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What Is Human-Centered Design?

• 15 Dec 2020

One of the primary reasons startups fail is a lack of market need. Or, in more straightforward terms: The founders built a product or service no one wants.

Creating a successful business requires identifying an underserved need , validating your idea , and crafting an effective value proposition . When taking these steps, one way to ensure you’re on the right path and developing products and services the market will adopt and embrace is bringing prospective customers into the process and leveraging human-centered design.

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Human-centered design is a problem-solving technique that puts real people at the center of the development process, enabling you to create products and services that resonate and are tailored to your audience’s needs.

The goal is to keep users’ wants, pain points, and preferences front of mind during every phase of the process. In turn, you’ll build more intuitive, accessible products that are likely to turn a higher profit because your customers have already vetted the solution and feel more invested in using it.

The Phases of Human-Centered Design

In Harvard Business School Online’s Design Thinking and Innovation Course , HBS Dean Srikant Datar breaks human-centered design down into four stages :

Here’s what each step of the process means and how you can implement it to create products and services people love.

This first phase is dedicated to collecting data and observing your customers to clarify the problem and how you might solve it. Rather than develop products based on assumptions, you conduct user research and assess customer needs to determine what prospective buyers want.

The clarify phase requires empathy—the capability of understanding another person’s experiences and emotions. You need to consider your customers’ perspectives and ask questions to determine what products they’re currently using, why and how they’re using them, and the challenges they’re trying to solve.

During this phase, you want to discover customers’ pain points , which Dean Datar breaks down into two types:

• Explicit : These are pain points users can describe; they’re aware of what frustrates them about their current experience.
• Latent : These are pain points users can’t describe and might not even know exist.

“Users will be upfront about explicit pain points,” says Dean Datar in Design Thinking and Innovation . “But researchers will need to dig into the experience—observing, listening, and trying it for themselves to get at the latent pain points that lead to transformative innovation.”

To determine your customers’ pain points, observe people using your product and conduct user interviews . Ask questions such as:

• What challenge were you trying to solve when you bought this product?
• What other options did you consider when making your decision?
• What made you choose this product over the alternatives?

With each answer, you’ll start to generate insights you can use to create a problem statement from your users’ perspective. That’s what you’ll try to solve in the following phases.

The inspiration you gather in the first phase will lead you to the second: ideate. During this stage, you can apply different design thinking tools, such as systematic inventive thinking (SIT) or brainstorming, to overcome cognitive fixedness —a mindset in which you consciously or unconsciously assume there’s only one way to interpret or approach a situation.

Once you’ve overcome cognitive fixedness, the goal is to generate dozens of ideas to amplify creativity and ensure no one gets attached to a potential solution before it’s been tested.

The develop phase is when you combine and critique the ideas you’ve brainstormed to create a range of possible solutions. By combining and evaluating your ideas, you can better meet users’ needs and determine what you want to move into prototyping to reduce costs, save time, and increase your final product’s quality.

Three characteristics of human-centered design that are vital to consider when critiquing ideas are desirability, feasibility, and viability.

• Desirability : Does this innovation fulfill user needs, and is there a market for it?
• Feasibility : Is this functionally possible? Does the organization have the resources to produce this innovation? Are there any legal, economic, or technological barriers?
• Viability : Is this innovation sustainable? Can the company continue to produce or deliver this product profitably over time?

When you start prototyping, you should have presumed answers to these questions so you can learn more about your concepts quickly and, ideally, at a low cost.

“It’s important to evaluate concepts and create prototypes early and often so that you can foster an experimentation mindset and develop tested solutions that are ready for implementation,” says Dean Datar in Design Thinking and Innovation .

4. Implement

The final phase of the process is implementation. During this stage, it’s crucial to communicate your innovation’s value to internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and consumers, to bring it to market successfully, encourage adoption, and maintain growth.

In the implementation phase, take time to reflect on your organization’s culture and assess group dynamics. Is your team empowered to develop and iterate on user-focused solutions? You can’t continue creating innovative solutions without the right culture.

It’s important to note that your work isn’t over once you reach the final phase. Customers’ wants and needs will continue to evolve. Your goal is to adapt to meet them. Keeping humans at the center of the development process will ensure you’re continuously innovating and achieving product-market fit.

Human-Centered Design in Action

A great example of human-centered design is a children’s toothbrush that’s still in use today. In the mid-nineties, Oral-B asked global design firm IDEO to develop a new kid’s toothbrush. Rather than replicating what was already on the market—a slim, shorter version of an adult-sized toothbrush—IDEO’s team went directly to the source; they watched children brush their teeth.

What they realized is that kids had a hard time holding the skinnier toothbrushes their parents used because they didn’t have the same dexterity or motor skills. Children needed toothbrushes with a big, fat, squishy grip that was easier to hold on to.

“Now every toothbrush company in the world makes these,” says IDEO Partner Tom Kelley in a speech . “But our client reports that after we made that little, tiny discovery out in the field—sitting in a bathroom watching a five-year-old boy brush his teeth—they had the best-selling kid’s toothbrush in the world for 18 months.”

Had IDEO’s team not gone out into the field—or, in this case, children’s homes—they wouldn’t have observed that small opportunity, which turned a big profit for Oral-B.

Leveraging Human-Centered Design in Your Business

By leveraging human-centered design in your business, you can avoid becoming another startup statistic and instead gain a competitive edge by creating products and services that customers love.

Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of human-centered design? Explore our seven-week Design Thinking and Innovation course , one of our entrepreneurship and innovation courses . Not sure which course is right for you? Download our free flowchart to find your fit.

This post was updated on January 6, 2023. It was originally published on December 15, 2020.

About the Author

What is human-centered design & how to get started

Used for countless purposes spanning product development, UX design, process design, and system creation, human-centered design is a creative approach to problem-solving. 

As the name suggests, the defining characteristic of human-centered design is designing solutions that help people at the center of the problem.

When teams don’t involve the people experiencing the issue, you risk creating the wrong solutions, causing product-market fit issues, and opening up a disconnect between what your clients need and the solution you deliver.

However, there’s an easy solution. Bringing the right stakeholders in during the early stages of the solution development process can lead to better solutions and bring empathy, better collaboration, and improved innovation to your problem-solving.

What is human-centered design?

Human-centered design is a framework for creative problem-solving that focuses on understanding the needs, wants, and limitations of the people who will most directly benefit from the solution. Often applied to designing products, services, or systems, human-centered design involves gathering feedback from individuals experiencing the problem throughout the design process, creating prototypes, and testing them to ensure they are intuitive and easy to use. 

At its core, human-centered design is the discipline of developing solutions for people.

The goal of HCD is to create solutions that are not only functional, but also enjoyable for individuals. By focusing on people’s needs, lived experience, and behaviors, HCD helps to create products that are intuitive, efficient, and easy to use.

The guiding principles of human-centered design

• Empathy : Understanding the user is at the core of human-centered design. Empathy involves putting yourself in the user's shoes and understanding their perspective.
• Iteration : Human-centered design is an iterative process that involves gathering feedback and iterating on designs until they meet the user's needs.
• Collaboration : Human-centered design involves collaboration between designers, stakeholders, and users to create products and solutions.
• User involvement : Users are involved throughout the design process, from initial research to final testing and feedback.
• Creativity : Human-centered design encourages creativity and innovation by challenging designers to think outside the box and create solutions in new and innovative ways.

Benefits of the human-centered design approach

Improved user satisfaction.

By focusing on the user's needs and behaviors, the human-centered design methodology encourages creating products that are more intuitive and enjoyable to use, leading to higher levels of user satisfaction.

Increased adoption rates

Solutions that are designed with the user in mind are more likely to be adopted and used, leading to higher adoption rates and revenue.

Reduced development costs

By gathering feedback and iterating on designs throughout the design process, human-centered design can help to reduce development costs by catching problems early in the design process.

Improved innovation

Human-centered design encourages creativity and innovation by adopting a creative approach for meeting the user's needs in new and innovative ways.

Stages of human-centered design

Human-centered design is a fluid, non-linear process, but typically follows a similar format. Not every user-centered design iteration will follow these stages — teams will often find themselves jumping around in the process. 

The first, and arguably the most important, stage of the human-centered design process is to observe. This can involve techniques like user research, observation, and interviews . 

The goal of the first step is to uncover insights that will inform the design process and begin to identify, understand, and empathize with the problem the user is facing.

Understanding

Based on the insights gathered and empathy gained in the observing stage, the next step is to define the problem or opportunity. This involves identifying the user’s needs and the goals that the solution should address. 

In this stage, designers may create user personas, user journey maps , empathy maps , or other tools and frameworks to help them identify and define the problem.

As teams come to understand the problem effectively, they should start generating ideas for solutions to the problem or opportunity identified in the define stage. This can involve techniques such as holding brainstorming sessions and sketching. 

The goal is to generate a wide range of ideas, without evaluating them at this stage.

After thoroughly understanding the problem, a design team will move on to build prototypes or mock-ups of proposed solutions. This can involve creating either low-fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes, depending on the complexity of the solution. 

Here, the goal is to create a low-cost representation of the solution where its feasibility can be tested with users, and gather insights that will inform further iterations of the design process. Be sure to test the prototypes with users to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement. This can involve usability testing, A/B testing, and other techniques to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the potential solutions. Because the human-centered design process is non-linear , this often isn’t the final step. Based on user feedback, designers may go back all the way to the understanding stage if needed. 

Skipping around the steps of the HCD process is common, but one method to reduce this back-and-forth trap and speed up decision-making is to leverage co-design, a process where end-users are included as key stakeholders throughout the whole design process.

