In my first year at UEH, I heard some complaints from my friends (who were in their
second year at UEH) about this subject - Design thinking. They said it was tough, too
many things to do, even though it has only 2 credits! I was so scared. However, when
I first enrolled in Design Thinking for Innovation, I was more curious than scared.
At the beginning, I thought design thinking might only be about aesthetics, but I
quickly realized it was much more about problem-solving. This course was an
emphasis on human-centered solutions, which felt both exciting and unfamiliar to me.
Therefore, I expected this course to help me develop a more structured way to
generate innovative ideas.
During this course, I learned that design thinking is more than just creativity - it is a
human-centered and it iterative process for solving problems. By going through 5
stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test - I discovered how important it is
to truly understand the users, the main object of our problem, before jumping to
solutions. Ms. Thanh told me that we must find the problem and understand the users’
needs before going to the solution. If the groups came up with or mentioned a solution
first, they failed. Conducting empathy interviews and creating an empathy map helped
me uncover real emotions and pain points that were not obvious at first glance. The
result of the interview made me realize that the teacher’s advice was correct, that we
must not be biased and impose our subjective thinking. Instead, we need to explore
user insights based on the results after interviewing them to identify the real core
problem. And from that real core problem, we use the method 9-7-5 to generate
numerous ideas to solve this problem. At this stage - ideate, I realized that just the real
core problem from the users’ insight can help us to follow and generate the most
useful and practical solution to adapt to the users’ needs.
From abstract concepts into practical and hands-on activities, each session made me
feel dynamic because we were not only learning theory but also applying it
immediately. I enjoyed the team-based approach, where different perspectives led to
unexpected solutions and stronger ideas.
Our group project went through many rebuilds. At first, we didn’t really know how to
approach the real problem and ended up letting our own assumptions bias our thinking
(as mentioned earlier). One big reason was that our target users were hard to reach.
We first chose to focus on mothers with postpartum depression (PPD), but it turned
out this group was very difficult to access, so we lacked real user insights and made
assumptions instead. Then, we moved our focus to first-time parents and their
challenges, but we also faced many difficulties because this group is very diverse and
their needs vary widely. It was hard to define a clear core problem since each parent
had different experiences and priorities, and we sometimes felt lost in trying to choose
which pain point to solve. Moreover, the variety of ideas from team members made it
challenging for us to choose the most appropriate direction.
Still, after many meetings until 1 a.m., our group had chosen the best idea and made
the prototype successfully through some feedback from Ms Thanh. I like the way
Design thinking made us become “thợ đụng”.When we worked on the prototype, we
first sketched ideas by hand and then turned those sketches into digital versions on a
tablet. However, when we received the information about joining the Gallery Walk,
we realized that we didn’t have enough time to create a real product. Because of that,
we had to learn how to use 3D sketching to design the SnapMat and make a brochure
to present our design. This combination of creativity and structured methodology kept
me engaged and motivated throughout the course.
While we managed to create a digital 3D model and a brochure for the Gallery Walk,
the limited schedule did not allow us to produce a physical version. That’s why I wish
we had more time to turn our prototype into a fully functional, real product that can
meet the users’ needs.
At the same time, going through the Design thinking process helped me recognize
what mistakes I often made in my previous Marketing case study of Close-up in
CMO2025. I used to jump into solutions too quickly regardless without making a
market survey to deeply understand the customers’ insight. Thus, I mainly relied on
my own assumptions, which prevented my report from going to the second round. By
interviewing real users and applying an empathy map, I realized how important it is to
validate pain points with real data before building a concept. Thanks to that
realization, I went back and reframed my previous marketing case report. This shift
allowed me to align my work with the judges’ expectations and evaluation criteria,
improving the quality and relevance of my previous marketing cases.
In conclusion, Design thinking for Innovation has transformed my perspective on
solving problems, from assumption-driven to user-centered problem solving. By
learning empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test stages, I gained practical skills
that go beyond this course and directly improve my marketing and innovation group.
The experience has strengthened my confidence in approaching new complex
challenges and will serve as a solid foundation for my future projects and career.