Design Thinking

Summary

“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”
— Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO

IDEO--the leader implementor of design thinking methodology--designed the OpenIDEO platform with a heavy emphasis on design thinking principals. This starts during the research phase of the solutioning process, where particular value is placed on ideas that empathize with the needs of the target population. As this research is translated into many different actable ideas, those that strike the best balance between desirability, feasibility, and viability, are further developed.

Part of Solutions

  • Affordable Agriculture Irrigation Systems
  • A Herbal Farming Alternative
  • AtmaGo: Building Resilience through a Hyperlocal Social Network
  • Community Concierge Program
  • Customizable Clay Food Storage Systems
  • Deploying a "Water ATM"
  • Farm.ink –Big Data Designed for Small Farmers
  • Fire Protection in Slums
  • Low-cost solar panel rotator via "H20 Clock"
  • Upcycling Household Waste with Flies
  • Upgrading Slums via Climate Resiliency
  • Upgrading Slums via Optimal Reblocking Strategies

  • Photos

    • Hcd

    Resources

    • [VIDEO] Introduction to OpenIDEO

      A brief introduction to the working principals of the OpenIDEO platform.

    • Human Centered Design Kit

      Human-centered design is a creative approach to problem solving and the backbone of our work at IDEO.org. It’s a process that starts with the people you’re designing for and ends with new solutions that are tailor made to suit their needs. Human-centered design is all about building a deep empathy with the people you’re designing for; generating tons of ideas; building a bunch of prototypes; sharing what you’ve made with the people you’re designing for; and eventually putting your innovative new solution out in the world. Human-centered design consists of three phases. In the Inspiration Phase you’ll learn directly from the people you’re designing for as you immerse yourself in their lives and come to deeply understand their needs. In the Ideation Phase you’ll make sense of what you learned, identify opportunities for design, and prototype possible solutions. And in the Implementation Phase you’ll bring your solution to life, and eventually, to market. And you’ll know that your solution will be a success because you’ve kept the very people you’re looking to serve at the heart of the process.