Examples of human-centered design

Leveraging human-centered design with visual collaboration at emerson.

Creative collaboration is built into the culture at Emerson, a multinational Fortune 500 company with $18.4 billion in annual sales that helps manufacturers automate and optimize production processes.

Using the LUMA System™ of Innovation , teams at Emerson practice human-centered design to solve problems. They’re supported by Emerson's Human Centered Design Institute, a team who works across business units to empower others within Emerson to adopt the framework. They function much like internal consultants, facilitating workshops and training sessions to help teams at Emerson design solutions that put people first. And ultimately, they empower and train these teams to adopt human-centered design and improve productivity and collaboration in their day-to-day work.

Learn how Emerson scaled visual collaboration

More like this: 4 examples of human-centered design to inspire your team

There is no ‘human-centered design’ without empathy

At its core, human-centered design looks at the way people engage and interact with the world to design effective solutions. Without that context, you risk misalignment, poor solutions, and rising costs as the design process continues to spiral. By leveraging this design and problem-solving approach, you can reach better outcomes and improve collaboration.

Human-centered design frequently asked questions

Human-centered design vs design thinking: what’s the difference.

Design thinking and human-centered design are often used interchangeably as problem-solving processes, but they are not the same thing. While both concepts share similarities, they have different focuses and applications.

• Human-centered design is a problem-solving approach that focuses on the needs and behaviors of the user. The goal is to create products that solve the user’s problems and provide a better user experience overall.
• Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that focuses on understanding and redefining complex problems to find a solution. The design thinking approach not only seeks to understand the user's needs and behaviors, but also considers the larger context in which the problem exists. Design thinking involves empathizing with the user, defining the problem, ideating solutions, prototyping, and testing.

While design thinking can be human-centered and even co-exist with human-centered design, these are different concepts.

What is the goal of human-centered design?

The goal of human-centered design is to create solutions, often in the form of products and services, that are tailored to the people who will use them, ultimately leading to better solutions and outcomes for individuals.

What is co-design?

Co-design is the process of involving multiple stakeholders in the design of solutions (often when developing products, services, or systems) with the goal of creating solutions that are more relevant, effective, and satisfying to the people who will use them.

Now that you understand human-centered design, put it into practice with Mural and the LUMA System™ . With this combination of a powerful collaboration space and guided methods, your teams will be equipped to tackle complex challenges, imagine new possibilities, and keep people at the center of their design processes.

About the authors

Bryan Kitch

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6.3 Design Thinking

Portions of the material in this section are based on original work by Geoffrey Graybeal and produced with support from the Rebus Community. The original is freely available under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license at https://press.rebus.community/media-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Explain the design thinking process
• Discuss some design thinking tools

David Kelley , founder of Stanford University’s Design School and cofounder of design company IDEO , is credited as the originator of design thinking, at least within business and entrepreneurial contexts. You were briefly introduced to design thinking in Creativity, Innovation, and Invention , but we will delve into it in more depth here. IDEO grew from a merger of the creator of Apple ’s first mouse and the first laptop computer designer, David Kelley Design and ID Two , respectively. Almost a decade after the 1982 Apple creations, the 1991-merged company primarily focused on the traditional design of products, ranging from toothbrushes to chairs. Yet another decade later, the company found itself designing consumer experiences more so than consumer products. Kelley began using the word “thinking” to describe the design process involved in creating customer experiences rather than creating physical products. The term design thinking was born.

The current IDEO CEO Tim Brown defines design thinking as “a human-centered and collaborative approach to problem-solving, using a designed mindset to solve complex problems.” 21 Design thinking is a method to focus the design and development decisions of a product on the needs of the customer, typically involving an empathy-driven process to define complex problems and create solutions that address those problems.

A common core of design thinking is its application beyond the design studio, as the methods and tools have been articulated for use by those outside of the field, particularly business managers. Design practice is now being applied beyond product and graphic areas to the design of digital interactions, services, business strategy, and social policy.

Link to Learning

Watch this 2009 TEDGlobal talk where Tim Brown describes design thinking from a historical perspective to modern times.

Design Thinking Process

Business schools have typically taught a rational, analytic approach to thinking. It focuses on well-defined goals and constraints, and thought precedes action in a sequential process of planning and analysis. The design thinking process approaches problem solving differently. Thinking and doing are often intertwined in an iterative exploration of the design “space,” and the process uncovers goals and constraints, rather than identifying them up front.

One design thinking approach that is taught at places like Stanford’s Design School and organizations like the LUMA Institute (a global company that teaches people how to be innovative) is human-centered design (HCD) . HCD, as the name suggests, focuses on people during design and development. This speaks to the Tim Brown definition of design thinking. Inspiration for ideas comes from exploration of actual people, their needs and problems.

Three spaces—inspiration, ideation, and implementation—compose the design thinking process ( Figure 6.14 ). The process uses “spaces” and not “phases” because multiple spaces can happen simultaneously.

Nevertheless, inspiration usually occurs first. This entails identifying a problem or opportunity that motivates someone to search for solutions. Ideation is the process of generating ideas and solutions through various techniques such as brainstorming and sketching sessions. There are hundreds of ideation techniques available. A few examples of ideation exercises include Top Five, How Might We, Mash-up, and Co-Creation Session. In Top Five, everyone on the team writes down their top five ideas, shares them, and clusters similar ideas. In How Might We, the team looks at insight statements and reframes them as “How Might We” questions by adding that phrase at the beginning. The goal is to find opportunities for design that also allows for a variety of solutions. Mash-up involves combining existing brands or concepts to create something new. The team identifies those brands or concepts that represent a quality they desire in their solution, and they “mash up” those ideas to create a new idea. A co-creation session incorporates the desired market into the creation process by recruiting a group of people from the market to work on the design with the team. The goal is to capture the feedback the group provides by treating them as designers, not as interview subjects. Implemented solutions evolve from interactions with users and from the ongoing creation and refinement of possible solutions. Design thinking incorporates experience-based insights, judgments, and intuition from the end users’ perspectives, while in a rational analytic approach, the solution process often becomes formalized into a set of rules.

Nesta is a UK-based innovation foundation that offers many design thinking tools and resources similar to IDEO. Named for the acronym NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, the organization was established in 1998 with an endowment from the UK National Lottery and became an independent charity in 2012. Nesta’s strategy focuses on health, government innovation, education, arts, and creative economy and innovation policy. Nesta offers a set of five criteria to ascertain that an occupation is creative: 22

• Novel process
• Mechanization resistant
• Nonrepetitive or nonuniform function
• Makes a creative contribution to the value chain
• Involves interpretation not merely a transformation in the service or artifact

As the name implies, design thinking originates from design. As design is one of the identified creative industries, there’s a clear connection between creative industries and design thinking. In fact, Nesta offers inspiration and ideation exercises that are freely available for users wishing to implement design thinking practices.

Human-Centered Design Thinking Spaces

The Stanford Design School uses human-centered design thinking (HCD) as its design thinking approach. HCD emphasizes the following spaces of the design thinking process:

• Empathizing: As illustrated by the human-centered approach, it is important to have empathy for the problem you are attempting to solve. Empathy, as the chapter on Creativity, Innovation, and Invention defined, means observing and immersing yourself in the surrounding environment to engage with and understand people’s experiences and motivations.
• Defining: This aspect involves describing the core problem(s) that you and your team have identified. Asking “how might we?” questions helps narrow the focus, as the ultimate aim here is to identify a problem statement that illustrates the problem you want to tackle. “Frame Your Design” is one such challenge in what IDEO calls its “toolkit” that works well here. Frame Your Design asks you to write down your problem and then refine it by following specific steps so that you end up with a design question that serves as a starting point but leaves room for creativity. 23
• Ideating: This is where you begin to come up with ideas that address the problem “space” you have defined. There are hundreds of exercises aimed at the ideation process, ranging from brainstorming to “Five whys?” in the IDEO toolkit. The “Five whys” is a questioning method in which the researcher, in looking for information to solve a problem, asks a respondent a broad question, then asks “why” to get deeper into the respondent’s thinking. IDEO puts it this way: “You’ll use this method while you’re conducting an interview and start with really broad questions like “Do you save much money?” or “How was your harvest this year?” Then, by asking why five times you’ll get some essential answers to complicated problems. This can be a great method to use if you’re trying to get at the human and emotional roots of a problem.” 24
• Prototyping: In this space, the entrepreneur creates and tests inexpensive, scaled-down versions of a product with features or benefits that serve as solutions for previously identified problems. This could be tested internally among employees, a process known as dogfooding , or externally with potential customers. This is an experimental phase.
• Testing: Designers apply rigorous tests of the complete product using the best solutions identified in the prototyping space.

What Can You Do?

Every day a little closer.

Some examples of everyday items that can be improved through design thinking are sinks on top of toilet cisterns that save water by refilling the cistern with the water you wash your hands with, video doorbells, and smart lightbulbs. Try to think of an improvement to one of your everyday items.

Design Thinking Tools

There are numerous design thinking tools aimed to aid or stimulate your design thinking activities. They stem from organizations dedicated to design thinking like IDEO and Google Ventures . While methodologies incorporate processes and techniques, tools are resources that enable such approaches. These may be activities, or templates that facilitate the approach.

