“Aspects of both analytical and intuitive thinking are necessary but not sufficient for optimal business performance. The most successful businesses in the years to come will balance analytical mastery and intuitive originality in a dynamic interplay that I call Design Thinking.”
Design Thinking has now permeated design and business cultures well enough to be known by name, but what it is exactly is still fuzzy to most. Some would say design thinkers are "first-class noticers" - those who see the world with unique empathy that informs their understanding of the bigger picture. As a 'business designer' with a background in brand strategy and organizational design, I have my own thoughts about how design thinking plays into the world of business, innovation, and culture - and I'd love to address the question "oh, you're a designer, you do websites right?" But I'll save that for another post (or for a intro to this thinking see my post on being a generalist).
This post exists because I am often asked for reading suggestions or resources for learning more about design thinking, so I thought I would make a complete list here of the books, articles, blogs, and other resources that have shaped my understanding of design thinking. *Not all these resources directly cover design thinking, but if they are listed it because they exemplify design thinking in some way.
What would you add?
BOOKS
- The Design of Business, by Roger Martin
- Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
- A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
- Design: The Invention of Desire by Jessica Helfand
- Change by Design, by Tim Brown
- Creative Confidence, by Tom Kelley & David Kelley
- A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink
- Zero to One, by Peter Thiel
- Design Thinking, by Nigel Cross
- The Designful Company, by Marty Neumeier
- Wired to Care, by Dev Patnaik
- Design Transitions, by Joyce Lee, et al
- Design Thinking, by Thomas Lockwood
- The Universal Traveler, by Don Koberg
- Emotional Design, by Don Norman
- Solving Problems with Design Thinking, by Jeanne Liedtka, et al
- Soft Systems Methodology in Action, by Peter Checkland, et al
- Experience Design, by Patrick Newberry, et al
- The Little Book of Design Research Ethics by IDEO
- Experience Maps by Robert Curedale
- Wired to Create by Scott Kaufman & Carolyn Gregiore
- Design for Dasein by Thomas Wendt
ONLINE
- Human Centered Design: Context, Theory, and Practice
- Wicked Problems in Design Thinking by Richard Buchanan
- Design Thinking Overview by Tim Brown for HBR
- Forbes Innovation Column by Henry Doss
- 18036720.no Blog by Helge Tenno
- David Kelley on Design Thinking for FastCompany
- Design Management Institute
- Capitalism Needs Design Thinking on HBR
- Tim Brown's Design Thinking Blog
- 165 Ways Design is Changing Your Life
- How Design Thinking Can Help Social Entrepreneurs
- 10 Lessons for Design Driven Success on FastCoDesign
- Design Thinking Wikipedia Entry
- Beyond the Toolbox: What Ethnographic Thinking Can Offer in a Shifting Marketplace
- A Human Centered Framework for Design by Richard Buchanan
HIGHER LEARNING ...organizations teaching design thinking.
- Stanford d.School
- Experience Institute
- Konstfack University College of Art, Crafts and Design
- Domaine de Boisbuchet
TOOLS ...useful for implementing design thinking into your work
COMPANIES ...doing interesting things and applying design thinking
- IDEO (the obvious titan and propagator of design thinking)
- Breakfast NY
- Undercurrent
- Gensler
- Gravitytank
- Stone Yamashita
- Intentional Futures
- Artifact Group
- Frog Design