What are Design Thinking Models?

Design Thinking is a way of solving complex problems by putting people at the center of the solution. Its models are step-by-step guides that help you understand your users, define your challenge, develop ideas and prototypes, and test and implement your solutions. In this post, you’ll learn all the essentials about Design Thinking models and how they help you solve problems creatively. Are you ready to think like a designer? Let’s get started!

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is not a magic formula but might make you feel like a wizard. It’s a way of thinking and working that helps you solve complex problems in a human-centered way. It’s a process that allows you to create desirable, feasible, and viable solutions. It’s a mindset that helps you embrace uncertainty and ambiguity. Design Thinking is not exclusive to designers. It’s for anyone who wants to impact the world positively. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an educator, a social worker, or a scientist, Design Thinking can help you improve your work!

What is a Design Thinking Model?

A Design Thinking model is a framework that guides you through the different stages of Design Thinking, from understanding your users and defining your challenge to ideating and prototyping your solutions and testing and implementing them. A Design Thinking model is not a rigid set of rules or steps to follow unthinkingly. It’s a tool that helps you structure your thinking and navigate the complexity of the problem space.

Many Design Thinking models are out there, but they all share common elements: empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand their needs, feelings, and motivations. Ideation is generating diverse and creative ideas that address the challenge. Prototyping makes your ideas tangible and testable, and Testing validates your assumptions, allowing you to learn from your feedback.

What are the Most Popular Design Thinking Models?

Various experts and institutions have developed many different models of Design Thinking over the years. However, some of the most popular and widely used ones, besides the famous Google Design Sprint, are:

1. The D.school Model

The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University, also known as the d.school, created the Design Thinking model called the d.school model. It consists of five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. The d.school model emphasizes the importance of empathy, experimentation, and iteration in Design Thinking.

The Five Stages of the D.school Model

1. Empathize. This stage involves researching users’ needs, motivations, emotions, and behaviors. You can use various methods such as interviews, observations, surveys, and immersion to gain empathy for your users and understand their perspectives.
2. Define. This stage involves synthesizing your empathy findings and stating your users’ needs and problems clearly and concisely. You can use tools such as personas and point-of-view statements to define the problem you are trying to solve.
3. Ideate. This stage involves generating various possible solutions that address your users’ needs and problems. You can use brainstorming, mind mapping, sketching, and SCAMPER techniques to challenge assumptions and create ideas.
4. Prototype. This stage involves creating low-fidelity representations of your ideas that you can test with your users. If it's a physical product, you can use paper, cardboard, clay, or digital tools to build quick and cheap prototypes. 
5. Test. This stage involves getting user feedback on your prototypes and learning from their reactions. You can use interviews, observations, surveys, and experiments to test your assumptions and measure your outcomes.

2. The McKinsey Model

The McKinsey model is a Design Thinking model developed by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, and has three stages: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. The McKinsey model integrates design, business strategy, and technology in Design Thinking.

The Three Phases of the McKinsey Model

1. Inspiration. This phase involves discovering the users' and market's needs, desires, and challenges. You can use interviews, observations, surveys, and data analysis to gain insights and empathy for your users and their contexts.
2. Ideation. This phase involves generating, developing, and testing innovative solutions addressing users’ needs and challenges. You can create and refine ideas by brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and feedback techniques.
3. Implementation. This phase involves launching, scaling, and sustaining the solutions validated in the previous step. You can use tools such as business models, roadmaps, partnerships, and metrics to implement and measure the impact of your solutions.

3. The Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) Model

The Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) model is a Design Thinking model that the IxDF proposed, an online educational platform for designers. It consists of four phases: understand, explore, materialize, and evaluate. The IxDF model covers the whole design process from research to evaluation and includes a continuous improvement feedback loop.

The Four Phases of the IxDF Model

1. Understand. This phase involves gathering and analyzing information about the users, their needs, their contexts, and the problem domain. You can use interviews, observations, surveys, personas, scenarios, and user workflows to understand your users and their situations.
2. Explore. This phase involves generating and developing solutions addressing the users’ needs and the problem domain. You can use brainstorming, sketching, storyboarding, and wireframing techniques to explore different ideas and concepts.
3. Materialize. This phase involves creating and testing prototypes of your solutions with your users. You can use tools such as paper, cardboard, digital software, or hardware to materialize your ideas and make them tangible and interactive.
4. Evaluate. This phase involves measuring and assessing the effectiveness and usability of your solutions with your users. You can use usability testing, user feedback, analytics, and heuristics to evaluate your resolutions and identify strengths and weaknesses.

Conclusion

Design Thinking models are not just frameworks but ways of thinking and working that help you solve complex problems in a way that puts humans at the center. These models are useful to everyone - they help you innovate and improve your work, regardless of your field or sector. They are adaptable methods customized according to your context and needs. Moreover, Design Thinking models are also fun techniques that help you collaborate and have an impact. So don’t hesitate to give Design Thinking a try. Choose a model that works for you and start creating solutions that matter!

Written by Valentina Gómez , Copywriter at Capicua.