• Innovation Flowchart: A sample innovation flowchart may map out the details of the process. The structured overview serves as an organizational tool in the development process.
• Question Ladder: A tool that helps you ask the “right” questions by refining your questions ( Figure 6.15 ). Asking the “wrong” questions can yield meaningless or less-than-adequate results.
• Design Thinking Tool Kit: There are various tool kits for select audiences. For example, the “design thinking for educators” toolkit has design thinking resources related to education. A typical tool kit includes a wide assortment of resources with methods and instructions to help you put design thinking into action.
• IDEO Design Kit: IDEO offers an approximately 200-page free PDF, “The Field Guide to Human Centered Design,” with activities on mindsets, ideation, inspiration, implementation and a few case studies: http://www.designkit.org/resources/1.
• Google Ventures Design Sprint: A five-day design-thinking exercise that helps resolve questions through design, prototyping, and testing: https://www.gv.com/sprint/.
• Design Thinking Mix Tapes: Stanford’s Design School offers three “mixtapes” that serve as guides through a half day of design thinking work in the areas of understanding, experimentation, and ideation: https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/chart-a-new-course-put-design-thinking-to-work.
• WE THINQ: Software designed to enable collaboration in innovation management: https://www.ideaconnection.com/software/we-thinq-258.html.

Entrepreneur In Action

Bitgiving and design thinking.

At age twenty-two, Ishita Anand created India’s first live social crowdfunding platform that enabled artists, engineers, and creators to collaborate and raise funds for special causes by verifying causes and how the funds would be used, while charging a small percentage of the funds raised as a fee. Within five years of its inception, her social enterprise, called BitGiving , has led efforts to address problems through social change. The firm has contributed to various social campaigns related to children, women, education, health, and disaster among others. The firm partnered with charities and other organizations to raise funds for India’s National Ice Hockey team to compete in Kuwait at the World Cup and for the victims of the 2015 Nepal earthquake through the crowdfunding platform and other social media platforms such as Twitter . 25

As India’s first social crowdfunding platform, BitGiving literally aimed to solve problems through social change. Describe some design thinking activities that would have been useful to Anand at BitGiving’s inception.

As of September 2018, the company closed its website abruptly and reportedly shut down. While the exact reason for its failure is unknown, some reasons the venture could have failed were insufficient capital, regulation, management problems or strategic misalignment, or even poor timing. Failure is common in entrepreneurship, and conferences dedicated to failure are even conducted around the globe (FailCon is sort of the TED Talk of failure).

• How could the design thinking process have helped BitGiving from the outset?
• 21 Mark Logan. “Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs.” Medium . September 29, 2018. https://medium.com/idealect/design-thinking-for-entrepreneurs-392c8cbdcc24
• 22 Christine Harris, Margaret Collins, and Dennis Cheek. America’s Creative Economy: A Study of Recent Conceptions, Definitions, and Approaches to Measurement across the USA . National Creativity Network and Creative Alliance. August 2013. https://www.centerforcreativeeconomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/AmericasCreativeEconomyFULLReport.pdf
• 23 IDEO.org. The Field Guide to Human Centered Design . 2015. https://bestgraz.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Field-Guide-to-Human-Centered-Design_IDEOorg.pdf
• 24 “The Five Whys.” Design Kit. n.d. http://www.designkit.org/methods/66
• 25 “BitGiving.” Crunchbase. n.d. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bitgiving#section-overview

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Design Thinking (DT)

What is design thinking (dt).

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test. It is most useful to tackle ill-defined or unknown problems and involves five phases: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.

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Why Is Design Thinking so Important?

“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”

— Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO

Design thinking fosters innovation . Companies must innovate to survive and remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment. In design thinking, cross-functional teams work together to understand user needs and create solutions that address those needs. Moreover, the design thinking process helps unearth creative solutions.

Design teams use design thinking to tackle ill-defined/unknown problems (aka wicked problems ). Alan Dix, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, explains what wicked problems are in this video.

Wicked problems demand teams to think outside the box, take action immediately, and constantly iterate—all hallmarks of design thinking.

Don Norman, a pioneer of user experience design, explains why the designer’s way of thinking is so powerful when it comes to such complex problems.

Design thinking offers practical methods and tools that major companies like Google, Apple and Airbnb use to drive innovation. From architecture and engineering to technology and services, companies across industries have embraced the methodology to drive innovation and address complex problems. 

The End Goal of Design Thinking: Be Desirable, Feasible and Viable

The design thinking process aims to satisfy three criteria: desirability (what do people desire?), feasibility (is it technically possible to build the solution?) and viability (can the company profit from the solution?). Teams begin with desirability and then bring in the other two lenses.

© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0

Desirability: Meet People’s Needs

The design thinking process starts by looking at the needs, dreams and behaviors of people—the end users. The team listens with empathy to understand what people want, not what the organization thinks they want or need. The team then thinks about solutions to satisfy these needs from the end user’s point of view.

Feasibility: Be Technologically Possible

Once the team identifies one or more solutions, they determine whether the organization can implement them. In theory, any solution is feasible if the organization has infinite resources and time to develop the solution. However, given the team’s current (or future resources), the team evaluates if the solution is worth pursuing. The team may iterate on the solution to make it more feasible or plan to increase its resources (say, hire more people or acquire specialized machinery).

At the beginning of the design thinking process, teams should not get too caught up in the technical implementation. If teams begin with technical constraints, they might restrict innovation.

Viability: Generate Profits

A desirable and technically feasible product isn’t enough. The organization must be able to generate revenues and profits from the solution. The viability lens is essential not only for commercial organizations but also for non-profits. 

Traditionally, companies begin with feasibility or viability and then try to find a problem to fit the solution and push it to the market. Design thinking reverses this process and advocates that teams begin with desirability and bring in the other two lenses later.

The Five Stages of Design Thinking

Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, commonly known as the d.school, is renowned for its pioneering approach to design thinking. Their design process has five phases: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. These stages are not always sequential. Teams often run them in parallel, out of order, and repeat them as needed.

Stage 1: Empathize —Research Users' Needs

The team aims to understand the problem, typically through user research. Empathy is crucial to design thinking because it allows designers to set aside your assumptions about the world and gain insight into users and their needs.

Stage 2: Define—State Users' Needs and Problems

Once the team accumulates the information, they analyze the observations and synthesize them to define the core problems. These definitions are called problem statements . The team may create personas to help keep efforts human-centered.

Stage 3: Ideate—Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas

With the foundation ready, teams gear up to “think outside the box.” They brainstorm alternative ways to view the problem and identify innovative solutions to the problem statement.

Stage 4: Prototype—Start to Create Solutions

This is an experimental phase. The aim is to identify the best possible solution for each problem. The team produces inexpensive, scaled-down versions of the product (or specific features found within the product) to investigate the ideas. This may be as simple as paper prototypes .

Stage 5: Test—Try the Solutions Out

The team tests these prototypes with real users to evaluate if they solve the problem. The test might throw up new insights, based on which the team might refine the prototype or even go back to the Define stage to revisit the problem.

These stages are different modes that contribute to the entire design project rather than sequential steps. The goal is to gain a deep understanding of the users and their ideal solution/product.

Design Thinking Frameworks

There is no single definition or process for design thinking. The five-stage design thinking methodology described above is just one of several frameworks.

Hasso-Platner Institute Panorama

Ludwig Wilhelm Wall, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Innovation doesn’t follow a linear path or have a clear-cut formula. Global design leaders and consultants have interpreted the abstract design process in different ways and have proposed other frameworks of design thinking.

Head, Heart and Hand by the American Institution of Graphic Arts (AIGA)

The Head, Heart, and Hand approach by AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) is a holistic perspective on design. It integrates the intellectual, emotional, and practical aspects of the creative process.

More than a process, the Head, Heart and Hand framework outlines the different roles that designers must perform to create great results.

© American Institute of Graphic Arts, Fair Use

“ Head ” symbolizes the intellectual component. The team focuses on strategic thinking, problem-solving and the cognitive aspects of design. It involves research and analytical thinking to ensure that design decisions are purposeful.

“ Heart ” represents the emotional dimension. It emphasizes empathy, passion, and human-centeredness. This aspect is crucial in understanding the users’ needs, desires, and experiences to ensure that designs resonate on a deeper, more personal level.

“ Hand ” signifies the practical execution of ideas, the craftsmanship, and the skills necessary to turn concepts into tangible solutions. This includes the mastery of tools, techniques, and materials, as well as the ability to implement and execute design ideas effectively.

Inspire, Ideate, Implement by IDEO

IDEO is a leading design consultancy and has developed its own version of the design thinking framework.

IDEO’s design thinking process is a cyclical three-step process that involves Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation.

© IDEO, Public License

In the “ Inspire ” phase, the team focuses on understanding users’ needs, behaviors, and motivations. The team empathizes with people through observation and user interviews to gather deep insights.

In the “ Ideate ” phase, the team synthesizes the insights gained to brainstorm a wide array of creative solutions. This stage encourages divergent thinking, where teams focus on quantity and variety of ideas over immediate practicality. The goal is to explore as many possibilities as possible without constraints.

In the “ Implement ” phase, the team brings these ideas to life through prototypes. The team tests, iterates and refines these ideas based on user feedback. This stage is crucial for translating abstract concepts into tangible, viable products, services, or experiences.

The methodology emphasizes collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach throughout each phase to ensure solutions are innovative and deeply rooted in real human needs and contexts.

The Double Diamond by the Design Council

In the book Designing Social Systems in a Changing World , Béla Heinrich Bánáthy, Professor at San Jose State University and UC Berkeley, created a “divergence-convergence model” diagram. The British Design Council interpreted this diagram to create the Double Diamond design process model.

As the name suggests, the double diamond model consists of two diamonds—one for the problem space and the other for the solution space. The model uses diamonds to represent the alternating diverging and converging activities.

