Section 1: What is design thinking?

There isn’t any one, agreed-upon definition of design thinking, but here are some generalizations we can make about it pretty confidently:

• It’s a phrase that refers to a way of thinking that proposes the application of “designerly” logic to tasks not traditionally considered as relating to design.
• It’s normally packaged as a process consisting of a sequence of steps. There are multiple interpretations of this process, all of which are generally very similar, but package the steps differently. In this course we’ll be working off the Stanford d.school version of the design thinking process, whose steps are:
  • empathize
  • define
  • ideate
  • prototype
  • test
• Proponents describe it as a process that prioritizes and embodies the following values:
  • human-centric
  • empathetic
  • collaborative/interdisciplinary
  • experimental
  • adaptable/agile
  • disruptive
  • fast-paced
  • cyclical
  • iterative and divergent
  • ambiguous/non-solutionist
  • not bound to realism
  • failure-positive
  • generative
  • problem-immersive
  • engaging with “wicked problems”
• It’s something that’s easier to learn by doing than by reading about. To that end, the majority of the learning in this class will happen through the group project we’ll be working on for the next six weeks. With the exception of this first week, much more of your time will go toward making content than consuming it. More about the project in a bit!

Each of this week’s readings/viewings offers a unique interpretation of this field. Review them all to “get a lay of the land,” so to speak, in order to start building your own understanding of what it means to apply design thinking to a problem or task.

Design Thinking (Library Futures) – CH 1: Understanding Design Thinking

Author and librarian Rachel Ivy Clarke gives a comprehensive overview of design thinking including its history and characteristics.

IDEO Design Thinking

A summary of design thinking from IDEO, a design firm famously associated with the design thinking process. Read the following sections from the sidebar: Design Thinking Defined, Journey to Mastery, New Applications, History.

Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation – CH 2: What is Design Thinking, Really?

Design thinking summarized critically and thoughtfully in relation to its commercial application.

On Design Thinking: A Simultaneously Over-Discussed and Under-Explored Subject

This short article by design strategist Ana Monroe offers a designer’s perspective on design thinking.

Natasha Jen: Design Thinking is Bullsh*t

“In her provocative talk, [graphic designer Natasha] Jen lobbies for the ‘Crit’ over the ‘Post-It’ when it comes to moving design forward.”

Source

Clarke, R. I. (2020). Design Thinking. ALA Neal-Schuman.

IDEO Design Thinking. IDEO. (n.d.). https://designthinking.ideo.com/.

Mootee, Idris. Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation : What They Can’t Teach You at Business or Design School, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.baypath.idm.oclc.org/lib/baypath/detail.action?docID=1358566.

Monroe, A. (n.d.). On Design Thinking. anamonroe.com. https://anamonroe.com/design-thinking/.

Jen, N. (2020, April 23). Natasha Jen: Design Thinking Is Bullsh*t. Adobe 99U. https://99u.adobe.com/videos/55967/natasha-jen-design-thinking-is-bullshit.