DESIGN THINKING: CREATING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

I. OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the discussion, you will be able to...

● Define what is design thinking and its relation in human-centered problems.
● Explain the importance of design thinking in society and organizations.
● Learn how the five stages of design thinking are perceived in fields.
● Integrate design thinking in educational developments and students' progress.

II. DISCUSSION

A. What is Design Thinking and how it works?

Design thinking is a creative and innovative approach to solve problems.

This is what the organizations and teams employ to have a non-linear,
iterative process in order to understand consumers, examine presumptions,
reframe challenges, and come up with innovative solutions. Design thinking is
mostly used to solve complex and bigger problems that can't be resolved
using simple and standard methods since it serves to understand the human
needs and reframe the problem in human-centric ways.
Just like what Jennifer Hehn, a lecturer at the St Gallen Executive School
of Business, describes Design Thinking as “combining a human-centred
approach with rapid prototyping techniques” for solving complex problems.
Hehn states that in order to fully understand human needs, it uses strategies
and approaches from fields like psychology and ethnography. It can achieve
this by integrating several viewpoints and seeking to deal with the problem
holistically. It provides non-designers with a technique to methodically design
their services, products, and processes while still encouraging creativity and
innovative mindset.

It is the opposite of "tame problems" which can be solved by applying a

tried-and-tested algorithm or logic. Hence, It fits well for resolving "wicked
problems," which are social or cultural issues that are challenging or
impossible to resolve due to their complexity and interconnectedness.
Complex issues such as poverty and education are examples of wicked
 problems. Design Thinking is not exclusively just for designers but also
applicable in various fields like business, engineering, science, education
literature and arts. All these fields practice and use it as well because it has
the same goal of designing work processes that help us systematically
extract, teach, learn and apply human-centered techniques to solve problems.
Specifically, it is also used in business that creates new products or services,
the government trying to solve social and economic problems and conducting
surveys trying to seek and meet consumers' needs. However, people can
also use design thinking to build and plan their own future and solve personal
problems in everyday living. Bill and Dave’s book, and their workshops can
serve as a great guide and references because it gives emphasis mainly on
achieving a better life with great jobs and careers.

B. Why Is Design Thinking so Important?

With design thinking, you can examine issues from an entirely new
viewpoint. The process of design thinking allows you to look at an existing
issue, examine it, reframe problems that will lead to better outcomes and
solutions. Undeniably, it becomes increasingly significant especially in today's
modernized society.

According to Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, he shows how design thinking

is not just for everybody—it’s about everybody, too. The process is firmly
based on how you can generate a holistic and empathic understanding of the
problems people face. Design thinking involves ambiguous, and inherently
subjective, concepts such as emotions, needs, motivations and drivers of
behavior. He sums up that design thinking provides a third way to look at
problems. It’s essentially a problem-solving approach that has crystallized in
the field of design to combine a holistic user-centered perspective with
rational and analytical research—all with the goal to create innovative
solutions.

Design thinking has many applications outside of the commercial sphere.

It is also great use in science and can work really well in using the scientific
method and approaches. It combines empirical study with logical and
analytical research, that demonstrates how people interact with products, and
the environments in which they function. Design thinking is use in
understanding those parameters since the scientific process depends on
testing a hypothesis of the problem that it is trying to address.

Design thinking is widely utilized in government since this is where we

address wicked problems and requires sympathetic interaction with those
who use public services which are the community. Policymakers and
government officials create reforms and programs to help people or their
fellowmen live better lives by providing good governance. For example, The
Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) - headed up by Nicholas
Gruen - was tasked by the South Australian government to assist families that
are going through difficult times. Using design thinking strategies, such as
Open-To-Learning Conversations, TACSI developed the Family by Family
programme by explicitly asking people experiencing difficulties: “how can a
new service enable more families to thrive and fewer to come into contact
with crisis services?” The resulting programme puts families at the centre and
offers something that professional services cannot: human connections and
relationships. Family by Family links families that are seeking to make
changes in their lives with families that have successfully overcome their own
difficulties and are prepared to share their knowledge with others.

