Thinking – by design.

Human-centered design, design thinking, customer centric strategies, human centricity. There’s so many terms for it but why are we hearing so much about it and what can it do for you?

Not only is the process proven but it is also repeatable and applicable to any problem. Any business can employ design thinking amongst their teams to achieve big results.

Many organisations face complex issues and its hard to know where to start. By following the design thinking process you can get a holistic view of your business and the challenges you face. From here you can follow a framework that will ensure an in-depth understanding of needs and then apply a creative process that will unlock your teams creative and critical thinking.

Design Thinking provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It is entrenched in the theory of human-centered design which is simply a process that can be followed to find innovative solutions to create products and services.

Perhaps Steve Jobs defined it best… “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Quoting the Apple founder is fitting given that Apple used human-centered design to develop some of their first protypes and continue to use it today. As we know Apple is a company built on true innovation but how have they done this? It’s not the capabilities of their products but their unrelenting ability to remain focused on the end-user and customer experience through HCD.

Here’s the best part. This process is not out of the reach of any organisation. You too can lead industry and create innovative solutions that can transform your business.

The reason why the process is so successful is because it creates a mindset focused on solutions, rather than the perceived challenges or problems. It starts with human needs and keeps teams focused on them.

No one person in an organsiation has all the answers. They say ‘the sum is greater than its parts’ and this is demonstrated with the design thinking process. The CEO or General Manager cannot experience or fully understand the intricacy of every challenge that their teams face. Delivery of a product and/or service involves many others within the organisation. To create an effective solution there’s more than just guess work required. Gathering a cross functional team will allow a more comprehensive understanding of issues and challenges but it will also allow for the creation of a more comprehensive solution. A multidisciplinary team that works together is your key to developing innovative solutions to take your business to the next level.

Too often we dedicate time and resources to solutions that we think might be the answer. With design thinking you can ensure that your time is spent developing innovative solutions that are much more likely to succeed and deliver results.

Start your journey to innovation. If you’d like our help to get started please reach out.