Nicole Koukos

I did some research on a book called Design Thinking: Understand, Improve, Apply, and I found some interesting assertions in the chapter called The Co-evolution of Theory and Practice in Design Thinking. I discovered that there are many experts on the field of “design thinking” that do not approach the actual subject of design thinking in the same manner. There are many differing expert opinions on design thinking methods, and in the way to implement design thinking in the process of creating new innovations that benefit the users of the product or design. I will attempt to dissect some of the differing approaches, as well as highlight the commonalities between them.

In one example, when some experts on design thinking were interviewed for the book, there were widely varying opinions on whether innovative design work should be outsourced or not. For many of these experts, it was held truth that they should try to collaborate outside of their respective field in order to avoid getting “trapped” in their own methods and routines of design thinking. They argued that creative thinking should be expanded beyond the specific field, so the development of original design ideas should be done by an outside designer(s). However, there were other opinions that an integrative “in-house” approach was more beneficial, and that the designated team (comprised of representatives from different departments) could oversee the creative process from beginning to end stages. This approach is where the collaborative team from fields within the business would be responsible/oversee their respective steps in the design process like research, ideation, and implementation, etc. 

Although there are many differing opinions in the leading experts in the field of “design thinking,” there are some common themes that they mostly agree upon. One commonality that most design thinkers agree upon is the benefit of the diversity of disciplines within the design team. It is important to have many different leaders in any collaborative team in order to keep the ideas and innovation flowing. Another one of these commonalities is the idea of focusing on “user needs” as the central focus of designer innovation.

 A great design team should not just try to come up with a solution to the first obvious problem, but they should be trying to identify and improve the issue that is at the heart of the users problem. By rethinking or “reframing” the initial design challenge, they can begin to understand what the users actual needs are. Once this is identified, the team can approach the design challenge and apply the problem within their chosen design procedure. This procedure should include many different methods, both unusual and common. Finally, by keeping an open dialogue with the user, the solution will eventually come to fruition. 

Since taking part of some of the communication design classes at Texas State University, I have come to understand the vast importance of collaboration with others in the field of design. When creating a unique design solution to an issue (professional or otherwise) it is SO important and helpful to have outside influence and opinions in the refining process. Regardless of the “expert” opinions of the “right way” to be involved with/or direct the creative and design thinking process, the importance of collaboration is paramount.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

-Jack London, American Novelist 

How does a creative person arrive at a “Eureka!” moment? Are some people just more in tune with the right side, the creative side, of their brain than others? Are we supposed to wait around until inspiration strikes? According to psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, scientific director of The Imagination Institute in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, the neuroscience behind the creative process is much more complicated and is largely comprised of four basic stages which engage both the creative right side and analytical left side of the brain. The four stages of the creative thinking process are as follows: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. 

Preparation is square one of the creative thinking process, it begins by identifying a problem, a specific need, or an otherwise area where a solution is needed. In this phase, you must focus on collecting as much information and doing as much research as possible. Immerse yourself in the subject. This will serve as the foundation and planning stage by which the additional three phases are built on, so being as thorough here as possible is advisable. Ultimately, this is the phase where you are putting every observation and idea on paper, nothing is too silly to be off limits. 

Once you have a gained a thorough understanding of the subject and sufficient research has been completed, the incubation phase will begin. In this phase, the information you have gathered will spend some time in your subconscious allowing you to form more complex opinions and create new connections with the subject matter. Use this time to look over all the information gathered and begin narrowing it down while also remaining open to forming new thoughts. Allow your subconscious mind to digest and consider everything you’ve learned, this is often the stage by which creative ideas strike, often unexpectedly. The incubation period can be short or it can be long. 

Eureka! Sometime during the incubation period, when all of the information is circulating through your subconscious, you’ll finally have an light bulb moment. This phase is appropriately named the illumination stage, this critical moment generally appears very suddenly and is normally accompanied by a feeling of certainty. You will feel as if a missing puzzle has been put into place. This finally brings us to the the final stage of the creative thinking process, called verification, in which you will test and evaluate your idea to determine if it will work. If it works, you must polish and refine the idea as well as figure out how to appropriately package the idea so the message comes across to your audience. In some cases, an idea may not work out, and the creative process must begin anew. 

