{"id":46451,"date":"2026-10-13T13:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T11:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/?p=46451"},"modified":"2026-11-11T18:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T17:08:12","slug":"what-is-design-thinking-a-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/what-is-design-thinking-a-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"What is design thinking? A guide for future innovators"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">min read<\/span><\/span>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"h-\">Ask most teams to improve a product, and they&#8217;ll start adding features. Design thinking starts somewhere else: <strong>with the people who use it<\/strong>. It is a human-centered, iterative way of finding solutions that begins by understanding what people need, then tests ideas quickly before anyone commits time or money. Design thinking was born in design studios, but managers, engineers, doctors and founders use it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-is-design-thinking\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is design thinking?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Design thinking is a mindset as much as a method. It asks teams to resist jumping to solutions, to question whether they&#8217;re solving the right challenge and to learn by making things rather than debating them. The approach was popularized by the design firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ideo.com\/\">IDEO<\/a>, which helped turn a way of working inside design studios into something any team could learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-five-stages-of-design-thinking\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The five stages of design thinking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most widely used model breaks the process into five stages. It begins with <strong>empathy<\/strong>: observing and talking to the people affected to understand their experience, not just their stated preferences. Teams then <strong>define<\/strong> the challenge in human terms, turning what they&#8217;ve learned into a clear challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ideation<\/strong> follows, generating many possible solutions before judging any of them. In the <strong>prototype<\/strong> stage, the strongest ideas become rough, cheap versions people can react to. <strong>Testing<\/strong> puts those prototypes in front of real users to see what works and what doesn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stages aren&#8217;t a checklist. Testing often sends a team back to redefine the challenge, and that loop is the point. Other models, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designcouncil.org.uk\/resources\/the-double-diamond\/\">Design Council&#8217;s Double Diamond<\/a>, describe the same rhythm of exploring widely before narrowing down, and it&#8217;s a framework that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/product-management-career-paths-where-business-design-and-innovation-meet\/\">product managers use too<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-teamwork-1024x540.jpg\" alt=\"product managers teamwork\" class=\"wp-image-46454\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.8963294936849513;width:656px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-teamwork-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-teamwork-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-teamwork-150x79.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-teamwork-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-teamwork.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-design-thinking-in-practice\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Design thinking in practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doug Dietz, an industrial designer at GE Healthcare, had worked for years on a state-of-the-art MRI scanner. When he visited a hospital to see it in use, he watched a frightened young girl on her way to a scan. He later learned that about 80% of children between three and eight needed sedation to get through one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dietz started with empathy. He brought together child life specialists, experts from a children&#8217;s museum and children themselves to see the scan through a child&#8217;s eyes. The problem he defined wasn&#8217;t the machine&#8217;s performance. It was fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team&#8217;s idea was to turn the scan into an adventure, and the prototypes reimagined the whole room. In one version the scanner became a spaceship, and its loud noise became part of the story. Piloted at a children&#8217;s hospital in Pittsburgh, the Adventure Series <a href=\"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/2013\/12\/02\/AScannerNotSoDarkly\/\">sharply reduced<\/a> the need for sedation. The technology inside the machine never changed. The experience around it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-how-to-start-using-design-thinking\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to start using design thinking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t need a workshop or a design degree to apply it. A few habits go a long way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 <strong>Talk to people before proposing anything.<\/strong> Even five short conversations with the people affected will surface assumptions you didn&#8217;t know you were making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 <strong>Reframe the core challenge as a question.<\/strong> Starting with &#8220;How might we&#8230;&#8221; turns a complaint into an opportunity and keeps options open. &#8220;How might we make an MRI feel less frightening?&#8221; leads somewhere very different from &#8220;How do we sedate children faster?&#8221; As a general rule, approach with curiosity and you&#8217;re on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 <strong>Build the cheapest version that answers your question.<\/strong> A sketch, a role-play or a paper mock-up is often enough to learn what you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 <strong>Test before you commit.<\/strong> Put the prototype in front of real users early, and treat what goes wrong as information rather than failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-graphic-1024x585.jpg\" alt=\"design thinking process\" class=\"wp-image-46453\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7504530069404083;width:743px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-graphic-1024x585.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-graphic-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-graphic-150x86.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-graphic-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-graphic.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-where-design-thinking-falls-short\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where design thinking falls short<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Design thinking has its critics, and some of their points land. In a widely discussed 2017 talk, Pentagram partner Natasha Jen argued that the method had been reduced to sticky notes and workshops, with too little attention to craft, evidence and critique. A team can run an energetic brainstorm, cover a wall in ideas and then change nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Empathy alone also doesn&#8217;t guarantee a good product. A solution people love can still be too expensive to build or impossible to sustain as a business. IDEO itself describes the strongest ideas as sitting where three lenses overlap: 1. what people want, 2. what is technically feasible and 3. what is economically viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fairest reading is that<strong> design thinking is a starting point<\/strong>, not a complete system. It works best in teams that also bring business judgment and technical knowledge, and that have the authority to act on what they learn. The GE example worked because a designer inside the company could change what was built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-where-design-thinking-can-take-you\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where design thinking can take you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These skills show up well beyond design studios. Product managers use them to decide what to build, service designers to shape experiences across many touchpoints and innovation consultants to help organizations test ideas before investing in them. Learning to think this way is less about a job title than a habit: understand people first, then act on what you learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-ideas-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"design thinking ideas\" class=\"wp-image-46452\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.499282555858151;width:676px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-ideas-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-ideas-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-ideas-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-ideas-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/design-thinking-ideas.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If this topic interests you, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/masters\/master-product-management-design-innovation\/\">Master in Product Management &amp; Design Innovation<\/a> explores design thinking alongside business strategy and technology, applied to real company challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Design thinking is a mindset and a way of providing solutions. Here&#8217;s what it is, how the process works and how to put it into practice, whether or not you&#8217;re a designer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":46455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1096,337],"tags":[499,451,1145,1141,483],"class_list":["post-46451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-concepts","category-thought-leadership-identity","tag-business-and-management","tag-business-school","tag-decoded","tag-master-in-product-management-and-design-innovation","tag-masters"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is design thinking? 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