"Design is Intelligence made visible"

Design thinking is simply a process for solving problems by prioritizing the consumer’s needs above all else. It relies on observing, with empathy, how people interact with environment, and employ an iterative, hands-on approach to creating solutions which are innovative

Design Thinking is lateral since it considers different parameters which are not defined. Parameters can constantly change on the basis of what you discover. Unlike science thinking in which a person has to think within certain set parameters. It is a problem solving way of looking at things. This kind of thinking is also iterative in process ,meaning you go back and forth. It is done in order to look for a solution to a problem which is better than existing ones.

Steve Jobs famously said, “Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, the design company that popularized the term design thinking, says “Design thinking can be described as a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity.”

Even Einstein believed in similar ideas about art thinking : “If what is seen and experienced is portrayed in the language of logic, then it is science. If it is communicated through forms whose constructions are not accessible to the conscious mind but are recognized intuitively, then it is art”

There is smart framework given in Think With Google for Design Thinking

The 3 E’s for Design Thinking

1) Empathy

It’s great to create an innovative product or service. It’s not so great to build one that’s useless to people. That’s why your users should be your No. 1 focus. When you can empathize with them and take inspiration from their needs, feelings, and motivations, your team can create meaningful solutions to actual problems. In the mid-2000s, Google re-evaluated its hiring process, which used to take six to nine months. Part of this re-evaluation included hearing how "everyone had a bad experience of interview with Google". By empathizing with interviewees, Google’s HR team could come up with effective ideas that focused on substantially reducing Google’s time to hire and improving the overall candidate experience.

2) Expansive thinking

Expansive thinking is all about creating multiple ways to solve a problem or improve a situation. Instead of trying to think of one perfect solution, think about reframing your problem or looking at it from all conceivable angles to get several possible solutions. Try challenging your team to come up with ideas that aren’t just 10% better than the status quo but 10X better. Basically, thinking big-like, really big- can give you radical new ideas.

When a Google team began working on what would become LOON — an initiative to provide internet service to unconnected communities around the world (and now an Alphabet subsidiary)- they applied 10X thinking. This moved them from limited solutions, like installing more fibers, to a truly innovative solution: using a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space to deliver connectivity.

3) Experimentation

Once you have a list of ideas, you’ll need to start learning which ideas work and which ones don’t — fast. This is where you begin experimentation or building prototypes. In the prototyping phase, you’ll build an early-stage version of your idea and test it out on a small group to see what actually works. Then, gather data to decide if it makes the most sense to move your idea forward, kill it, or tweak it.

In 2014, the Google Primer team released a stripped-down, beta version of their educational app containing only 12 lessons that they then tested with select users. This helped the team refine both the UX and the content of the app, preparing them to launch official PRIMER app.

Today we live in an era of experiences, be it services or products, and we’ve come to have high expectations for these experiences. They are becoming more complex in nature as information and technology continues to evolve. With each evolution comes a new set of unmet needs. While design thinking is simply an approach to problem solving, it increases the probability of success and breakthrough innovation.