Why your business needs Design Thinking

Whether it involves a company—wide transformation programme or just a one—off idea generation session, companies try all sorts of things to help them innovate. The problem is they often fail.

At Maido, we believe Design Thinking is the most impactful way of helping our clients to design and develop innovative products and services. That’s why we offer Design Thinking training that will help your organisation to transform the way it approaches innovation.

There is no greater trojan horse to change an organisation than design thinking

Stephen Gates, head of Citi Design, Citi Bank

Why invest in Design Thinking training?

One of the main reasons we introduce Design Thinking into companies is the positive effect it can have on their bottom line.

This fact is made clear by the design—conscious companies, like Apple, Coca Cola and Walt Disney, who have experienced 10—year returns that are 2.19 higher than the S&P 500. These aren’t the only successful companies to adopt this approach either; Google, Netflix, AirBnB, IBM, Santander and Citibank have all embraced Design Thinking over recent years.

There are three key principles within Design Thinking that enable companies to make a step change in their approach:

1. Put the customer first and focus your efforts on the customer problem that needs to be solved.

2. Use collaborative methods that built engagement within your team and leverage its various talents.

3. Unlock innovation by empowering teams to think differently and evolve brand new ideas.

What’s involved in Design Thinking

Design Thinking follows a repeatable process of understanding, defining, diverging, deciding, prototyping and validating. This can be tackled in the form of a Design Sprint, as defined by Google Ventures, or as a framework for a full length project.

One of the most important lessons we teach when helping others to increase their understanding of Design Thinking is that of ‘learning by doing’. As such, every principle, activity or tool that we introduce will be followed by a practical exercise.

We also believe it’s important to tackle a real problem or project, even if our client knows nothing about Design Thinking to begin with. Not only does this act as a vehicle for learning, it also means that participants are getting the maximum benefit from the time spent.

Design Thinking involves a shift in mindset where teams become more comfortable with ambiguity and experimentation. It also provides a toolkit for innovation, which includes exercises, tips and tricks that can be used again and again in a range of different situations.

How we train companies in Design Thinking

Our Design Thinking Training takes place over four weeks and includes a four—hour face—to—face session every week.

In the first week, we introduce Design Thinking, discussing how and when to use it, its value and the impact it can have, and the shift in mindset that is required to drive change. Then, in the second week, we explore research and understanding. We discuss personas, including how to create them, as well as interview techniques like scripting, analysis and synthesis.

In the third week, we move onto divergent thinking and ideation. This involves a range of exercises and tools, such as sketching and storyboarding, which help participants to get their ideas across. Finally, in week four, we look at testing and validating ideas. Our design team will show you how low—fidelity prototyping and user testing techniques can be used.

For design thinking to be successful there needs to be a cultural transformation

Stephen Gates, head of Citi Design, Citi Bank

By the end of the sessions, your team will not only feel more knowledgeable about Design Thinking but also empowered to revolutionise how you innovate within your company.

If you are interested in introducing Design Thinking to your team, contact us to find out more.