Reflection 4 — Design Thinking for Creative Problem Solving

As a young aspiring student, I wanted to build my skillset and venture into design thinking to stay up to date in this technologically advanced and competitive world. I jumped at the chance as soon as I heard about this course; it was the ideal opportunity for me to delve further into and learn more about this subject. Coming from the Indian educational system, this class was unlike any other I had taken before. Through numerous activities and discussions in class, we studied the various concepts of design thinking. The one element of this course that I absolutely appreciated was how it transformed my perspective of the world and made me more empathetic as a person.

I recall my first class when our professor made us sit in a circle and prompted us to talk about ourselves and the emotions we were experiencing at the time; during that session, all of the students had the chance to interact with one another and gain an understanding of each other’s perspective. I’ve felt myself grow and witnessed an improvement in my in-class engagement over the past 14 weeks. I was always reluctant and nervous about speaking in class and in front of my classmates, but I learned that it doesn’t matter whether my point is incorrect or trivial; what matters is that I am able to openly express myself and share my ideas. I learnt about the true meaning of innovation, which was much different from what I had previously thought. In this lecture, I gained a better understanding of design and innovation as well as practical application. This knowledge would be beneficial to me as I embark on my journey in the field of management.

We studied a variety of real-life stories about the inception of great products and services and their journeys, which not only taught us about design thinking but also about failure and the value of prototyping. During this course, we studied a variety of skills, that included brainstorming, which helped us come up with new ideas and thoughts. Journey Mapping assisted me in comprehending client behavior analysis in order to understand their requirements. Design thinking tools such as the design kit, paper prototyping, sketching, and legos were used frequently. I also concentrated on self-analysis, examining my progress, improvements, and development.

During this course, I worked on a project with my classmates to develop a solution to help combat climate change. My group worked on a very prominent issue, fast fashion, which accounts for 10% of global emissions each year. We created an app that educates users about sustainable brands and allows them to compare fast fashion to thrift stores and sustainable brands. I learned the art of observing and listening through this project. We decided to jump through the hoops and interviewed our customers, putting ourselves in the shoes of a designer trying to come up with a new product or service.

I believe that this course was tailor-made to grant invaluable insights into the evolving global design community. It has equipped me with skills, knowledge, and a foundation of business design tools that will aid me in my pursuit of a career in product management. This course has definitely given me a new perspective of my surroundings and taught me how to apply design thinking in my daily life and future courses.