Problem with Design and Design Thinking and its solution
By: Ahmed Ahsan Khan
Tags: Solutions, Design Problems, Design Thinking, Design, Design Process

Design is a plan or specifications for the development of an object or a process. Design is a process whose output is an artefact which could either be an object or intangible process flow. Design Thinking Methodology is a process by which design concepts are developed. Design thinking methodology has proved to be very successful over the period of time and the methodology itself is very useful. At the same time, there are a few problems that need to be addressed.

So, What is wrong with the concept of design and design thinking?

Design is a relative and subjective matter. It is not 1+1 = 2. In a design, 1+1 could be 1 or it could also be 3. It’s just a matter of perception. There is no such thing as a perfect design (with all due respect to all the great designers out there). A design could be good for some people and the same design could not be as much appealing for the others. The beauty of the design is completely relative. Each designer has certain preferences. For example, some may prefer one shade of colour over the other. Having said that, at the same time, there is always room for improvement. You may design a masterpiece and after a certain period of time (weeks, months or weeks) you may realize that it could be improved in a certain way.

Design thinking has similar problems. Design thinking is a collaborative, iterative process in which stakeholders do brainstorming. The major problem with design thinking methodology is that it is an iterative process and sometimes the number of iterations get out of control and you end up doing many iterations hence making it time-consuming process. Being a collaborative process is another problem when the number of stakeholders is increased and they do brainstorming, there are lots of ideas to manage. You can work on one idea and go to bed and when you wake up the next day, you have another amazing idea to incorporate. It gets difficult sometimes to implement all the amazing ideas which the stakeholders come across. Prioritization of ideas needs to be done which is also part of the design thinking methodology. In a successful design thinking process, the number of iterations needs to be controlled to make sure we have a final design within a timeframe of the project.

How to make design thinking effective and successful?

Design thinking is most effective when the organization, for which design thinking is done for, is willing to apply the design thinking process output. It is a matter of culture within a particular enterprise how willing they are to accept the changes. For example if the output of the design thinking process states to use a particular shade of colour for the design or to remove or change a particular step in a process, then it should be used, else what was the use of going through the whole process, spend time and money on it if the organization is not willing to change their way of working accordingly. The reason for being collaborative is that all the stakeholders give their inputs along the way to improve and polish the design and no one is left behind. In a large organization, it is more difficult to implement change compared to a smaller one because there are so many processes and people involved in it. All of these people have their role to play and they want to implement the process according to their way of working.