© Design Council, CC BY 4.0

In the diverging “ Discover ” phase, designers gather insights and empathize with users’ needs. The team then converges in the “ Define ” phase to identify the problem.

The second, solution-related diamond, begins with “ Develop ,” where the team brainstorms ideas. The final stage is “ Deliver ,” where the team tests the concepts and implements the most viable solution.

This model balances expansive thinking with focused execution to ensure that design solutions are both creative and practical. It underscores the importance of understanding the problem thoroughly and carefully crafting the solution, making it a staple in many design and innovation processes.

With the widespread adoption of the double diamond framework, Design Council’s simple visual evolved.

In this expanded and annotated version, the framework emphasizes four design principles:

Be people-centered.

Communicate (visually and inclusively).

Collaborate and co-create.

Iterate, iterate, iterate!

The updated version also highlights the importance of leadership (to create an environment that allows innovation) and engagement (to connect with different stakeholders and involve them in the design process).

Common Elements of Design Thinking Frameworks

On the surface, design thinking frameworks look very different—they use alternative names and have different numbers of steps. However, at a fundamental level, they share several common traits.

Start with empathy . Focus on the people to come up with solutions that work best for individuals, business, and society.

Reframe the problem or challenge at hand . Don’t rush into a solution. Explore the problem space and look at the issue through multiple perspectives to gain a more holistic, nuanced understanding.

Initially, employ a divergent style of thinking (analyze) . In the problem space, gather as many insights as possible. In the solution space, encourage team members to generate and explore as many solutions as possible in an open, judgment-free ideation space.

Later, employ a convergent style of thinking (synthesize) . In the problem space, synthesize all data points to define the problem. In the solution space, whittle down all the ideas—isolate, combine and refine potential solutions to create more mature ideas.

Create and test prototypes . Solutions that make it through the previous stages get tested further to remove potential issues.

Iterate . As the team progresses through the various stages, they revisit different stages and may redefine the challenge based on new insights.

Design thinking is a non-linear process. For example, teams may jump from the test stage to the define stage if the tests reveal insights that redefine the problem. Or, a prototype might spark a new idea, prompting the team to step back into the ideate stage. Tests may also create new ideas for projects or reveal insights about users.

Design Thinking Mindsets: More than a Process

A mindset is a characteristic mental attitude that determines how one interprets and responds to situations . Design thinking mindsets are how individuals think , feel and express themselves during design thinking activities. It includes people’s expectations and orientations during a design project.

Without the right mindset, it can be very challenging to change how we work and think.

The key mindsets that ensure a team can successfully implement design thinking are.

Be empathetic: Empathy is the ability to place yourself, your thinking and feelings in another person’s shoes. Design thinking begins from a deep understanding of the needs and motivations of people—the parents, neighbors, children, colleagues, and strangers who make up a community. 

Be collaborative: No one person is responsible for the outcome when you work in a team. Several great minds are always stronger than just one. Design thinking benefits from the views of multiple perspectives and lets others’ creativity bolster your own.

Be optimistic: Be confident about achieving favorable outcomes. Design thinking is the fundamental belief that we can all create change—no matter how big a problem, how little time, or how small a budget. Designing can be a powerful process no matter what constraints exist around you.

Embrace ambiguity: Get comfortable with ambiguous and complex situations. If you expect perfection, it is difficult to take risks, which limits your ability to create radical change. Design thinking is all about experimenting and learning by doing. It gives you the confidence to believe that new, better things are possible and that you can help make them a reality. 

Be curious: Be open to different ideas. Recognize that you are not the user.

Reframe: Challenge and reframe assumptions associated with a given situation or problem. Don’t take problems at face value. Humans are primed to look for patterns. The unfortunate side effect of these patterns is that we form (often false and sometimes dangerous) stereotypes and assumptions. Design thinking aims to help you break through any preconceived notions and biases and reframe challenges.

Embrace diversity: Work with and engage people with different cultural backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking and working. Everyone brings a unique perspective to the team. When you include diverse voices in a team, you learn from each other’s experiences, further helping you break through your assumptions.

Make tangible: When you make ideas tangible, it is faster and easier for everyone on the team to be on the same page. For example, sketching an idea or enacting a scenario is far more convenient and easy to interpret than an elaborate presentation or document.

Take action: Run experiments and learn from them.

Design Thinking vs Agile Methodology

Teams often use design thinking and agile methodologies in project management, product development, and software development. These methodologies have distinct approaches but share some common principles.

Similarities between Design Thinking and Agile

Iterative process.

Both methodologies emphasize iterative development. In design thinking, teams may jump from one phase to another, not necessarily in a set cyclical or linear order. For example, on testing a prototype, teams may discover something new about their users and realize that they must redefine the problem. Agile teams iterate through development sprints.

User-Centered

The agile and design thinking methodologies focus on the end user. All design thinking activities—from empathizing to prototyping and testing—keep the end users front and center. Agile teams continually integrate user feedback into development cycles.

Collaboration and Teamwork

Both methodologies rely heavily on collaboration among cross-functional teams and encourage diverse perspectives and expertise.

Flexibility and Adaptability

With its focus on user research, prototyping and testing, design thinking ensures teams remain in touch with users and get continuous feedback. Similarly, agile teams monitor user feedback and refine the product in a reasonably quick time.

In this video, Laura Klein, author of Build Better Products , describes a typical challenge designers face on agile teams. She encourages designers to get comfortable with the idea of a design not being perfect. Notice the many parallels between Laura’s advice for designers on agile teams and the mindsets of design thinking.

Differences between Design Thinking and Agile

While design thinking and agile teams share principles like iteration, user focus, and collaboration, they are neither interchangeable nor mutually exclusive. A team can apply both methodologies without any conflict.

From a user experience design perspective, design thinking applies to the more abstract elements of strategy and scope. At the same time, agile is more relevant to the more concrete elements of UX: structure, skeleton and surface. For quick reference, here’s an overview of the five elements of user experience.

Design thinking is more about exploring and defining the right problem and solution, whereas agile is about efficiently executing and delivering a product.

Here are the key differences between design thinking and agile.

Design Sprint: A Condensed Version of Design Thinking

A design sprint is a 5-day intensive workshop where cross-functional teams aim to develop innovative solutions.

The design sprint is a very structured version of design thinking that fits into the timeline of a sprint (a sprint is a short timeframe in which agile teams work to produce deliverables). Developed by Google Ventures, the design sprint seeks to fast-track innovation.

In this video, user researcher Ditte Hvas Mortensen explains the design sprint in detail.

Learn More about Design Thinking

Design consultancy IDEO’s designkit is an excellent repository of design thinking tools and case studies.

To keep up with recent developments in design thinking, read IDEO CEO Tim Brown’s blog .

Enroll in our course Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide —an excellent guide to get you started on your design thinking projects.

Questions related to Design Thinking

You don’t need any certification to practice design thinking. However, learning about the nuances of the methodology can help you:

Pick the appropriate methods and tailor the process to suit the unique needs of your project.

Avoid common pitfalls when you apply the methods.

Better lead a team and facilitate workshops.

Increase the chances of coming up with innovative solutions.

IxDF has a comprehensive course to help you gain the most from the methodology: Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide .

Anyone can apply design thinking to solve problems. Despite what the name suggests, non-designers can use the methodology in non-design-related scenarios. The methodology helps you think about problems from the end user’s perspective. Some areas where you can apply this process:

Develop new products with greater chances of success.

Address community-related issues (such as education, healthcare and environment) to improve society and living standards.

Innovate/enhance existing products to gain an advantage over the competition.

Achieve greater efficiencies in operations and reduce costs.

Use the Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide course to apply design thinking to your context today.

A framework is the basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text. There are several design thinking frameworks with slight differences. However, all the frameworks share some traits. Each framework: 

Begins with empathy.

Reframes the problem or challenge at hand.

Initially employs divergent styles of thinking to generate ideas.

Later, it employs convergent styles of thinking to narrow down the best ideas,

Creates and tests prototypes.

Iterates based on the tests.

Some of the design thinking frameworks are:

5-stage design process by d.school

7-step early traditional design process by Herbert Simon

The 5-Stage DeepDive™ by IDEO

The “Double Diamond” Design Process Model by the Design Council

Collective Action Toolkit (CAT) by Frog Design

The LUMA System of Innovation by LUMA Institute

For details about each of these frameworks, see 10 Insightful Design Thinking Frameworks: A Quick Overview .

IDEO’s 3-Stage Design Thinking Process consists of inspiration, ideation and implementation:

Inspire : The problem or opportunity inspires and motivates the search for a solution.

Ideate : A process of synthesis distills insights which can lead to solutions or opportunities for change.

Implement : The best ideas are turned into a concrete, fully conceived action plan.

IDEO is a leader in applying design thinking and has developed many frameworks. Find out more in 10 Insightful Design Thinking Frameworks: A Quick Overview .

Design Council's Double Diamond diagram depicts the divergent and convergent stages of the design process.

Béla H. Bánáthy, founder of the White Stag Leadership Development Program, created the “divergence-convergence” model in 1996. In the mid-2000s, the British Design Council made this famous as the Double Diamond model.

The Double Diamond diagram graphically represents a design thinking process. It highlights the divergent and convergent styles of thinking in the design process. It has four distinct phases:

Discover: Initial idea or inspiration based on user needs.

Define: Interpret user needs and align them with business objectives.

Develop: Develop, iterate and test design-led solutions.

Deliver: Finalize and launch the end product into the market.

