Why Design Thinking is so Relevant in our Daily Life?
With the speed of change evolving constantly due to advancing technology, design thinking is a highly useful approach to the development of products and services. Design thinking is not a trend; it is a process that any person or organisation can learn, adapt, and/or use to solve problems in a more imaginative, logical, and sensitive manner. This is why everyone should ideally apply design thinking every now and then in their daily endeavours.
- Empathy is a crucial element in design thinking.
This makes the possibility of keeping off biases because it makes one look at the problems from the other individuals’ standpoint. In all the various aspects of our lives – professional and personal – empathy assists us in getting close and build constructive connections, perfect communication, and coming up with workable solutions that meet people’s needs. For instance, when working on a team project, if you need a colleague to complete a task before you can proceed, using empathy involves understanding if they are already overwhelmed or under pressure before making the call. At home, if we try to feel what the other members are feeling then we can create positive impact on the family structure in terms of understanding.
- Creative Problem Solving: Thinking outside the box.
Design thinking encourages the innovation process. It makes us more creative and ensures that we put in extra effort to generate more than a single solution to a given challenge or issue. I think it is extremely useful for the decision-making process in our everyday life because it helps to cope with the emerging problems. Let’s suppose you are, for instance, challenged with the need to orchestrate a major community event, but with little funding to do so. Thus, using design thinking, you could come up with different venues, then look for sponsorships or think of other unique things that would enable people to attend your event with no steep costs. Not only does this solve the problem, but it also creates new opportunities towards its solution.
- Iterative Process: In learning, one must acknowledge his/her mistakes.
Another of the Level 1 concepts of design thinking that was established in this project is that of iteration. It points to the fact that the first solution might not be optimal and invites testing of the reception of the idea and improve it as often as possible. It is important because many types of learning, development and training follow iterative paradigms.
In our day-to-day life, this implies that it is acceptable for one to be wrong several times. From following a new recipe to learning a new skill or perhaps tackling a project at the workplace, design thinking brings out the notion that every failure that we make, brings us a step closer to success. Accepting this cyclical solution, it is possible to increase the efficiency gradually and achieve a higher result.
- Collaboration: Leveraging Diverse Perspectives
Design thinking even at its core is a very collaborative process, which empowers teams across the organisation. It combines the ideas of various teams which allows people with different perspectives on the issue to come up with the solutions. In our day-to-day functioning, working with our colleagues can generate better solutions to issues or goals that are at hand. For instance, designing a holiday trip with friends can extend the use of collaborative design thinking. This is because different people have different tastes and encounters while on the trip and everyone must have his favourite activities done thus an itinerary that suits all is the best.
- User-Centric Approach:
The continuation of this section is dedicated to the end-user who plays a central role in the usage and the management of the application. Those that are taken from the viewpoint of the end user makes sure solutions are implemented in a real sense to meet the need of the actual user. In everyday situations, this entails choosing what is reasonable and advantageous to those involved or affected by a certain activity. In the process of redesigning a common area, applying a design thinking methodology, the results will be satisfactory to all the inhabitants, which means that the area will be comfortable enough and the inhabitants’ needs will be fulfilled.
Conclusion
Despite originating from the concepts of business and technology, design thinking is a flexible concept that can improve many aspects of human existence. Through the practices of empathy, creativity, iterative learning, collaboration, and focusing on the users, design thinking prepares us for a constantly changing environment. Through integrating design thinking, one acquires improved solutions, enhanced bonds, and a better life in any facet.
Therefore, every time you are faced with a challenge, big or small, try to solve it using design thinking. This may be surprising for you they can find such an interesting and proper way to solve the problem.
Authored By
Dr. Swati Gupta
Assistant Professor
Department of CSE
The NorthCap University