What exactly is Design Thinking: What's really new, and is this really another word for Lean?
The process
First, a brief explanation: Design Thinking is an empathy-driven process that aims to create a better user experience - whether it's the physical product or the interaction and process around buying and using it. As you know, a product or service can be redesigned. So can the way you organize sales and the way you facilitate use. Design Thinking is an interdisciplinary methodology that borrows mindsets from design, technology and economics. But it always starts with observing and understanding: how do customers experience the product or service today?
Like the Lean methodology, Design Thinking is a process that aims to improve competitiveness. While Lean is primarily about streamlining processes and working smarter, Design Thinking is an empathy-driven process that focuses on improving user experience.
The Design Thinking process comprises five phases and starts with uncovering needs, observation and empathy: How does the product or service work today? How do customers relate to the product and to you as a supplier? The subsequent phases are about finding better ways to meet the need, creating simple prototypes that can be tested and improved until a final solution is reached.
As an advertising agency, we often meet clients who have great insight into users' situations and preferences. But we also meet those who ignore this important insight:
- We need a campaign to boost sales
- We have set up a media plan and the first ad has a material deadline this week
In a busy workday, investing in a Design Thinking process will work like a slingshot: You pull back a little to pick up speed.
Why is Design Thinking important?
Most companies - both established and start-ups - will have a lot to gain from adopting the methodology. However, the specific outcome of the process is difficult to predict. Perhaps you will achieve an improved product or service, a better way of organizing sales, a new form of distribution or a completely new and more competitive product. What is certain is that you'll achieve a stronger internal innovation culture and gain several new insights into how your customers think and prioritize. And it's precisely this insight that creates competitiveness.
At AG, we have Design Thinking-trained employees to help you adopt the methodology so you can see things through the eyes of your users.