Many myths passed on from the greater culture define how we think about design and design thinking. Some people believe that to design, one must be an artist. Or that design comes as a flash of light into the minds of certain privileged people.
How could we know much about design? The design process is not part of a standard school curriculum, and Design thinking isn’t taught in most instructional design programs, if any. Design is the mysterious black box of the ADDIE model.
I’ve been studying, analyzing, and examining how humans design for many years. Here are some observations I’d like to share with you about design and design thinking.
1. Design thinking is a process
Design is an approach to problem-solving that applies the cognitive processes of creativity: divergent thinking, fluency (quantity of ideas), originality (quality of ideas), and probably many other factors. See On the Trail of Creativity. Designers leverage these processes to ideate and produce solutions.
Paula Sirar, design thinking advocate defines it like this, “Design Thinking is a creative process of thinking backwards from people, that leads to design of a service, a product or [something] else, based on the conclusions of the knowledge gathered in the process.”
2. Design is messy
There is no straight path from point A to point B during the design process. Instead, think of squiggly scribbles leading to a final destination after many detours.
Roger Martin, author and Dean of the Rotman School of Management says that design thinking involves “integrative thinking: the ability to exploit opposing ideas or constraints to create entirely new solutions.” That process can be messy.
3. Design requires empathy
Design involves putting yourself in the user’s shoes, whether a customer or a learner. It means seeing the world through their eyes. Effective designs shift the thinking from technology or objects to people. They’re based on what humans need to improve their situation—to learn and to make things better and easier.
4. Design solutions require knowing the context
Effective designs involve thinking about the context in which they will be used. Good design observes people in context. It requires thinking, “How will people use this product?” or “In what environment will people use this course?”
5. Design requires prototypes
Good design practice quickly moves into prototyping to have peers and users test it out. In industrial design, this might be a prototype of a device. In eLearning, it could be part of a scenario or several interactions.
Through observation and discussion, designers glean feedback to refine their ideas and iterate. Tim Brown of IDEO says design goes from “thinking about what to build to building in order to think.”
6. Design thinking begs for collaboration
It isn’t easy to design well in a vacuum. Collaborating with teams from varied backgrounds and disciplines enhances the design process. Diverse teams are likely to produce a broader range of ideas, providing more innovative solutions.
7. Design starts with an open slate of possibilities
If we want to promote innovation and fresh thinking, we must start with a “What if?” mindset. This approach allows us to imagine solutions unhindered, and we can then deal with challenges, constraints, and obstacles later.
8. Design takes time
It’s challenging to be creative on demand. Some solutions take time to simmer and brew. Considering that design involves iterative prototypes, you need time for solutions to unfold and evolve.
9. Design impacts business
Design thinking impacts the bottom line. It transforms the approach to business, product, and service development from one of calculating numbers to a human-centered approach. It helps us realistically meet the needs of customers, users, and learners.
10. Design can change society (and the world of learning)
The design process may be more powerful than you think. Consider that someone designed every object you see at home, work, school, and in stores. How many of them were powerful enough to change how the world works? Think of every social program that changes lives and every business or service that delights its customers. These were designed through creative thinking, feedback, and iteration.
In the world of learning, we can consider what we want to change and develop new approaches to helping people build the skills they want and need. Then, we can use design thinking in learning experience design to make a difference.
How could design thinking impact the solutions you’re developing? Share your story below.
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Thank you for your thoughtful question. I think the answer is before us. All of the ways to learn continue to increase and now with AI, we have even more options. It’s a very exciting time to be in this field!
Best,
Connie
Hello Ms. Malamed,
I really enjoyed your blog post. I am a graduate student in Instructional design. Your post resonated with me, especially when you said, “Think of every social program that changes lives.” I think that the internet, social media, and design are changing not only how we learn but also where and when we learn. In your professional opinion, do you feel that these trends will increase?