Double Diamond is one of several design thinking frameworks. Find out more in 10 Insightful Design Thinking Frameworks: A Quick Overview .

There are several design thinking methods that you can choose from, depending on what stage of the process you’re in. Here are a few common design thinking methods:

User Interviews: to understand user needs, pain points, attitudes and behaviors.

5 Whys Method: to dig deeper into problems to diagnose the root cause.

User Observations: to understand how users behave in real life (as opposed to what they say they do).

Affinity Diagramming: to organize research findings.

Empathy Mapping: to empathize with users based on research insights.

Journey Mapping: to visualize a user’s experience as they solve a problem.

6 Thinking Hats: to encourage a group to think about a problem or solution from multiple perspectives.

Brainstorming: to generate ideas.

Prototyping: to make abstract ideas more tangible and test them.

Dot Voting: to select ideas.

Start applying these methods to your work today with the Design Thinking template bundle .

For most of the design thinking process, you will need basic office stationery:

Pen and paper

Sticky notes

Whiteboard and markers

Print-outs of templates and canvases as needed (such as empathy maps, journey maps, feedback capture grid etc.) You can also draw these out manually.

Prototyping materials such as UI stencils, string, clay, Lego bricks, sticky tapes, scissors and glue.

A space to work in.

You can conduct design thinking workshops remotely by:

Using collaborative software to simulate the whiteboard and sticky notes.

Using digital templates instead of printed canvases.

Download print-ready templates you can share with your team to practice design thinking today.

Design thinking is a problem-solving methodology that helps teams better identify, understand, and solve business and customer problems.

When businesses prioritize and empathize with customers, they can create solutions catering to their needs. Happier customers are more likely to be loyal and organically advocate for the product.

Design thinking helps businesses develop innovative solutions that give them a competitive advantage.

Gain a competitive advantage in your business with Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide .

The evolution of Design Thinking can be summarised in 8 key events from the 1960s to 2004.

© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Herbert Simon’s 1969 book, "The Sciences of the Artificial," has one of the earliest references to design thinking. David Kelley, founder of the design consultancy IDEO, coined the term “design thinking” and helped make it popular.

For a more comprehensive discussion on the origins of design thinking, see The History of Design Thinking .

Some organizations that have employed design thinking successfully are:

Airbnb: Airbnb used design thinking to create a platform for people to rent out their homes to travelers. The company focused on the needs of both hosts and guests . The result was a user-friendly platform to help people find and book accommodations.

PillPack: PillPack is a prescription home-delivery system. The company focused on the needs of people who take multiple medications and created a system that organizes pills by date and time. Amazon bought PillPack in 2018 for $1 billion .

Google Creative Lab: Google Creative Lab collaborated with IDEO to discover how kids physically play and learn. The team used design thinking to create Project Bloks . The project helps children develop foundational problem-solving skills "through coding experiences that are playful, tactile and collaborative.”

See more examples of design thinking and learn practical methods in Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide .

Innovation essentially means a new idea. Design thinking is a problem-solving methodology that helps teams develop new ideas. In other words, design thinking can lead to innovation.

Human-Centered Design is a newer term for User-Centered Design

“Human-centred design is an approach to interactive systems development that aims to make systems usable and useful by focusing on the users, their needs and requirements, and by applying human factors/ergonomics, and usability knowledge and techniques. This approach enhances effectiveness and efficiency, improves human well-being, user satisfaction, accessibility and sustainability; and counteracts possible adverse effects of use on human health, safety and performance.”

— ISO 9241-210:2019(en), ISO (the International Organization for Standardization)  

User experience expert Don Norman describes human-centered design (HCD) as a more evolved form of user-centered design (UCD). The word "users" removes their importance and treats them more like objects than people. By replacing “user” with “human,” designers can empathize better with the people for whom they are designing. Don Norman takes HCD a step further and prefers the term People-Centered Design.

Design thinking has a broader scope and takes HCD beyond the design discipline to drive innovation.

People sometimes use design thinking and human-centered design to mean the same thing. However, they are not the same. HCD is a formal discipline with a specific process used only by designers and usability engineers to design products. Design thinking borrows the design methods and applies them to problems in general.

Design Sprint condenses design thinking into a 1-week structured workshop

Google Ventures condensed the design thinking framework into a time-constrained 5-day workshop format called the Design Sprint. The sprint follows one step per day of the week:

Monday: Unpack

Tuesday: Sketch

Wednesday: Decide

Thursday: Prototype

Friday: Test

Learn more about the design sprint in Make Your UX Design Process Agile Using Google’s Methodology .

Systems Thinking is a distinct discipline with a broader approach to problem-solving

“Systems thinking is a way of exploring and developing effective action by looking at connected wholes rather than separate parts.”

— Introduction to Systems thinking, Report of GSE and GORS seminar, Civil Service Live

Both HCD and Systems Thinking are formal disciplines. Designers and usability engineers primarily use HCD. Systems thinking has applications in various fields, such as medical, environmental, political, economic, human resources, and educational systems.

HCD has a much narrower focus and aims to create and improve products. Systems thinking looks at the larger picture and aims to change entire systems.

Don Norman encourages designers to incorporate systems thinking in their work. Instead of looking at people and problems in isolation, designers must look at them from a systems point of view.

In summary, UCD and HCD refer to the same field, with the latter being a preferred phrase.

Design thinking is a broader framework that borrows methods from human-centered design to approach problems beyond the design discipline. It encourages people with different backgrounds and expertise to work together and apply the designer’s way of thinking to generate innovative solutions to problems.

Systems thinking is another approach to problem-solving that looks at the big picture instead of specific problems in isolation.

The design sprint is Google Ventures’ version of the design thinking process, structured to fit the design process in 1 week.

There are multiple design thinking frameworks, each with a different number of steps and phase names. One of the most popular frameworks is the Stanford d.School 5-stage process.

Design thinking is an iterative and non-linear process. It contains five phases: 1. Empathize, 2. Define, 3. Ideate, 4. Prototype and 5. Test. It is important to note the five stages of design thinking are not always sequential. They do not have to follow a specific order, and they can often occur in parallel or be repeated iteratively. The stages should be understood as different modes which contribute to the entire design project, rather than sequential steps.

For more details, see The 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process .

IDEO is a leading design consultancy and has developed its own version of the design thinking framework and adds the dimension of implementation in the process.

IDEO’s framework uses slightly different terms than d.school’s design thinking process and adds an extra dimension of implementation. The steps in the DeepDive™ Methodology are: Understand, Observe, Visualize, Evaluate and Implement.

IDEO’s DeepDive™ Methodology includes the following steps:

Understand: Conduct research and identify what the client needs and the market landscape

Observe: Similar to the Empathize step, teams observe people in live scenarios and conduct user research to identify their needs and pain points.

Visualize: In this step, the team visualizes new concepts. Similar to the Ideate phase, teams focus on creative, out-of-the-box and novel ideas.

Evaluate: The team prototypes ideas and evaluates them. After refining the prototypes, the team picks the most suitable one.

Implement: The team then sets about to develop the new concept for commercial use.

IDEO’s DeepDive™ is one of several design thinking frameworks. Find out more in 10 Insightful Design Thinking Frameworks: A Quick Overview .

Literature on Design Thinking (DT)

Here’s the entire UX literature on Design Thinking (DT) by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Design Thinking (DT)

Take a deep dive into Design Thinking (DT) with our course Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide .

Some of the world’s leading brands, such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and General Electric, have rapidly adopted the design thinking approach, and design thinking is being taught at leading universities around the world, including Stanford d.school, Harvard, and MIT. What is design thinking, and why is it so popular and effective?

Design Thinking is not exclusive to designers —all great innovators in literature, art, music, science, engineering and business have practiced it. So, why call it Design Thinking? Well, that’s because design work processes help us systematically extract, teach, learn and apply human-centered techniques to solve problems in a creative and innovative way—in our designs, businesses, countries and lives. And that’s what makes it so special.

The overall goal of this design thinking course is to help you design better products, services, processes, strategies, spaces, architecture, and experiences. Design thinking helps you and your team develop practical and innovative solutions for your problems. It is a human-focused , prototype-driven , innovative design process . Through this course, you will develop a solid understanding of the fundamental phases and methods in design thinking, and you will learn how to implement your newfound knowledge in your professional work life. We will give you lots of examples; we will go into case studies, videos, and other useful material, all of which will help you dive further into design thinking. In fact, this course also includes exclusive video content that we've produced in partnership with design leaders like Alan Dix, William Hudson and Frank Spillers!

This course contains a series of practical exercises that build on one another to create a complete design thinking project. The exercises are optional, but you’ll get invaluable hands-on experience with the methods you encounter in this course if you complete them, because they will teach you to take your first steps as a design thinking practitioner. What’s equally important is you can use your work as a case study for your portfolio to showcase your abilities to future employers! A portfolio is essential if you want to step into or move ahead in a career in the world of human-centered design.

Design thinking methods and strategies belong at every level of the design process . However, design thinking is not an exclusive property of designers—all great innovators in literature, art, music, science, engineering, and business have practiced it. What’s special about design thinking is that designers and designers’ work processes can help us systematically extract, teach, learn, and apply these human-centered techniques in solving problems in a creative and innovative way—in our designs, in our businesses, in our countries, and in our lives.

That means that design thinking is not only for designers but also for creative employees , freelancers , and business leaders . It’s for anyone who seeks to infuse an approach to innovation that is powerful, effective and broadly accessible, one that can be integrated into every level of an organization, product, or service so as to drive new alternatives for businesses and society.

You earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you complete the course. You can highlight them on your resume, CV, LinkedIn profile or your website .

All open-source articles on Design Thinking (DT)

What is design thinking and why is it so popular.

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Personas – A Simple Introduction

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Stage 2 in the Design Thinking Process: Define the Problem and Interpret the Results

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What is Ideation – and How to Prepare for Ideation Sessions

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Stage 3 in the Design Thinking Process: Ideate

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Stage 4 in the Design Thinking Process: Prototype

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Affinity Diagrams: How to Cluster Your Ideas and Reveal Insights

Stage 1 in the Design Thinking Process: Empathise with Your Users

Empathy Map – Why and How to Use It

What Is Empathy and Why Is It So Important in Design Thinking?

10 Insightful Design Thinking Frameworks: A Quick Overview

Define and Frame Your Design Challenge by Creating Your Point Of View and Ask “How Might We”

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Design Thinking: Get Started with Prototyping

5 Common Low-Fidelity Prototypes and Their Best Practices

Design Thinking: New Innovative Thinking for New Problems

Test Your Prototypes: How to Gather Feedback and Maximize Learning

The History of Design Thinking

The Ultimate Guide to Understanding UX Roles and Which One You Should Go For

Stage 5 in the Design Thinking Process: Test

What Are Wicked Problems and How Might We Solve Them?

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Promote Design Thinking as a core competency to support all organizations to become more effective at adding value through a human centered design approach to problem solving.

• Create a strong community to develop the standard of design thinking practice globally
• Create a center of excellence for design thinking and promote the results of excellent projects
• Seek out the resources needed to solve some of the worlds most intractable problems

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is a human centered approach to problem solving.

It requires a methodology, a general process and the development of skills in order to use it to solve problems. Understanding the methodology and developing the skills are by far the more important. Skills require practice, repetition and deep thinking in order to get good at them.

Design Thinking holds the promise of solving almost any problem, but practicing and becoming an expert in the craft of Design Thinking (sometimes referred to as Design Doing) and how you develop buy-in and execute the methodology within your firm or organization will determine how successful you are.

What’s the difference between human-centered design and design thinking?

These two terms are interlinked and it is worth stating the difference between them. From the IDEO website:

" Human-centered design  is a creative approach to problem solving. It’s the backbone of all our work at IDEO. It’s a process that starts with the people you’re designing for and ends with new solutions that are purpose-built to suit their needs. Human-centered design is about cultivating deep empathy with the people you’re designing for; generating ideas; building a bunch of prototypes; sharing what you’ve made with the people you’re designing for; and eventually, putting your innovative new solution out in the world.

Design thinking, as IDEO's Tim Brown explains, is a human-centered approach to innovation. It draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success. Successful innovations rely on some element of human-centered design research while balancing other elements. Design thinking helps achieve that balance. It lets people find the sweet spot of feasibility, viability and desirability while considering the real needs and desires of people."

The Design Thinking Association develops materials and programs to help practitioners raise their standards of practice. We create a global community through a web platform, events, networking and opportunities to share and discuss design thinking.

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The LUMA System

The most practical, flexible and versatile approach to innovation in the world that anyone can learn and apply., explore the methods.

Get an overview of the 36 human-centered design methods that comprise the LUMA System, with helpful instructions and tips for using them right away.

A simpler, easier way to be innovative

Every organization faces problems — big and small. To tackle those problems, we need to devise creative, innovative solutions faster than ever.

But how do individuals and teams actually become more innovative? LUMA believes  any individual, team and organization has the potential to innovate, but may not know how.

We recognized that teams could wield the power of human-centered design: an approach to creative problem-solving that focuses on people above other factors — whether the challenge is making a better product, process, service or anything else.

But there are so many ways to be innovative that identifying the best approach to a certain situation can be overwhelming, eating up precious time.

So LUMA set out to envision a simpler way; we created the LUMA System as a framework for practicing human-centered design that people can apply to tackle problems of all sizes.

A versatile toolset for any problem

The LUMA System of Innovation is a framework of human-centered design that forms a toolset and shared language for innovation, even across countries and cultures.

The methods are organized into three key design skills:  Looking, Understanding  and  Making.

The flexibility and versatility of the LUMA System delivers powerful results:

• Each method can be applied individually, for a focused approach to a specific question.
• Multiple methods can be combined in different ways as needed for more complex challenges.
• The methods can be used with any type of problem, in any type of setting. 

The LUMA System seamlessly integrates with processes like Sprints, Agile or Lean Six Sigma to supercharge their impact – and it can be used in-person or online.

However you work, LUMA works.

The LUMA System is actually helping to change the trajectory of the company. It’s helping us make better decisions at all levels of the company, whether they’re small pivots on any given product or bigger choices we make with leadership of the company. It’s powerful stuff.

ROB DICKINS

Chief of Staff, Product Development, Autodesk

New skills to bring about culture change

A key part of building a culture of innovation is teaching people new problem-solving skills to use in their daily work.

Formal instruction is important, but 90 percent of learning happens outside the classroom: people learn by doing.

LUMA offers  training, services and tools for all the ways that people learn. Our goal of helping organizations build a culture of innovation flows directly from our mission:

• Help individuals become confident and capable problem solvers.
• Equip teams to collaborate, think differently and deliver impactful solutions.
• Transform organizations into places where people and innovation flourish.

We’ve done it with teams and organizations large and small around the world, and we can do it with yours, too.

Design Thinking Takes a Human-Centered Approach to Problem-Solving

Action-oriented approach tolerates risk, with the goal of improving human experiences..

Design thinking, a creative and innovative process that puts people at the center of problem solving, is a tool being readily used to encourage radiologists to focus on the patient experience from beginning to end.

“Humanizing the imaging process involves a lot of people and a lot of touch points,” said Achala Vagal, MD, vice chair of research and associate professor of radiology at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. “Design thinking can help identify challenges and create solutions that result in a better experience for patients and staff.”

Dr. Vagal presented the human-centered design approach during RSNA 2018’s Fast Five session and will cover it again in an educational course at RSNA 2019.

Design thinking is a human-centered, problem-solving approach that at its core uses empathy to tackle complex problems. Instead of traditional problem solving, where a problem is identified and then various solutions are applied until one works, design thinking gathers multidisciplinary teams and asks them to understand the problem from the point of view of those who are most affected. The team typically also includes the people who are affected by the problem, who, in many cases, are patients and their families and caregivers.

This process of defining a problem can take upwards of several weeks or months. It can involve detailed observations of a process, surveys, interviews and focus groups with patients, caregivers or other health care delivery specialists, all designed to help better understand the pain points facing patients.

“As radiology shifts from volume to value, the value is all about the patient experience,” said Mary C. Mahoney, MD, the Benjamin Felson Endowed Chair and Professor of Radiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio, and RSNA Board Chair. “Radiologists need to think about the discussions their patients are having in the car on the way to and following an imaging appointment. Is the patient confused about why they need this test and do they know what will happen next? Also, did they feel valued during every step of the process, from the scheduling to the interactions in the exam room? These are questions that design thinking can answer when tackling a specific problem.”

“In design thinking, we learn by doing and understand that failure is an opportunity to learn,” said Reed Omary, MD, the Carol D. & Henry P. Pendergrass Professor and chair of the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and director, Medical Innovators Development Program, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center & School of Medicine, Nashville, TN. “Design thinking encourages us to try ideas, weed out the ones that don’t work and improve upon the ones with potential.”

Learn about the projects that the University of Cincinnati and Vanderbilt University addressed with design thinking in the June print issue of RSNA News. Check your mailbox now.

Watch Dr. Vagal’s RSNA 2018 Fast 5 presentation on design thinking. 

Watch Dr. Omary’s presentation, Designing for the Patient Experience.

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• v.11(5); 2021 May

Complementary approaches to problem solving in healthcare and public health: implementation science and human-centered design

Elizabeth chen.

1 Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2 Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA

Megan C Roberts

3 Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Complementary approaches to problem solving in healthcare and public health: implementation science and human-centered design”: Combining implementation science and human-centered design approaches is novel and these complementary approaches can be applied together to optimize the integration of evidence-based practices within clinical and public health settings.

Implications

Practice: Human-centered design (HCD) methods can be used to consistently operationalize implementation strategies.

Policy: HCD and implementation science (IS), when used together, can provide an avenue for developing stakeholder engaged policy interventions and implementation strategies.

Research: Integrating HCD and IS is a novel approach and future research should be aimed at understanding which HCD strategies are most effective for operationalizing implementation strategies and how IS can be used to inform and evaluate HCD research.

INTRODUCTION

The timely, effective adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices, interventions, tools, programs, and policies (hereafter referenced as evidence-based practices) is important to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes. Implementation science (IS), user-centered design (UCD), and human-centered design (HCD) are three research approaches that focus on translating research evidence into the real world. In their recent article titled “A glossary of user-centered design strategies for implementation experts,” Dopp et al. [ 1 ] established a precedent for combining IS and UCD approaches and offered a new glossary of UCD strategies IS experts could use. In this commentary, we build upon this work by combining IS and HCD approaches and offering a how-to guide for IS experts to operationalize implementation strategies using HCD methods. Combining IS and HCD approaches is novel to health care research and practice, and we believe that these complementary approaches can be applied together to optimize the integration of evidence-based practices within clinical and public health settings.

IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE

IS explores methods to effectively translate evidence-based care, interventions, and policies into practice to improve health [ 2 ]. By accounting for context and multilevel determinants, researchers and practitioners may better address implementation challenges for evidence-based practices and maximize their potential benefits on population health. The field leverages dozens of frameworks, theories, and conceptual models [ 3 ] to inform IS and uses a variety of measures and study designs [ 4 ] to understand implementation processes and develop and test implementation strategies [ 5 ]. More specifically, IS theories and frameworks can help (a) identify factors that may influence implementation processes or outcomes, (b) provide guidance for conceptualizing an implementation challenge and inform study hypotheses, including how to overcome barriers to implementation, and (c) select and tailor implementation strategies to address delivery gaps.

Implementation strategies promote the integration of evidence-based practices into public health and health care settings. Powell et al. [ 6 ] identified 73 implementation strategies in their Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change study, of which many involve stakeholder engagement, such as conducting educational meetings, clinical reminders, and conducting local needs assessments to improve implementation outcomes, such as acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, costs, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, and sustainability [ 7 ]. These strategies can be selected to address specific multilevel barriers to implementation and improve implementation outcomes, which, in turn, strengthens the health impact of evidence-based practices [ 7 ]. For example, if a needs assessment uncovers low provider awareness of an evidence-based practice to improve asthma inhaler adherence, then educational meetings with providers may be an effective implementation strategy for increasing adoption of this practice. Methods for selecting and refining implementation strategies for a given context are continuing to be developed. Some recommended approaches for selecting strategies include conjoint analysis, simulation modeling, intervention mapping, and concept mapping, among others [ 8–10 ].

In addition to implementation frameworks, outcomes, and strategies, a broad variety of study designs can be used to study implementation, including effectiveness-implementation hybrid designs (which includes effectiveness and implementation research aims and data collection); mixed methods (integrating qualitative and quantitative methods); factorial designs (e.g., sequential multiple assignment randomized implementation trial); two-level nested randomized designs; cluster randomized control trials; crossover designs; and simulation models among others [ 5 , 11 , 12 ]. Taken together, the field has utilized a set of research methods to rigorously study and evaluate the implementation of evidence-based practices into public health and clinical settings.

HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN

HCD is a repeatable, creative approach to problem-solving that brings together what is desirable to humans with what is technologically feasible and economically viable [ 13 ]. Dopp et al. [ 1 ] offer a glossary of USD strategies for IS experts, which focuses on the individual for which a solution is designed (e.g., patient or practitioner), whereas HCD focuses on the individual, those who are around them, and the systems in which the individual is a part. Dopp et al. [ 1 ] offered this when comparing HCD to UCD:

The closely related approach of human-centered design more explicitly seeks to integrate an innovation into human activities and systems by considering individuals beyond primary users (including those who interact indirectly with the innovation, such as clinic leaders who oversee implementation, as well as those who are unintentionally affected by it, such as family members of patients) in the design process.

Given the multiple levels of influence (e.g., patient, provider, clinic, organization, and system) that can impact successful implementation, IS experts could benefit from combining a multilevel, HCD approach to operationalizing implementation strategies.

Over the past 30 years, HCD has evolved from diverse disciplines, including computer science, visual design, and architecture, and has been primarily embraced in the private sector [ 14 , 15 ]. However, the public sector has started to embrace HCD [ 16 ]. Recently, public health researchers have started to apply HCD approaches and methodologies to community-based participatory research projects as a way to better understand the experiences of end users (i.e., intended beneficiaries) and to codevelop health interventions with them [ 17 , 18 ]. For this commentary, the authors rely on the HCD process as defined by IDEO, a leading global design company, which has successfully used HCD to create groundbreaking products like Palm pilots and Oral-B toothbrushes [ 19 ].

IDEO’s HCD process for problem-solving consists of three distinct phases: the inspiration phase, the ideation phase, and the implementation phase [ 13 , 19 ]. After identifying a particular problem for which a solution is desired, designers’ (i.e., those engaged in HCD) first aim is to build empathy toward and draw inspiration from individual users (e.g., patients, patients’ families, clinicians, and staff) through in-depth conversations and experiences in Phase 1 of HCD [ 18 ]. The purpose of this first phase is not to arrive at a solution; instead, the goals are to more completely understand the intended users, the barriers (i.e., “pain points” in HCD) they have experienced given the problem, and the solutions (i.e., “workarounds”) they have found [ 13 ]. Second, in the ideation phase, designers generate numerous ideas for how to solve the problem, informed by the users’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Third, in the implementation phase, designers quickly prototype (i.e., test) the different ideas with users to solicit immediate feedback. This is achieved through designing short experiments with low-fidelity prototypes. Low-fidelity prototypes are simple versions of a solution, often paper based, that are quickly produced to test broad concepts [ 13 ]. Prototyping allows for the recombination and refinement of these concepts into a solution that is desirable, feasible, and viable for a specific set of users. These short iteration cycles help to secure buy-in by repeatedly engaging collaborators, which also allows for a smoother, broader implementation of the product or service at the conclusion of the project [ 13 , 18 ]. To make HCD more accessible to the general public, IDEO’s nonprofit arm, IDEO.org, published The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design in 2015 [ 13 ]. This field guide includes HCD mindsets, methods, case studies, and resources.

COMBINING HCD AND IS APPROACHES

We typically consider IS when there is an evidence-based practice with proven efficacy that has not yet been effectively implemented in health care or community settings. Through IS, researchers can develop and test strategies to improve care delivery of evidence-based practices [ 5 ]. We might consider HCD when developing a new intervention. Both fields acknowledge the importance of multiple stakeholder perspectives, iterative study cycles to optimize outcomes of interest, and consideration of the end users to improve implementation in real-world settings. Based on these complementary strengths, we believe that IS and HCD can be combined to provide “client-centered” approaches for implementing health care and public health practices, and we offer two ways to conceptualize how to integrate the two approaches.

First, we could view HCD as a process that occurs toward the beginning of the translational research pathway (i.e., discovery), and IS on the distal end of the pathway. Indeed, the final phase of HCD includes an implementation phase, so there are opportunities to integrate these two fields in the effort to develop patient-, provider-, and system-centered implementation strategies across the research continuum. IS frameworks, measures, and study designs could play a key role in strengthening the rigor of HCD research projects in the implementation phase.

Second, we could view HCD as a practical method for operationalizing implementation strategies. As previously outlined, IS leverages strategies to optimize the delivery of interventions and stakeholder engagement is paramount. HCD offers IS a set of methods (i.e., activities) to engage with intended beneficiaries [ 13 , 18 , 19 ]. Therefore, HCD may provide a new approach for selecting, optimizing, and operationalizing implementation strategies.

HCD methods may be particularly useful for operationalizing implementation strategies [ 6 ] within four of the nine broader implementation strategy categories identified by Waltz et al. [ 20 ]: use evaluative strategies, adapt and tailor to context, develop stakeholder interrelationships, and engage consumers. Publications have provided guidance on how to select, tailor, and specify the 73 implementations strategies [ 6 , 9 ], but there is still little guidance for how to execute specific implementation strategies; that is—how do researchers actually apply these implementation strategies in the field? For example, if researchers want to employ “involving patients/consumers and family members” as an implementation strategy in their research, how do they operationalize this implementation strategy? Operationalizing implementation strategies through the use of low-cost, accessible HCD methods could help researchers and practitioners assess which implementation strategies are most acceptable and feasible, as well as how these strategies should be executed. Using HCD methods to operationalize implementation strategies will also provide implementation scientists a shared language with those who practice HCD and vice versa. Fig. 1 below summarizes the interrelationship between HCD and IS and illustrates how combining these approaches can impact population health. In order to further illustrate how HCD can enhance IS and how IS can enhance HCD, we present the case study below.

How human-centered design and implementation science can lead to public health impact.

CASE STUDY: THE REAL TALK APP

This case study reports the development of a new mobile app where the first author and her team used HCD as the approach for intervention development and implementation. We will report the activities completed by the team in the development and implementation of the Real Talk app and note (a) where HCD methods offered ways to operationalize IS strategies and (b) where IS could have enhanced this HCD project in identifying determinants of implementation and offering ways to evaluate both effectiveness and implementation outcomes.

About the Real Talk app

In 2017, the first author and the two other cofounders of the technology nonprofit MyHealthEd, Inc., applied HCD to build and launch the first version of their Real Talk app for teenage users aged 13–15 [ 24 ]. To date, the app has more than 15,000 users in all 50 states and in more than 125 countries. The purpose of the app is to build a community for teens around taboo health issues, such as sexual health and mental health, and let users know that they are not alone. In the app, users can browse, share, and react to stories on a variety of topics, as well as connect with high-quality online resources from organizations like amaze.org and TeensHealth.

How HCD can enhance IS

While the MyHealthEd, Inc., team did not apply an explicit IS framework through their design work, they did apply several implementation strategies, including: (a) involve patients/consumers and family; (b) conduct cyclical small tests of change; and (c) intervene with patients/consumers to enhance uptake/adherence ( Table 1 ). The team applied these implementation strategies by using the Inspiration, Ideation, and Implementation methods from IDEO.org’s field guide [ 13 ] as described below. The examples below illustrate how HCD methods could be used to operationalize IS strategies.

Implementation strategies and aligned design thinking methods from IDEO.org’s The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design

Involving patients/consumers and family

In order to operationalize “involving patients/consumers and family” as an implementation strategy, the MyHealthEd, Inc., team involved teenagers aged 13–15 (intended users) early in the HCD process. IDEO.org’s field guide [ 13 ] offers a number of specific HCD methods (i.e., activities) to involve end users that include activities like Card Sorts, Conversation Starters, a Guided Tour, or a Resource Flow. The team used the field guide’s Card Sort method to answer questions regarding where teenagers felt most comfortable talking about sex and/or relationships. In order to do this, the team created cards with the following options: school, home, bus, church, friend’s house, and other. Then, the team asked the teenagers to rank the cards in terms of comfort level. After meeting with teenagers across the country and completing the same activity, the team quickly realized that teenagers did not want to talk about sex and/or relationships in school, so they moved away from thinking that they might implement their intervention in schools. This, along with other insights gained through the formative research process, led to a direct-to-consumer approach via a native smartphone app rather than a school-based approach.

Conduct cyclical small tests of change

As part of the ideation phase, the team then conducted dozens of small cyclical tests of change to get feedback from teenagers and other stakeholders (e.g., parents, health teachers, school administrators, and faith leaders) on different features and design elements in the app. This HCD phase directly relates to the implementation strategy for conducting cyclical small tests of change but adds a more specific methodology. The Real Talk app’s user interface and user experience designers used the software InVision to create clickable prototypes of the different app screens. Then, the team used the IDEO.org’s field guide [ 13 ] Rapid Prototyping method to share the InVision prototypes with intended users, collect reactions and data, and make adjustments. For example, the team heard from intended users that they would prefer to interact with sexual health content via stories rather than facts or statistics. Teens also wanted the ability to share their own stories through the app, so the MyHealthEd, Inc., team rapidly tested different versions of the story submission experience. One major test compared a form-based study submission experience (e.g., users submit their entire story by typing it into a box) with a chatbot experience (e.g., users respond to prompts from a chatbot to share their stories piece by piece). After testing these two options, the team found that the majority of their intended users preferred the more interactive chatbot because it was as easy and familiar as text messaging a friend. This resulted in building the interactive story submission feature rather than the form-based feature.

Intervene with patients/consumers to enhance uptake/adherence

Prior to implementation and dissemination, the MyHealthEd, Inc., team was also very intentional about engaging with teenagers to develop strategies together to increase uptake (i.e., app downloads) and adherence (app usage). Through using the Co-Creation Session method from IDEO.org’s field guide [ 13 ], the team convened a group of teenagers to design alongside them by empowering them to jointly create and brand the solution. Specifically, the team worked with teenagers to name the health app. Teenagers came up with the name “Real Talk” because it captured the raw or “cringey” nature of the stories submitted by other teenage users, but it did not overtly signal that the app covers sexual health education topics. Teenagers wanted a resource like this to be discreet and this insight informed the app logo (two generic white chat bubbles without signals to sexual health content). Lastly, the team held multiple Co-Creation Sessions for teenagers to design and pitch their own sexual health apps. Both the drawings and language that the teenagers used to pitch their app concepts to other teenagers shaped the language and images shown for the app as it is advertised in the iTunes App Store. The description reads:

Real Talk is a community for teens packed with real stories about cringey moments. Browse through stories, search for topics that matter most to you, and use emojis to share your reactions. You can also share your own story directly in the app - it’s as easy as texting with a friend. Join thousands of teens who already use and love Real Talk. With totally relatable stories, you won’t feel as alone as you go through the struggles of growing up [ 24 ].

Additional language offered by teenagers in Co-Creation sessions was used in other marketing and outreach materials. Applying this HCD Co-Creation Session method led to an app description that was more teen-friendly than what the MyHealthEd, Inc., team initially envisioned before collaborating with the teens. The use of this specific HCD method provided a protocol to inform the language used to attract new users of the app. In the first year of launching the app, Real Talk was downloaded more than 10,000 times by teenagers across the globe.

How IS can enhance HCD

While the MyHealthEd, Inc., team considered implementation from the start, they did not employ an IS framework or study design. As mentioned earlier, IS can enhance HCD by identifying multilevel determinants of implementation and offering more rigorous evaluation of an evidence-based practice.

IS frameworks that focus on multilevel determinants of implementation can provide structure to studying the implementation of an evidence-based practice. HCD largely considers determinants for implementation on the individual level in the case of Real Talk app from the perspective of teens and their families. However, when considering the implementation of an evidence-based practice, it is essential to consider the multilevel determinants that impact an individual’s use of that practice. Investigating multilevel determinants iteratively throughout the development and evaluation of the Real Talk app could help hone in on the appropriate implementation strategies, as well as provide a more holistic view of the effectiveness of the practice. For example, exploration of multilevel determinants for implementing Real Talk outside of patients and families could prevent disconnects between the patient and their providers, clinics, retail stores, and pharmacists, who also play a role in their sexual health. As individuals act within systems, it is important to study, act upon, and evaluate across multiple levels rather than within a vacuum on the individual level. A number of IS frameworks do well in systematically providing a multilevel perspective on implementation determinants and processes.

Next, IS frameworks, measures, and study designs could provide structure for evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of practices, particularly throughout the rapid prototyping and cyclical experiments. In addition to assessing determinants of implementation, as mentioned above, IS frameworks are available to provide structure to the evaluation of the implementation of evidence-based practices and newly developed innovative solutions to improve health [ 7 , 23 ]. Implementation outcomes have been outlined by the field and include measures such as acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and costs, among others [ 7 ]. Assessing these implementation outcomes, as well as effectiveness outcomes, is essential for understanding the total impact of Real Talk on adolescent sexual health outcomes. Hybrid effectiveness-implementation designs allow for more rigorous testing and documentation of rapid prototyping cycles by incorporating the exploration of not only effectiveness outcomes but also implementation outcomes. For example, teenagers could have been randomized to view one of three sets of marketing materials each with different content. Then, the team could assess the implementation outcomes (e.g., acceptability, appropriateness, and download rates) and the effectiveness outcomes (e.g., sexual health knowledge) of the teenagers and determine which of these three sets of marketing materials leads to the strongest outcomes. These data on implementation outcomes are key for optimizing, scaling-up, and implementing the intervention in different settings (i.e., scale out) if found to be effective and, if not effective, may point to reasons why the intervention failed to have the intended impact on health.

Overall, HCD offers specific methods that can readily operationalize implementation strategies to improve the translation of health innovations into practice. Using HCD to execute implementation strategies provides a set of tools for implementation researchers to develop and test implementation strategies associated with health interventions. Additionally, IS offers specific approaches to identifying and analyzing multilevel systems and barriers to implementation, as well as rigorous study designs that would enhance HCD research by providing guidance for how to document and evaluate the iterative, cyclical experiments [ 22 , 23 ]. By combining the processes and tools from HCD and IS, we believe that health care and public health researchers can develop a common language to improve implementation outcomes and health outcomes for patients and communities.

Funding: Megan Roberts is funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health through Grant KL2TR002490.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflicts of Interest: E.C. was a cofounder and employee of MyHealthEd, Inc., the technology 501 (c)3 nonprofit that created the Real Talk app mentioned in this manuscript, from August 2016 through June 2019. G.N. and M.C.R. declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Authors’ Contributions: E.C. and M.C.R. conceptualized this study; E.C., M.C.R, and G.N. analyzed the data; and E.C., M.C.R. and G.N. co-authored this manuscript.

Ethical Approval: This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by the authors. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent: This study does not involve human participants and informed consent was, therefore, not required.

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What’s the difference between human-centered design and design thinking .

Human-centered design is a creative approach to problem solving. It’s the backbone of all our work at IDEO. It’s a process that starts with the people you’re designing with and ends with new solutions that are purpose-built to suit their needs. Human-centered design is about cultivating deep empathy with the people you’re designing with; generating ideas; building a bunch of prototypes; sharing what you’ve made together; and eventually, putting your innovative new solution out in the world.

Design thinking, as IDEO's Tim Brown explains, is a human-centered approach to innovation. It draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success. Successful innovations rely on some element of human-centered design research while balancing other elements. Design thinking helps achieve that balance. It lets people find the sweet spot of feasibility, viability, and desirability while considering the real needs and desires of people.

Change By Design

Tim Brown , CEO of IDEO, shows how the techniques and strategies of design belong at every level of business.

The myth of innovation is that brilliant ideas leap fully formed from the minds of geniuses. The reality is that most innovations come from a process of rigorous examination through which great ideas are identified and developed before being realized as new offerings and capabilities.

In this revised and updated edition of Change By Design , Tim Brown reintroduces design thinking, the collaborative process by which the designer’s sensibilities and methods are employed to match people’s needs with what is technically feasible and a viable business strategy. In short, design thinking converts need into demand. It’s a human-centered approach to problem-solving that helps people and organizations become more innovative and creative.

Change by Design is not a book by designers for designers; it is a book for creative leaders seeking to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization, product, or service to drive new alternatives for business and society.

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Is Your AI-First Strategy Causing More Problems Than It’s Solving?

• Oguz A. Acar

Consider a more balanced and thoughtful approach to AI transformation.

The problem with an AI-first strategy lies not within the “AI” but with the notion that it should come “first” aspect. An AI-first approach can be myopic, potentially leading us to overlook the true purpose of technology: to serve and enhance human endeavors. Instead, the author recommends following 3Ps during an AI transformation: problem-centric, people-first, and principle-driven.

From technology giants like Google to major management consultants like McKinsey , a rapidly growing number of companies preach an “AI-first” strategy. In essence, this means considering AI as the ultimate strategic priority , one that precedes other alternative directions. At first glance, this strategy seems logical, perhaps even inevitable. The figures speak for themselves: the sheer volume of investment flowing into AI technologies shows the confidence levels in an increasingly AI-driven future.

• Oguz A. Acar is a Chair in Marketing at King’s Business School, King’s College London.

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