It can be seen that more organizations and various fields are seeing the
value of applying design thinking to their production and approaches.
Thinking companies and organizations always think of the people and
consumer's needs as the top most priority. For example, iBM, MassMutual,
and Fidelity are “drawing on design thinking frameworks to jolt innovative
ideas” and “drive bottom-line business outcomes.” These organizations
always keep in mind what is desirable for the user; viable for business and to
aim technologically feasible.

The advantages of design thinking within an organization can definitely

be shown for It is a good motivator for growth and development in individuals
and in the society. It is a good way to foster collaboration with secluded
teams, allowing for the productive discussion of ideas and the development of
creative solutions. To be more precise, design thinking first educates people
how to innovate and solve problems. It inspires and pushes individuals to
apply innovative thinking, reframe the issue domain, and look for problems
that are truly worth solving. It also promotes cooperation and teamwork.
 Design thinking purposefully fosters collaboration and teamwork while
working because it ideal demands a team to come up with a great solution.
Finally, it provides a competitive edge that has been demonstrated:
Competition is a necessary element of life. Whatever the cause and the
opposition, you must perform better and take the lead in order not to be left
behind.

C. The of Five Stages of Design Thinking

In everything we do, It is always ideal to have a guide or steps in

accomplishing something. Similar to design thinking, designing must be well
planned and researched thoroughly. There are five stages or phases that can
be used to summarize the design thinking process: empathize, define, ideate,
prototype, and test. Let's take a quick look at each of these stages in light of
an actual design process.

The first stage, empathize is about knowing the consumer's needs. This is
the stage wherein you will research the consumers desires, needs and wants
to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve.
Empathy is essential to problem solving and a human-centered design
process because it enables designers to put aside their personal standpoints
and obtain a thorough understanding of users and their needs. According to
McKinsey (2020), “leading organizations are reorienting their customer-
experience efforts to meet their customers’ primary needs, such as safety,
security, and everyday convenience.” She states that through empathy,
businesses are attempting to build a foundation for long-term emotional
connections with their customers.

Next is Define. After Knowing the consumers' needs, designers must

organize all the information gathered and formulate a problem statement that
is a human-centered approach. The problem statement must start from the
view of the needs of the users rather than from personal wish or need for the
organization. This is in accordance with what William Hudson (2020)
discussed in the video, entitled "What is Human Centered Design?" He
mentioned that the word “user” in “user-centered design” can make people
sound like a component in a system, dehumanizing the design process. User-
centered design tends to focus on splitting an audience into different
segments and how they will use the product. On the other hand, human-
 centered design focuses on a user’s emotions and feelings as they interact
with a product, and this helps bring empathy to the product design process.

The third stage in Ideate. At this stage, you should start looking for
creative solutions to the problem statement you had constructed. The time
where you generate ideas, use creativity and ideate innovative solutions to
the problem statement. In this stage, creative thinking and problem solving
must combine. That is why it is also good to use The SCAMPER technique.
SCAMPER was first introduced by Bob Eberle to address targeted questions
that help solve problems or ignite creativity during brainstorming meetings.
The name SCAMPER is an acronym for seven techniques; (S) substitute, (C)
combine, (A) adapt, (M) modify, (P) put to another use, (E) eliminate and (R)
reverse. These keywords represent the necessary questions addressed
during the creative thinking meeting.

Fourth one is creating a prototype. The stage wherein you start creating
solutions. The objective of this experimental stage is to find the best potential
solution for each problem that was discovered throughout the previous three
phases. The design team will have a better understanding of the product's
hurdles and issues by the end of the prototype stage. They'll also be able to
see more clearly how actual people will act, think, and feel when using the
finished product. Then finally, the Test in which you are going to try your
solution out. Designers and evaluators rigorously test the complete product
using the best solutions identified in the Prototype stage. One of the most
satisfying stages of new product development is prototype testing because it
enables you to bring your idea to life and finally test it in the industry. It does,
however, play a crucial part in the creation of products since this is also the
stage whether you make or break.

The design thinking process is indeed essential in innovation because it

helps and inspires our designers to have a guide in creating thinking and
problem solving that lead to create user-friendly products and efficient
services. It's a process that does not have a defined linear path, instead, it's
an iterative and non-linear process that is used to solve wicked problems.

D. Applying in education
 Design Thinking could also be an approach to learning, collaboration,
creative thinking and problem solving in education. It is a framework used by
teachers and students to determine challenges, gather information and
formulate solutions. Ideally, teachers used this as a part of the broader
project-based learning educational model and a framework in making
activities and group projects for students. Design thinking could also reinforce
educators' creativity and desires to support students' progress and help them
to be deep thinkers and doers.

In the school environment, the process and principles of design thinking

can be applied to a number of different relevant domains; Inquiry Learning
Process, which helps students develop empathy for other people who may be
at the heart of an issue or topic. School Improvement that offers a fresh
approach to complex school issues. Lastly is the Learning Design that is
focused on teachers being recast as a designer of learning. Teachers utilize
the design thinking process to help structure our thinking and planning. For
instance, Empathizing is for knowing the students, Synthesizing used to
narrow the focus of the learning design, Generating ideas used for sequences
of learning are explored and developed, Prototyping used to sketch learning
in order to understand students and offer feedback and lastly is Testing
wherein new lesson sequences are implemented.

According to Eichholz (2020), design thinking should be incorporated

throughout a student's learning experience and must teach them to be
creators, not just consumers. For a long time, the education system has been
focused on disseminating information, and many believe that this creates
generations of compliant and inflexible thinkers. Once it implements well, it
can disrupt the system and empower the students to think independently.
Make it a habit to help the students to identify what kind of thinking is required
before they embark on any type of learning challenge.

In the study of Buphate and Esteban (2022), It was shown that Design
Thinking had significant effects in the participants' improvement of their
speaking and critical thinking abilities. This is also true to the opinions of the
participants garnering a high level of agreement stating that ideation
discussion activities in Design Thinking had improved their oral and speaking
 abilities as well as their critical thought towards a certain topic. Moreover, the
test scores and opinions of the participants showed positive correlations
indicating that the project intervention was effective to enhance the speaking
and critical thinking abilities of the participants.

Similarly with the study of Cleminson and Cowie (2021), it revealed that
Design Thinking has good effects for learners to speak confidently and think
flexibly. It further showed positive feedback from learners about creative
communication and engagement. However, Design Thinking should be
carefully included by teachers or instructors in their courses in any approach
ideally based on the linguistic competence of students. Another paper which
discusses Design Thinking in an EFL classroom, Ollerenshaw (2019)
explained the potential possibility of Design Thinking in language learning. In
her critical explanation of her work, Design Thinking, even in the use of
instructional language learning material, ideational and iterative elements of
Design Thinking contributed to the development of learners’ language and
thinking skills.

Also, in the study of Kohls (2019), He reiterated the importance of Design

Thinking in the tertiary level of learning, and both educators and learners
have to think of ways on how to study and apply it in any way possible.
Furthermore, in Helwan University, Egypt, Mohammed (2021), confirmed that
there are good effects of Design Thinking in a hybrid learning environment on
developing persuasive speaking for the 4th year English students. The study
also suggested that teachers should give focus on the development of
persuasive speaking skills through Design Thinking.

Base on the studies mentioned above, applying design thinking in the

classroom encourages major advancements and results in greater learning
opportunities for students. It fosters creativity and innovation for successful
learning and It enables educators to continuously bring new concepts and
pedagogies into the classroom while making the most of the available
resources.

III. REFLECTION
 Designers can make a game-changing contribution to social innovation
addressing social problems that affect groups of people or communities. As a
citizen, I can say that we should recognize all designers in all various fields
because they put a lot of effort into meeting our needs and wants and enhancing
the practicality and efficiency of daily life. From communication, technological
platforms, systems, art, and a wide range of other fields, they try to provide the
general public better services and goods. They have gone through a thorough
process from understanding customer demands up to prototyping and testing.
Design thinking helps define a path forward wherein It clarifies the convoluted
procedures and explains why everything has been evolving and becoming more
modern.

