Design Thinking is an approach that aims to solve complex problems centered on the user. Today, innovation is an important competitive tool for the market, in addition to being essential to increasingly improve the user experience that we want to achieve.
As this perspective of “getting ahead” becomes stronger within companies, looking at the end before defining the path to be taken is a smart way to optimize the process.
Considering that Design Thinking is a concept that can be applied in several areas in order to obtain even better results for your strategies, here in this guide you will find the main information on the subject. The topics we will cover are:
What is Design Thinking?
How Design Thinking came about
Importance of the approach
Pillars of Design Thinking
Design Thinking Stages
Main tools in Design Thinking
How to start applying in the company
Ways to apply Design Thinking
Books on the topic
Design Thinking Course
Stay tuned to the end to find out!
What is Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is an approach , a way of thinking that can help you solve complex problems. The main characteristic here is that this approach is people-centered , that is, it seeks to involve characters with different perspectives to deeply understand the target audience, their pains, needs and behaviors. Consequently, the chances of generating a more creative, innovative and efficient solution are much greater.
In this case, critical and creative thinking must go far beyond the aesthetic concerns of the product. The goal is to offer the user a complete, high-value solution .
The idea of generating increasingly extraordinary and unpre why choose office 365 database service cedented solutions for clients emerged around the 1990s, with David Kelley and Tim Brown. Both worked at an innovation consulting firm and coined the term when applying a holistic and creative vision to solve their clients' problems.
Naturally, this perspective has its roots in design, which integrates principles such as simplicity and creativity , allowing the creation of more positive experiences .
Importance of Design Thinking
It’s not that hard to deduce the importance of Design Thinking, now that you know its definition. As time goes by, consumers become increasingly demanding when faced with so many options available on the market. In other words, no one wants to see “more of the same”, especially now that everything is evolving so quickly and access to solutions and products is increasingly easier.
On the other hand, companies can no longer base their decision-making solely on profitability. Focusing more on end customers and people is the best way to get assertive answers about the next steps. Delivering value and incredible experiences are essential criteria for the success of any brand, service, or product.
Strategic , humanized , creative and innovative thinking . The Design Thinking approach allows you to align all of this, making it a great tool for digital businesses.
Design and User Experience (UX)
Thinking about Product Design and the use of Design Thinking as a design methodology to deliver a valuable solution to the user, it is also worth mentioning the concept of User Experience (UX) .
According to Peter Morville, creating an amazing experience means going beyond usability. In other words, delivering value depends on a series of other factors, which combined are powerful resources for a Product team. In 2004, he coined a diagram known as the User Experience Hive, a model that is still considered a great reference for Design Thinking.
The image shows a graphical representation of the Design Thinking criteria.
Elements of User Experience Design According to Peter Morville
Let's see below what each of these components represents:
Useful/Utility
In line with innovation, it is often necessary to question what you are creating. Is the product really useful or are you just trying to avoid the obvious? Are you really focusing on the usefulness of the solution, or just on pleasing a customer? What kind of problem can the user solve with it?
Usable/Usability
Although Product Designers should not bias their creativity towards usability (which concerns the ease of handling the product and making the most of its features), it undoubtedly remains a fundamental criterion. This interaction must be simple and intelligent, so that the user can make the most of the interface.
Findable/Findability
There is nothing more frustrating than having to search for important information that should be accessible. In the case of Design Thinking in digital products, the idea is that users can find what they are looking for in a short time , without any effort.
Reliable/Credibility
Here we are talking about the focus on creating efficient and satisfactory experiences , so that users feel safe when using the product in question. A great reference on this subject is the Web Credibility Project , the result of research led by the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University.
Accessible/Accessibility
A well-developed product must also be inclusive. In other words, to develop a complete solution, people with disabilities must also be able to take full advantage of the benefits and features (considering the entire strategic proposal, of course).
Desirable
This is where emotional design plays a major role. This means that, in addition to being a product that provides benefits, is easy to use and reliable, it is essential that the user feels a certain pleasure in having contact with this solution. This is where more abstract aspects come into play, such as the feeling of power and association with the brand, for example.
Valuable/Valuable
From the combination of all these factors, we have the real value of the product . In other words, it is a complete experience that meets the user's needs, is pleasurable, simple and serves a greater purpose.
Pillars of Design Thinking
Design Thinking has 3 pillars that are nothing more than values of the approach. It is important that all of them are respected so that you are in fact innovating and promoting a good experience.
They are empathy , collaboration and experimentation :
Empathy
One of the challenges posed by Design Thinking is to embrace empathy in order to free oneself from pre-judgments and a whole context of personal convictions that can divert creative thinking.
Understanding other people’s context and diving into their needs is essential to finding solutions that truly serve the user or customer – not those you believe they do.
Collaboration
Collaboration is also about being open to dealing with others, considering the impressions and interpretations of those who come from a different context than yours. Talking and listening to professionals from other areas, with multidisciplinary skills, is something that greatly enriches the process.
Collaboration is also closely associated with the Design Thinking innovation process , as we aim to bring together different people with different contexts and perspectives to discuss the same topic. Thus, the solutions developed tend to address pain points from perspectives that a single person would not be able to foresee, delivering more value to the customer.