What is Design Thinking and Why Should I Care About It?
When I first encountered the term "Design Thinking," I was puzzled. I thought to myself, isn't this just design done the way it should be? Before delving into my thoughts, let me define "Design Thinking" and explain why it's important.
The Process
Design Thinking is an iterative process where we seek to understand the user or potential user of a product or service. This involves challenging assumptions and defining problems to identify solutions. It's a thorough process for discovering solutions to complex problems and empathizing with the consumer. Whether it's designing a website, creating a new product or service for your business, or evaluating your current brand strategy, design thinking can be a powerful tool.
There are five phases of the design thinking process:
Empathize with the user
Define user needs and problems
Ideate: provide insights, challenge assumptions, and develop ideas
Prototype: begin creating solutions
Test solutions
I will dive a bit deeper into these five phases in the second part of this blog, but for now, I want to address why it is important to understand this process.
Design Thinking for Better Marketing
From the 1960s to the early 2000s, businesses promoted, marketed, and advertised their products by pumping millions of dollars into TV and print advertising. The more "face time" you had, the stronger your brand, which would result in selling more products. However, that does not necessarily work in today’s market. Nowadays, people look for businesses they can relate to, businesses that can help them solve problems and address their challenges. In order to relate to your customer and solve their problems, you need to empathize with them. This is where it all starts—put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Set up your customer service department so that it truly goes above and beyond in serving your customers, developing products and services that directly address their needs and solve their problems. See where I am going? Truly serve your customers, and they will faithfully support you.
You may ask, what does this have to do with marketing or branding? My response would be EVERYTHING! If you know your customers and really know their challenges and needs, you can develop your business model, products, and services around that knowledge. In this way, creating effective messaging and visuals is no longer guesswork but a true process.
