It’s no secret that innovation is an integral part of every business. If you run a business of any kind you’ll notice that being innovative in your field gives you the upper hand, especially if you’re in a competitive industry. However, innovation is more than just creative ideas; it is also about applicable and effective ideas, and that’s where Design Thinking comes in.
Design Thinking is a process of problem-solving, designed around creative thinking with the intent of putting the customer's needs first. Whilst many people assume it’s a pure design technique, the process of methodically understanding your users, challenging assumptions, redefining problems, and creating innovative solutions, can be applied to every level of business through to our everyday lives.
Design thinking is made up of 5 key phases;
These phases have been designed to help identify problems and find alternative strategies and solutions that are not always apparent at first. A vital component to learn when you’re starting a business or scaling your current business offering.
According to the Interaction Design Foundation, the phases of design thinking are not always conducted in sequential order; they’re adaptive and can run in parallel with one another. The idea is that this approach is more than just a process, it’s a new way of thinking. Applying these human-centered techniques to solve problems creatively has for a long time been used by big corporates such as IBM, Google, and Apple.
So, how can design thinking advance your startup?
Empathize with your customer/user
Whether you’re applying this to a website design, business, or everyday life, the first stage of design thinking revolves around identifying the problem you are trying to solve and having an empathetic understanding of it.
Empathy plays a crucial role in design thinking, as it forces you to set aside any initial assumptions and try to gain real insight into your consumers’ wants and needs. Having empathy for your consumers and understanding the problems they face allows you to have a relatable and relevant approach.
Think outside the box
Incorporating the design thinking approach to business, means you’re constantly thinking from a different perspective. Whether that's finding innovative and alternative solutions, solving well-defined problems, or improving the product or service of your business.
The fact that the phases of design thinking are non-linear ensures that you’re continuously testing and learning, uncovering new ways to meet your customers’ needs, and delving even deeper into problem-solving.
For a startup, thinking outside the box can become invaluable in creating a solid and robust business model to ensure success and future growth.
Be Dynamic
Any business looks to better its product or service, and with customer preferences and experiences constantly evolving, your business needs to keep pace with these changes. Having this open-minded approach to problem-solving as a startup allows you to be dynamic and adaptive to what’s happening, enabling you to meet the demands of your consumer's needs whilst being adaptive to changes in the industry and market.
Learn more about it
In 2018, the American strategist and professor Jeanne Liedtka conducted a study named Why Design Thinking Works, which talked about the impact of Design Thinking on a sample of 50 projects including healthcare, social services, and business. This study showed that Design Thinking has the ability to unleash people’s creativity and innovation, make them more committed, and improve their overall processes in every step of their work. This shows that design thinking is a strategy that not only improves your problem-solving process, but also impacts your overall performance positively.
If you’re interested in design thinking and how it can be used to enhance your startup or your current business, you can enroll in the Design Thinking course offered by Nisreen Al-Shami.
There are also a number of available resources online, from courses to videos and podcasts, such as the following:
Hued is Saudi Arabia’s first innovation & design consultancy and offers a Design Thinking workshop that can be arranged between your team members or colleagues.
Remember creating a startup is only the beginning, but the secret to its success lies within its ability to evolve and keep pace with the changes in its industry. The goal for start-ups or any business for that matter is to understand and meet consumer needs, which is where the power of design thinking comes in. After all, without consumers, there’s no business.
