Introduction to Design Thinking

Introduction to Design Thinking

• Design thinking is a user-centered, iterative approach to problem-solving that focuses on empathy, creativity, and experimentation
• Design thinking encourages innovation and creative solutions and prioritizes understanding and solving the right problem
• Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, defines design thinking as an approach to innovation that integrates the needs of people, technological possibilities, and business requirements

Design Thinking Framework

• The design thinking framework has six key stages
• Stage 1: Empathize involves understanding the users and their needs
• Stage 2: Define consists of clearly articulating the problem
• Stage 3: Ideate focuses on brainstorming potential solutions
• Stage 4: Prototype focuses on building tangible solutions
• Stage 5: Test involves evaluating solutions with users
• Stage 6: Implement involves putting the vision into effect
• Stages will repeat, with stages often overlapping

Case Study: Airbnb

• Airbnb used design thinking to empathize with users and redesigned its website, leading to increased customer engagement and bookings
• In 2009, Y Combinator invested in Airbnb, valuing the company at approximately $2.4 million
• Y Combinator provided $20,000 in seed funding for a 6% stake, which later became worth more than $5 billion, representing a 250,000 times return in 15 years

Stage 1: Empathize

• The purpose of this stage is to gain a deep understanding of the user's needs
• Methods used include: User interviews, observation, empathy maps, and surveys
• This stage involves spending time with real users, shadowing them, and observing their behaviors in their natural environment
• The goal is to discover user motivations, behaviors, pain points, and desires
• Procter & Gamble used empathy to redesign their Swiffer products by observing people cleaning their homes

Stage 2: Define

• The purpose of this stage is to synthesize findings from the Empathize stage
• The steps involved are:
  • Identifying key insights and patterns from user research
  • Creating a Problem Statement: A clear and concise definition of the problem
  • Using the "How Might We..." format to encourage creative solutions
• Uri Levine, co-founder of Waze, noted "Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”
• When Nike developed the Nike+ app, they defined the problem around the motivation to exercise, focusing on social and personal encouragement

Stage 3: Ideate

• The purpose is to generate a wide range of ideas and potential solutions
• Methods to do this include: brainstorm, mind mapping, scamper, sketching, and storyboarding
• Encourage a "no idea is a bad idea" mentality to foster creativity
• Techniques to use such as Crazy 8s, the participation in sketch 8 different ideas in 8 minutes to encourage quick thinking
• The IDEO's Shopping Cart Project team brainstormed hundreds of ideas, leading to innovative concepts like a safer, more convenient, and more user-friendly shopping cart

Stage 4: Prototype

• The purpose is to create tangible and testable versions of ideas
• Types of Prototypes include: Simple sketches, wireframes, mock-ups, structured, grayscale, interactive detailed, and interactive prototypes
• Prototyping tools include Figma, Adobe Express and XD, Sketch, Cardboard, and Paper
• The goal is to quickly build prototypes to explore solutions and get feedback
• Apple creates multiple prototypes of their devices, such as the iPhone, to test everything from screen sizes to button placement

Stage 5: Test

• The purpose of this stage is to validate and refine prototypes with real users
• Methods include: Usability Testing, A/B Testing, and User Feedback Sessions
• Data is collected using qualitative and quantitative data
• Tools include heatmaps and user recordings to see where users struggle
• Tom Wujec, Author & Design Expert, explains that "The prototype is the conversation.”
• Google's Design Sprint includes rapid testing and iteration of new product ideas in just 5 days, allowing to test and refine concepts quickly

Stage 6: Implement

• The purpose of this stage is to ensure that your solution is materialized and touches the lives of your stakeholders
• This critical step is often overlooked
• Don Norman emphasizes, “We need more design doing.".
• Design thinking is not just about ideation but requires action
• Implementation is where creativity is tested and ideas become reality
• The goal is that true innovation is only achieved when the solution is successfully executed, transforming the end user's experience
• Milton Glaser noted, "There's no such thing as a creative type. Creativity is a verb, a very time-consuming verb... it's about taking an idea in your head, and transforming that idea into something real."

Double Diamond Design Process

• The stages are iterative
• Stages can be revisited as needed
• Testing may reveal a need to redefine the problem
• Continous improvement through user feedback

Key Principles of Design Thinking

• Principles of Design Thinking include: Focus on user needs and experiences and encourage diverse perspectives
• Foster creative thinking and open-mindedness and make ideas tangible early
• Continuous refinement based on feedback

Benefits of Design Thinking

• Design thinking encourages innovation and promotes creative solutions
• Reduces risks with tested ideas before development
• User-Centered results are more relevant to the audience
• Collaboration leads to holistic solutions
• Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, claims that, "If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”

Case Study: Design Thinking at Work with the Stanford d.school

• The problem this case study focuses on, is improving the experience for pediatric patients in hospitals
• Empathize with these patients, parents and hospital staff by interviewing them
• Define anxiety reduction for children during hospital visits
• Ideate ideas, for example brainstorming interactive walls to story-based navigation
• Prototype kid-friendly waiting rooms and gather feedback from healthcare professionals
• Achieve a more engaging and less stressful environment for young patients.

Case Study: Design Thinking at Work for visually impaired

• Solve the problem of improving braille learning experience for visually impaired person.
• Exploring the challenges with traditional Braille learning for visually impaired students and instructors, by empathizing with them
• Define the need for a more engaging and accessible Braille learning tool.
• Create interactive solutions with tactile feedback, progress tracking and language support as ideas
• Create a mid-fidelity prototype tool to assess functionality and usability and refine the prototype with feedback
• The outcome is a user-friendly Braille learning tool that boosts engagement and simplifies teaching.

Challenges in Design Thinking

• Challenges include getting stakeholder buy-in and aligning on goals
• Balancing creativity with practical constraints
• Managing iterative cycles with tight deadlines is a problem
• Ensuring diverse representation for inclusive solutions is a constraint
• Heineken used Design Thinking to revamp their bottle design involving marketers, production, and consumers for more effective collaboration

Conclusion: Design Thinking

• Summary of Key Points: Approach with flexibility for complex and ambiguous problems, user centric in method
• Involves empathy, creativity, and iteration
• Takeaways: Start with the user in mind, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and iterate until the solution fully meets user needs
• Eric Ries, Author of The Lean Startup, notes that "The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.”

What is the Design Process?

• The design process is a series of actions followed by designers: Identify problems, generate ideas, create solutions, and evaluate results
• Guides designers from understanding a problem to implementing a solution. Encourages creativity, structure and iteration
• Key Stages: Research, Ideation Prototyping, Testing and Implementation

Double Diamond Design Process

• The UK Design Council developed represented the design process as two key phases
• Discover and Define (Problem Space)
• Develop and deliver (Solution Space)
• A balance of divergent (exploring) and convergent (focusing) thinking is required

Phase 1 - Discover and Define

• Research and understand the user problem
• Activities to carry out include:
  • User interviews
  • Research
  • Research
  • Surveys
• The goal is gather user insights and identify key challenges. A clear problem statement needs to be defined
• The activiteis to carry out for a concise problem is user personas

Phase 2 - Develop & Deliver

• Goal: Generate ideas and explore solutions, by Brainstorming, sketching, prototyping, usability testing
• Deliver: A polished, user-approved product that is ready for launch by: refining, testing, and finalizing the solution and High-fidelity prototyping

Frameworks in Interaction Design

• There are five dimensions to Interaction Design (1D to 5D): Words (text) Visual representations (images, icons), physical objects or space and Time (animations, transitions); Behavior (how users interact)
• There are many Heuristics by Jakob Nielsen, one is that Visibility of system status with User control and freedom using Status PTEL

Double Diamond vs. Interaction Design Frameworks

• Double diamond is both iterative processes that encourage feedback and refinement with an emphasis on solving real user needs
• Double Diamond is a high level process while Interation Design Framework focusses on specific user needs

Real-World Examples of Design Process

• Spotify used double diamond for user research, seamless playlist creation and user research
• Air BnB followed double diamond to understand user needs as well as clear communication between hosts and guests

Conclusion: Design Process

• Design is not just what it looks like but how it works. A take away, like Steve Jobs said
• Using the designs thinking, designs have to visually appealing but also user-centric

Design Thinking vs. Design Process

• Design Process follows set steps like ideation and implentation
• Design Thinking, ephasizes empathy, creativity, iteration, a mindset

Case Study: Design Thinking vs. Design Process, AirBnb

• Initial Design Thinking involved listing to problems people faced and the first step was for the founders to empathize with renters
• This has initial problem with poor quality photos of renatal spaces
• After AirBnb focused on user needs, they used a more structured approach and created a realiable platform, by a step by step approach
• It enabled Airbnb to execute and build a useful platform, by emphazing empathy and defining the users experience