Design thinking: A useful legend

Translation。 Don Norman for http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/29798.html ">design thinking reflection. He thinks design thinking is only a useful legend. There is no more difference between design thinking and previous creative thinking, but it puts design agencies and designers in a unique and mysterious place. But it does make a difference in the way people used to think about the word design.

A great legend is rising, and the legend spreads in business, academia and government. It is both catchy and persuasive. Although it is harmless, it is wrong. What legends? Designers have some mysterious and innovative thinking processes that make them superior in innovative and earthshaking ideas. The legend is nonsense, although it has some credible links to other legends, but lacks evidence. Why do we keep thinking so confused and full of mistakes? Because it produces a very useful way of proving to people that designers can do more than make things look better. Don't let the facts stand opposite to the utility.

What is design thinking? It means to step back and look at the immediate problem with a larger view. It needs to be systematized: to understand that any problem is part of a larger problem, the solution may need to understand the entire system. It requires deep immersion in the subject, often requiring more observation and analysis. Testing and multiple adjustments are part of the process. Sometimes you need to do this in your organization: A multidisciplinary team brings expert advice on different aspects of the problem. Perhaps the most important point is to move away from the problem description and adopt a new, broader approach. Sounds special, doesn't it?

But note that we still have great ideas and creative thinking in the history of the past, before the designers show up. When we examine the process from the details, we are labeled "design thinking" as the so-called "creative people" in every field. Breakthroughs can be found in any field-science and engineering, literature and art, music and history, law and medicine-from the discovery of fresh insights, new ideas and wide publicity. There is no shortage of creative talent in the world, people have great ideas to resist traditional wisdom. These people do not need to declare that they have a special pattern of thinking, they do something spontaneous: Break the routine, breakthrough the paradigm and rethink. Makes designers creative, but their ideas are rarely unique.

is the design advisory body particularly good at this job? Do their people have more mystical creative talents than their clients? No. But they have an advantage that can help them: they are outsiders. It is difficult for customers within an organization to break the traditional pattern, which is usually considered a given and not challenged. These rules are everywhere, as if it were air and gravity: taken for granted, never needed to be considered. Outsiders bring fresh perspectives, especially if they have the will to question anything, especially if it is clearly different for others. This is true for outsiders: there are traditional and corporate policies that do not need to be applied, and it does not matter how the rules are done, and the opportunities and bonuses are not at risk.

Design thinking is a PR term, relative to good but old-fashioned creative thinking. It does not limit designers. Great artists, engineers and scientists are breaking through the border. Great designers are no longer different. Why keep the mystery of design thinking even though it is clearly wrong? because it benefits. There is still a wide range of misconceptions about the role of design. In the popular view, design is "make things look good". This is still the view of most business executives, marketing managers, programmers and engineers.

Why doesn't the design world break the legend? Because it can be a good service for the design consulting organization. They said: "Hire us, we will bring the magic of design company to you, let us work for your damned, bombastic, inefficient companies!" "Claiming that there is a powerful secret weapon has its value.

But there is a second reason, more important and legitimate, to embrace the term "design thinking". It puts the design in a special place, forcing the company to treat the design differently from what it used to be. The emphasis on "thinking" makes the design go beyond the beautiful surface: it has substance and structure. Design methods can be used to solve any problem: organizational structure, workshop building, supply chain management, business model, and customer interaction.

Design thinking is a powerful PR term that changes the way the design company is viewed. Now all the methods employed by the design company, the mysterious, non-commercial-centric, strange methods, are rendered in the mysterious atmosphere of design thinking. Well, we do things differently than you: That's why we are so powerful and unique. What's the evidence?

So, "design thinking" is immortal. It helps design change, from style and style to function and structure. It helps designers spread the word, which can add value to any health, from health care to pollution, business strategy and corporate organization. When the transition occurs, the term will be placed aside for natural death. At the same time shine the legend. To do, as if you believe in legends. But don't do it.

Translation Source: Design thinking:a useful Myth by Don Norman

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