A Brief Introduction to Design Thinking (with Resources!)

2 min readSep 9, 2022

Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving that is often used in the field of design. The process is similar to the scientific method in that it involves making observations, asking questions, formulating hypotheses, and conducting experiments. However, design thinking also includes elements of creative thinking, such as brainstorming and ideation.

The goal of design thinking is to come up with creative solutions to problems. The process is often used to solve problems that are difficult to solve using traditional methods. Design thinking has been used to solve problems in a variety of fields, including business, education, engineering, and health care.

There are a few key principles of design thinking:

Empathize with the user: In order to come up with creative solutions, it is important to understand the needs and wants of the user. This can be done through observation and interviews.
Define the problem: Once the needs of the user are understood, the next step is to define the problem that needs to be solved. This step is important in order to focus the creative thinking process.
Generate ideas: This is the brainstorming stage where a variety of ideas are generated. The goal is to come up with as many ideas as possible, without judging them.
Prototype: Once a few ideas have been generated, the next step is to create prototypes of the ideas. This helps to test the feasibility of the ideas and to get feedback from users.
Test: The final step is to test the prototypes with users. This helps to refine the designs and to make sure that they meet the needs of the user.

Design thinking is a powerful tool that can be used to solve complex problems. It is important to understand the process and the principles behind it in order to use it effectively.