Design Thinking Innovation

Tim Brown has raised some very good ideas and thoughts when it comes to the theory of design thinking. He proposes that design thinking happens in three distinct stages. The first stage is inspiration; where we look at the world and observe. The idea is to observe what people are doing, and then look at constraints they may be facing, and then to sit back and for lack of a better term, brain storm some ideas in which technology may be able to help.

The next step in the process is the Ideation phase, where we design and test a prototype. The best way Brown states to do this is through the users testing the prototypes and not an outside entity.  This is where the product will either continue or the next project is sought out instead.  The idea behind ideation is to concoct scenarios, build creative frameworks, and apply integrative thinking while designing and building a prototype for testing.

The last phase of the design thinking process is the Implementation process. This is where the project has gone from the prototype stage to full blown implementation on a "live" platform.  This stage also involves marketing and making the case to the business world through spreading the word about the product.  Executing the vision is another way of stating the implementation stage.

Brown concludes that design thinking can lead to improved innovation. He gives us an example in his published writing of the India eye company whose vision is to improve the whole country's eye site one patient at a time. They are using design thinking as they set out to solve a very large problem not for a city but for one of the most populous countries on the planet.