How to overcome misconceptions and bring design thinking and doing into your business

Design thinking and customer-centricity are buzzwords that many businesses have heard of. