Design Thinking Course

What is a Design Thinking Course?

Design Thinking is a way of innovating with the human experience in mind. By using empathy to define problems, collaborate with others and create ideas, complex business problems on any scale can be solved, with the best outcomes.

The concept of Design Thinking stems from the idea that thinking like a designer can transform the way organizations develop products, services, processes and strategy. A  non-linear process is used, and divided into five stages which can be undertaken in any order as part of the creative problem solving process. The stages are:

1. Empathizing: Understanding the human needs involved
2. Defining: Re-framing and defining the problem in human-centric ways
3. Ideating: Creating ideas with others in ideation sessions
4. Prototyping: Building many small prototypes quickly
5. Testing: Gathering feedback through evaluation

Flexibility and experimentation are key to these steps, so that constant reflection and new insights help to pinpoint the specific problem and find the best solution, based on how a real user would think, feel and behave.

Design Thinking Courses

Design Thinking Courses vary in length, from just a few hours to a 16 week course! There are courses for people new to Design Thinking, and ones for those who want more comprehensive and company-specific training.

In Introductory Design Thinking Courses, you will typically learn about the following processes:

• Define - find new ways to innovate by reframing the challenge
• Learn - gain empathy through observations and interviews
• Synthesis - make sense of qualitative data
• Brainstorm - leading groups to ideate effectively
• Test - making and using prototypes and experiments
• Share - how storytelling makes a difference
• Reflect - the importance of pausing to consider what we've learned

In more advanced courses, you would additionally learn about such processes as:

• Unpacking the project brief: Clarify business objectives and identify underlying assumptions
• Synthesis: Recognize patterns in research and articulating actionable insights
• Personas: Use research data and insights to create design targets
• Utilize persona goals, motivations, and behaviors to identify opportunity areas
• Scenarios: Use narrative to imagine your future solution and clearly articulate the “key moments” of the concept

Design Thinking uses valuable skills that are useful for anyone, whether you are new in your industry or a senior manager. Going on a Design Thinking course will give you a fresh perspective on how to innovate with your customer in mind, which is valuable to every company!

Formats of Training

Classroom learning

Sign up to a classroom course to enjoy an experimental, creative and interactive learning experience with a face to face instructor and collaborators! Workshops are a great way to engage with Design Thinking in an authentic and supportive working environment.  

Online learning and online webinars

Online learning and webinars are perfect if you want to fit your studies around a hectic schedule! Here at findcourses.com you can find short webinars that give an insight into Design Thinking as well as structured courses to give more of an in depth experience.  

On-site / Company specific

Design Thinking is all about collaboration, so if you want to train a group of employees, search for our on-site option to have a professional trainer visit your company.

Various

Some courses also offer a mix of live workshops with pre and post live webinars, as well as assignments to be completed before the workshops. All course lengths and prices vary so check carefully before applying.