DESIGN THINKING
What if there’s a simple, repeatable process that helps you solve any creative problem — and it starts with caring about people?
CORE CONCEPT
IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN THINKING
KEY KNOWLEDGE
1
Design thinking = a human-centred framework for creative problem-solving: Empathise → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Five steps, in order: 1) Understand the person. 2) Define their problem clearly. 3) Brainstorm lots of solutions. 4) Build a quick rough version. 5) Show it to real people and learn. These five steps are used at Google, Apple, and every top design school in the world. And you can use them for a school project this week.
2
Empathise: understand the people you’re designing for through observation, conversation, and genuine curiosity
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Before designing a better school bag, you don’t start sketching. You start asking: “What’s heavy in your bag? What falls out? What do you wish was easier to reach?” You watch students walk to class and notice whose straps slip, who holds books in their arms because the bag is too full. Understanding comes before creating.
3
Define: clearly state the need or problem based on what you’ve learned — often as a “How Might We” question
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
After talking to 10 students about school bags, you notice a pattern: the water bottle keeps falling out. Your defined problem: “How might we keep the water bottle secure and easy to grab without opening the whole bag?” That one clear sentence focuses your entire design. Without it, you’d be solving everything and nothing at the same time.
4
Ideate: generate many possible solutions without judging — quantity before quality
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Set a timer for 3 minutes. Write down every possible solution for the water bottle problem: side pouch, magnetic clip, elastic strap, built-in holder, carabiner hook, even a bag with no bottle pocket at all (carry it separately). No idea is too silly. The goal is 15 ideas in 3 minutes. Judging comes later. Right now, just flow.
5
Prototype: build quick, rough versions of the best ideas to make them real enough to test
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
You pick your best idea: an elastic strap with a quick-release clip. You don’t sew a real bag. You grab a rubber band and a binder clip, attach them to your existing bag, and slide in a bottle. Done in 2 minutes. It’s ugly. It’s rough. But it’s real enough to test. That’s a prototype — not perfect, just testable.
6
Test: show prototypes to real people, watch how they respond, and use what you learn to improve
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
You hand the bag to three classmates and say: “Grab the bottle while walking.” Two grab it easily. One says the clip is too stiff. You now know the idea works but the clip needs to be looser. Without testing, you’d never have known. With testing, version 2 is already clearer in your mind.
7
The stages overlap and cycle: you might test and then go back to empathise again with new understanding
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
During testing, a student says: “Actually, my real problem isn’t the bottle. It’s that I can’t find my ID card in the morning.” That’s new empathy insight! You might go back to step 1 and discover a BIGGER problem. Design thinking isn’t a straight line — it’s a loop. You jump forward and backward as you learn.
8
What if you used these 5 steps for your next school project, your next creative idea, or even a personal problem? The process works for everything
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
Struggling with what to give a friend for their birthday? Empathise (what do they love?), Define (what would surprise them?), Ideate (list 10 gift ideas), Prototype (sketch a handmade card), Test (ask another friend if they’d love it). Design thinking isn’t just for apps and products. It works for life.
Pro Connection
Design thinking is taught in the world’s top business schools, design schools, and engineering programs. When a company says “we’re design-led,” they often mean they use design thinking as their core approach. It’s one of the most valued frameworks in the modern creative and business world.
PROFESSIONAL TERMINOLOGY
CLICK TO REVEAL and CLICK TO COVER
A human-centred framework for creative problem-solving: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test
What is
DESIGN THINKING
An approach that keeps people's needs at the centre of every creative decision
What is
HUMAN-CENTRED DESIGN
The first step: deeply understanding the people you're designing for
What is
EMPATHISE
Clearly stating the problem or need based on empathy insights
What is
DEFINE
Generating many possible solutions through brainstorming and creative thinking
What is
IDEATE
Building quick, testable versions of ideas
What is
PROTOTYPE
Getting real feedback from real people to learn and improve
What is
TEST
THE DESIGN THINKING SPRINT
One real problem. Five steps. Three minutes per step. The same process used at the world's best companies.
what TO DO
Pick a small, real problem — something annoying at school, at home, or in your daily life that affects more than just you.
Work through all 5 design thinking stages quickly:
1) Empathise: who is affected? Write 2 specific things they feel or struggle with.
2) Define: write the problem as a 'How Might We' question.
3) Ideate: write 5 possible solutions in 3 minutes — no judging.
4) Prototype: sketch or describe your best idea in 2–3 sentences (what it is, how it works).
5) Test: show your idea to one person and write down their reaction in one sentence.
CHALLENGE
DISCOVERY
You can use these SOFTWARES for this Discovery Challenge
FREE SOFTWARE : Google Keep, Pen and Paper + Phone Camera, Sketchbook by Autodesk, Canva
PAID SOFTWARE : Figma, Notion