Additionally, design thinking process can also be used personally. The

procedure can also be utilized as a foundation for improving and being more
productive as an individual. For instance, when empathizing, you can keep a
journal of your own to assess your own needs and wants. Next is to plan
everything out so that life's events go according to plan. When you generate
ideas, you can then come up with potential solutions or start looking for new
routes. Finally, seek out opportunities to gain experiences that will teach you
something about life that you don't already know. See how your ideas fare by
letting them out into the world. These processes will undoubtedly aid in our
personal development and sense of purpose. Utilizing design thinking, we can
assess ourselves, pinpoint and solve any problems we have, then innovate our
own future for the betterment of ourselves.

Last but not least, as a teacher, incorporating design thinking in education,

particularly in terms of teaching and pedagogies, could also aid to bring out
educational advancements and support student performance. For example,
finding and using effective evaluation methods is a never-ending issue for
teachers, therefore, in order to solve it, most teachers have used pacing guides
to aid in adhering to curriculum frameworks; this is the ideal time to apply design
thinking. A procedure that acknowledges the importance of interacting and
having deep connections with students. Teachers like myself can motivate us to
bring out new perspectives and come up with unique ideas, which results in
development and enhancement.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Teachers must incorporate design thinking in writing lesson plans and

instructional materials in order to have a pacing guide and framework all
throughout the process. It is also good to use it for teaching 21st century
learners because they can practice skills and make them experience how to
deal with real-life problems.

2. Students should also apply design thinking to their own learning habits and
learning process to empower them to think critically and independently. It can
enhance their skills, especially creative thinking and problem solving.

3. It is important that citizens are being cooperative with some organization's

survey and asking feedback in order to give them reliable results. From this,
designers will be able to more precisely determine the needs, wants, and
feedback of the general public and of specific individuals in creating new
products and services.

4. One should apply the design thinking process to oneself as well. Be led in the
design and innovation process of life planning to have a meaningful life and a
sense of purpose. Get to know ourselves better, identify our problems,
eliminate them and find a better solution to improve ourselves.

5. Governments ought to make excellent use of design thinking as it can simplify

difficult or complicated issues, leading to the development of new programs
and the improvement of current regulations. A good governance system
necessitates that policymakers and even government servants recognize the
significance of design thinking and don't undervalue its process.

6. Small business entrepreneurs should use design thinking to manage their

operations all the way through manufacturing. In order to succeed in business
and avoid being left behind, entrepreneurs must constantly improve their
services and offer high-quality, innovative products.
 REFERENCES

Buphate, T. & Esteban, R. H. (2022). Using ideation discussion activities in Design

Thinking to develop EFL students’ speaking and critical thinking abilities.
LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network,
15(1), 682-708.

Cleminson, T. & Cowie, N. (2021). Using design thinking as an approach to creative

and communicative and communicative engagement in the English as a
Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. Journal of University Teaching &
Learning Practice, 18(4), 1-20. [Link]
article=2272&context=jutlp

Dam, R. H., & Siang, T. (2022). What is Design Thinking and Why Is It So Popular?.
Interaction Design Foundation. Retrieved on October 04, 2022, from
[Link]
thinking-and-why-is-it-so-popular

Dore, F., Ehrlich, E., Malfara, D., & Ungerman, K. (2020). Connecting with
customers in times of crisis. McKinsey. Retrieved on October 04, 2022,
from
[Link]
insights/connecting-with-customers-in-times-of-crisis

Elmansy, R. (2015). A Guide to the SCAMPER Technique for Creative Thinking.

Designorate. Retrieved on October 05, 2022, from
[Link]
creative-thinking/?amp=1

Interaction Design Foundation. (2020) User Centered Design. [video] YouTube.

[Link]

Kohls, C. (2019). Hybrid learning spaces for design thinking. Open Education
Studies, (1), 228-242.

Millar, R. (2019). Design Thinking Complex Problems. IEPD. Retrieved on October

04, 2022, from [Link]
problems/
Mohammed, M. F. (2021). The effect of Design Thinking in hybrid learning
environment on developing the required persuasive speaking skills and
academic self concept for 4th year English section students of the Faculty
of Education, Helwan University, 1127-1183.

Ollerenshaw, S. (2019). Speak English: A collaborative language learning system

using Design Thinking in second language education [Master of Design,
Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand]
[Link]