“Every problem has a solution; it may sometimes just need another perspective.”

​What a powerful statement. It’s right though, especially in design. Across all fields, designs focus on solving problems in our world. Whether for people or top brands, a design can help bring a variety of solutions to a single issue. But how is this possible? At the core of all design methods, one will be at the core of every designer: Design Thinking. And this process has shaped us in more ways than one.

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking offers a unique way of solving problems. According to the Interactive Design Foundation, Design Thinking is defined as:

“A methodology that provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It’s extremely useful when used to tackle complex problems that are ill-defined or unknown.”

​In the Design Thinking process, there are around 5 stages: Emphasize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Other sites/definitions may use more or fewer stages, but the five tend to be the most common steps. Either way, each stage focuses on a key element of Design Thinking.

• Emphasize: Research what a user needs to solve the issue.
• Define: Understanding the problem fundamentally.
• Ideate: Brainstorm as many ideas as you can, from any perspective.
• Prototype: Make the solution into reality. Physical, digital, etc.
• Test: Get feedback and learn how to improve.

The Products of Proper Design Thinking in Our World

​We go about our lives not realizing that everything around us was created and designed with the goal of solving a problem. From products to the biggest brands we know and love, Design Thinking played a key role in their successes. Look at what Design Thinking has done for us.

Clever Little Bag: Helping the Environment

A product can make a big impact. Designed by PUMA and Fuseproject, the goal of Clever Little Bag was to reduce harm to the environment. Working together, the two organizations sought to create a new type of shoe box through Design Thinking. The project took two months, but by the end, they had created a design that would reduce manufacturing aspects like diesel intake and energy by 60% and save 275 tons of plastic!

Keep the Change Program: Save Money in a New Way

Design Thinking can change the game for anyone. Bank of America was looking to help its users find new ways to save money with the help of the company IDEO. Both looked into how Americans were saving money and found that many rounded up change and kept it in their wallets. Using the Design Thinking process, IDEO created “Keep the Change”, a program that allowed debit and credit users to put their extra change into a savings account. The process helped Bank of America find a new way to help its consumers save!

Airbnb: Fixing and Replacing Systems.

One that might be shocking to see is Airbnb. That’s right. When Airbnb was in its earliest days, the company was struggling to make ends meet. The company head, Joe Gebbia, began noticing how the photos of the Airbnbs weren’t high quality and information on the locations were lacking. With the help of Paul Graham, Airbnb refocused on updating and adding more experimental features to the site. As a result of their efforts, Airbnb felt more lively and saved the company from bankruptcy!

How has Design Thinking continued to help people?

What makes Design Thinking constantly useful is its understanding of how the user will react to the solution. The process of Design Thinking always considers how the user will feel and navigate. If the outcome is somehow negative, then you can take a step back. Design Thinking is a process that can be ahead or behind, but it will always think of the user’s outcome. If a design isn’t liked by the user, then the solution needs to be reexamined, not scrapped.

​Design Thinking is also the foundation of our everyday lives. From the phones we look at every day to communicate with each other, the furniture we sit on, or the companies we trust to give us good service. All these came from a problem, and the Design Thinking process helped lay the foundation for a solution. Fast Company says it best: Design Thinking focusing on getting guaranteed results, to go above and beyond the original expectations. As long as we have problems to solve, Design Thinking will always be relevant.