What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is typically a focused, creative and rigorously refined as well as analytical approach to problem solving. Here you will find definition, how it works and real life instances of design thinking deployment.

What is Design Thinking?


While human beings continued to excel upon this planet as a thinking being all the feats of human just did not come without an array of complications and problems. Problems and complications demand more engagement and work of our mental faculty, in plain language thinking. Design thinking is an approach to this problem solving thinking pattern. In ultimate analysis design thinking can be employed most discreetly in all practical fields of knowledge and operation, from medical science to pure scientific enquiries to legal matters to technological mysteries. Design thinking has many attributes that make it a stealthy candidate as far as scientific approaches to solve complex problems are concerned. Design thinking contrary to other thinking pattern has a tendency to encompass across different fields to solve a problem and believes in creative thinking attributes rather than following the already treaded course within the same scientific field.

Definition of Design Thinking

A typical approach to thinking that for solving a problem employs creative faculty of mind to the highest extent while focusing on the problem from varied and different routes and gives emphasis to meticulous analysis and breaking through new opportunities en route to solve the problem, is design thinking. Feeling already a bit perplexed with the definition we practically related all major thinking and creative attributes of our mind? It is quite natural since design thinking is itself a little complex for a well knit definition and it always needs an explanation rather than a definition.

How Design Thinking Works

To exemplify how design thinking works let us take a problem of almost universal concern that involved too many scientific minds and researchers. Just think of medical research on cancer. Approaching the common 'why' as to unveil the mystery behind escalation of uncontrollable cell growth in a cancerous patient, you can approach the problem from so called clinical factors leading to effects or you can question other remote aspects like immune system disorders or cell level metabolism, etc. if observing and analyzing the cases you have found some solid interrelations in connection to these areas. Thus while at every single point design thinking provides its regular emphasis on the relations with the problem, it becomes constantly vigilant to observe every single factors and the possibility of unfolding a new area of unforeseen gravity and possibility.

Various Attributes of Design Thinking

Design thinking is nothing but objectively focused thinking approach to the problem for solving which primarily keen observation is required and then analysis and insights into them unveils the probable way outs to solve those problems comprehensively. Design thinking is deployed in the following manner. The first step is to define the problem or understanding the 'why' that motivates the observation and corresponding analysis. The second step is to take as many areas and options into consideration as possible. As for third step depending upon the promises offered by the observation it is important now zeroing the focus on selected prioritized areas for further analysis. In challenging or comparatively complex cases you have the option of repeating the analytical process with the hope of striking new observation with a different possibility. Now at the end of the analytical process it is time to select among the possible path of executions and execute. This step by step systematically refined approach of design thinking elevates the chances of success to a great extent.

Design Thinking: a social deployment

A real life instance of how design thinking can produce great result in uplifting social condition as well would make our understanding even more complete. Recently in the developing nation of Vietnam a study was conducted and it was found that nearly 35% of children under the age of 5 suffer from severe malnutrition. After the study results were out some observers were came into action with observing various probable factors leading to malnutrition of children. Sometime later their insights were put to some resolutions like providing children number of small meals throughout the day instead of two large meals, adding shrimp, crabs to the served rice for the children, replicating healthy cooking habit for children suffering from malnutrition, etc. Seeing the success of the practice in diminishing malnutrition soon it was administered throughout other areas and as a whole it resulted in great effect, a huge drop in the number of children suffering from malnutrition countrywide.