Design thinking
is currently an "It" concept, the topic of countless books and blogs
and conference panels. While it can mean a lot of different things to
different people, for me, design thinking is a methodology, a tool, a
killer app, and a problem-solving protocol to be used on virtually any
problem. It can be equally effective in designing a new product or
creating a new brand, to envisioning a new approach to health care or
to reinventing city management. Mayor Daley in Chicago, where I live,
is a pretty effective design thinker. That's right, Mayor Daley.
Design thinking isn't the sole province of the insular world of design
and designers. Every year, I learn this lesson over again in the class
I teach in "Design and Design Thinking" at Northwestern University. The
mostly left-brain, linear thinking, engineering professionals in the
class never fail to blow me away with how quickly and effectively they ladder up on the idea.
Today we are facing many tough problems in business, in our
communities, and in our society as a whole. This pliable and effective
methodology is truly part of the answer. Consequently, it has migrated
into the mainstream. It can be a great boon to problem solving, but
it's not without its pitfalls.
Here are ten things to get you need to know to make design thinking work for you:
- Get Clarity about Equity
Brand equity
used to belong to the Madmen of Madison Avenue. But advertising is
broken now. It simply doesn't work like it used to, and won't ever
again. Advertisers used to tell people what they want. Now customers,
enabled by the Internet and social networks, are telling companies what
they want. The truth of the consumer experience is in the doing and that
is where the equity lies. Don't listen to anyone telling you what the
brand equity "should" be if it doesn't start with the consumer. 
Designers are the Storytellers
Authenticity in the consumer experience results in a story, not the
other way round. A story has emotion, narrative, and memories built
into it. I tell stories in every presentation, every chance I can. In a
world bloated with messages, a story is sometimes the only thing people
will remember. When I mention James Dyson, they remember how
discouraging he found it to see how vacuum cleaners work, how many
prototypes it took to get the one he was designing right, how elated he
was at figuring out the answer! Now Target can't keep Dyson cleaners on
the shelf at $400 per; his competitors struggle at $99. The product
performs; the story makes it memorable. - The Ergonomics of Understanding
Design thinking starts with empathy and perception around what people
actually need and do, as opposed to what they say they want. This, in
turn, mandates new processes for evaluation and new metrics for
measurement. It may even require the courage to make decisions that run
counter to metrics. That's the decision Herman Miller designers faced
when focus groups told them that people thought the first Aeron chair would be a failure. 
Good Design is Good Business
Rumor has it that Dutch Boy saw something in the neighborhood of a 300%
lift after re-inventing its paint can to have a twist-off lid. 300% How
many companies would be thrilled with a 7% increase in sales? - Design Thinking Starts at the Very Beginning
Design has always had a place in the product development process, but
too often it's been in the middle, used as a way to improve a product's
aesthetics, or at the end, when it's used to create attractive
packaging, or a sizzling presentation for the client. But those design
add-ons can't ensure success. Before setting off on any mission, design
thinking protocol asks us to step back for a moment and begin by
challenging the problem to be solved in the first place. Is this the
right way to frame this problem? Does the world need another one of
these gadgets? The answers to those questions potentially save a lot of
wasted effort and ensure a better result. - Designers Need to Be Orchestra Conductors
Design thinkers need to be able to mobilize cross functional teams.
That requires a skill set that includes effective leadership, the
ability to inspire, respect of other competencies, and equal measures
of charm and manic control. It's not the usual stuff you get in design
school, but it should be. - Keep Design Assassins in the Crosshairs
"We did that here once. I t didn't work." "We tried that three years
ago. Customers hated it." "That's not the way we do things here." How
many times have you been in a meeting and heard comments like those?
Or, worse, been the one making them? Keep it up and you to can become a
Designosaur. Design thinkers figure out ways to overcome resistance to
new ideas. - Use Your Head Before Your Hands
Design thinkers look past a project to the next project, to the next
step in the strategy. They look sideways to the tangents that are
affected by the result, and longer term to the investment required as a
result of solving the problem currently in front of the team. No
problem is solved in isolation--either from the past, or from the
future. - Be a Good Shepherd
Most design thinkers agree that the goal for any project should be the
best result for the smallest investment, and the biggest effect for the
least amount of effort and the least amount of resources. Efficiency,
in short, is at the core of every truly wonderful design or system. - Obsessive Compulsives Welcome Here
I remember once attending a meeting where I pointed out an obvious
deficiency in design and was told that it would take too much time and
effort to fix it, that the investment of capital and energy would not
be worth the return. While it was, perhaps, true at the time, the
incident raised concerns about the organization's culture and attitudes
that led to that moment. "Good enough" is no longer good enough.
There's now too much competition from a flattened world that's getting
better at answering true consumer and societal needs. Maniacal
attention to detail, obsessive attention to brand equity, and a
laser-like focus on superlative results are all key parts of the
formula for success in the future.
Read more of Mark Dziersk's Design Finds You blog
Welcoming Guest Blogger Mark Dziersk: "Creativity Plus Risk Gets You the Grade"
Mark Dziersk is the VP Design at Brandimage-Desgrippes & Laga, one of the world's largest design and branding firms.
At Brandimage, Dziersk has worked on projects for clients ranging from
Dove to Banana Republic to a pop-up store for Henri Bendel. Dziersk
joined Brandimage in 2007, after 13 years at the Chicago product design
firm Herbst Lazar Bell, where he and his teams won dozens of awards for
products as diverse as the Motorola NFL Coaches' Headset, to the
first-ever single use camera for Kodak. Dziersk, himself, holds over
100 patents.
Dziersk gives back to his larger professional community as well,
having served on the board of the Industrial Designers Society of
America and as president of the Society in 1998. He also acted as
executive editor of IDSA's premier publication, Innovation,
introducing new design elements and recruiting authors from outside the
design field. Mark's course, "Essentials of Industrial Design," in
Northwestern University’s Master of Product Development program,
helps left-brained types get comfy with their inner tattooed design
side.