The creative process, just like everything else, is something that requires practice  before you can become skilled at it. There is not an exact formula behind being creative, but this process can provide a tried and true framework to generate and refine creative ideas. Use this as a general approach to creative problem solving, and over time, tweak it to better serve your specific needs. 

Works Cited

Sharp, Callum. “The 5 stages of the creative process.” The Writing Cooperative, Nov. 2019, https://writingcooperative.com/the-5-stages-of-the-creative-process-4f8037b7119f

“Creative Thinking Process” The Peak Performance Center, Nov. 2019, http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/thinking/types-of-thinking-2/creative-thinking-process/

When researching human centered design and the thought of creative origination, I came across David Kelley’s belief that creativity lies within anyone and everyone. Kelley is the founder of IDEO, a community of designers, entrepreneurs, engineers, teachers, researchers, and more. In his younger years, he went to a psychologist (Dr. Bandura) at Stanford where he discovered the thought process behind phobias and the confidence to overcome them. Bandura presented a concept to Kelley known as “self–efficacy”: “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations.“ In other words, self–efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation. Bandura described these beliefs as determinants of how people think, behave, and feel.

For wanting to work in a creative environment surrounded by people he liked, Kelley created IDEO, and made a commitment to making great things happen in the world. His passion is to “help unlock creative confidence in everyone from students to business executives.” He is a jack-of-all-trades; he received his masters in engineering as well as product design, and was awarded an honorary recognition that “distinguishes contribution to design education.”

After reading articles about Kelley and his accomplishments, his ideas about design thinking and human-centered design cannot go unnoticed. His communities of designers in multiple places around the world focus on helping their clients and partners at the individual, organizational, and societal level. They assist clients by building their creative capacity and ability to grow, adapt, and routinely innovate. Human–centered design is a large contributor to the process of innovative advancements in our modern world, and a quote from IDEO’s website that draws my attention is that “you can move forward faster if you take a look back.” Meaning, we advance in the design world by looking back at previous concepts and constantly push the idea that they can always be evolved into something better than before.

As humans, we always want more, or the next big thing—this is where the designers come into play and reflect on whether something needs to be revisited. As the technology of the modern world continues to be ever-advancing, human needs seem to accelerate. Therefore, complex problems are best solved collaboratively. “Even as our methods evolve in response to new, complex challenges, we’re always designing solutions for people first. We’re building to learn, and learning as we build, through inspiration, ideation, collaboration and implementation.” Nevertheless, we must not forget how important the past is helping us shape the intention for the future.

Kelley, David, and Tom Kelley. “Creative Confidence.” IDEO Is a Global Design and Innovation Company., Oct. 2013, www.ideo.com/post/creative-confidence.

Tillman, Ashley, and Chelsea Takamine. “Open Reflections: Looking Back on a Year of Impact.” OpenIDEO, 2017, www.openideo.com/content/open-reflections-2017.

Cherry, Kendra. “How Self Efficacy Helps You Achieve Your Goals.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 7 Oct. 2019, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-efficacy-2795954.

       From what I have read about design thinking, it is the process in which businesses take in order to solve a problem for a specific project, and then from there, they choose the best and strongest solution. Design thinking is definitely a smart strategy and a part of the creative process. In one of the articles that I read, a quote that caught my attention by Mike Joyce, said that “design thinking has the power to change the way you approach problem-solving by always referencing the ‘why.’ Why are we doing this? You learn to question you assumptions every step of the way.” I strongly agree with this statement. In my opinion, it is good that you question things because you are recognizing it as a potential issue that you would like to fix and thinking about the different affects and variables of what the outcome would be. It is also a good way to stay organized with your thoughts. For example, when I begin a new project or simply just my homework, I sometimes have to force myself to sit down and ask myself “what’s the most important thing I need to do first?” or “what’s due soon?” This helps me to destress and to efficiently work on my homework accordingly. In another article I had read, it continued to explain what design thinking was: “Design thinking is a shorthand that the business world has adopted to describe the combination of creativity and pragmatism that a design mindset brings to the development of new products and services,” followed by, “design thinking is a toolbox of resources and methods that teams can use to systematically recognize opportunities and solve problems they’ve never seen before…it is an intimate process—collaborative, empathetic, visual, iterative—where user insights and epiphanies become the DNA of new or improved experiences.” 

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