking method to solve complex problems that occur around us.

The Five Design Thinking Processes.

Empathy: Understanding the user and the problems they face by conducting user interviews, creating empathy maps, and listening to user stories.

Define: Organizing and analyzing the research information to produce a concise problem statement and possible solution or hypothesis.

Ideate: The brainstorming phase. It involves thinking of a wide variety of possible solutions and evaluating each one.

Prototype: Turning the ideas into a simulation of the actual product that will solve the user’s problem.

Test: Presenting the prototype to the users and determining whether the product has solved the problem at hand and reduced friction or frustration based on their responses

After necessary tests have been carried out, iterations must be made to fit the requirements of the users.

Human-centered design (HCD) is an approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first, then designs to accommodate those needs, capabilities, and ways of behaving. In other words, the designer is able to fit himself into the shoes of a user.

This approach to design can also be used in solving everyday problems.

Thanks for reading.😊