Design Thinking

Design thinking takes into account the customer that will be using the product by shaping the product to fit their life style. In the article “Design Thinking for Social Innovation”, they break the process up into three steps. The first step is inspiration, which brings a group of people together to solve a problem. This is done by observing the target group and looking for how their system can be improved. The second step is ideation. In this step the group looks at the information they gathered through observation and develops as many ideas as they can to how the problem could be solved. In the final step the group then decides on the idea that has the most potential and builds a prototype. This prototype is then tested to determine whether or not it will be used and if it will be effective in fixing the problem. It is then through the process of design thinking that much of social innovation can be achieved.

            The key concept that makes design thinking work and makes it an effective method to helping spur social innovation is that it focuses on how to improve the life of the customer through observation. Many social innovation projects fail because they look too closely at what is needed to fix the problem but not how the product will best be used. The best example given in the readings was about the water treatment plant and how several key barriers in the design of the organization prevented many residences from taking advantage of what the plant had to offer.

            Design thinking can be seen in many different social innovative ventures as it is an effective way at creating a product that will be useful and time saving. The term design thinking may not always be explicitly used when someone creates a new social innovation but the process of design thinking can still be seen.  The process of design thinking is used in the creation of Grameen Bank as Muhammad Yunus looked to help lower income people seek economic change. Design thinking is also seen at Tata as they used frugal engineering to develop a car that was cost efficient for consumers and utilitarian. Frugal engineering has a similar principle to design thinking as it focuses on the customer’s lifestyle and what they will value the most in a product.

            The process of design thinking is effective by the use of observation in creating social innovation. Often times the answer to an issue is found in how the people already interact with their surroundings and all that is needed is a product or method that can be used to streamline results.