EIA 2015 Leading With Design Thinking

Natalie W. Nixon discusses design thinking and its principles. Design thinking is a problem solving process that transfers the methods designers use to solve problems to other fields. It involves understanding users, brainstorming solutions, prototyping ideas, and testing them. Nixon outlines 7 principles of design thinking: 1) start with understanding people and their needs; 2) view problems from the perspective of users; 3) allow for failure in prototyping ideas; 4) use stories as a strategic tool; 5) focus on properly framing problems; 6) innovative ideas often come from outside mainstream thinking; and 7) prototyping and experimentation are key to innovation.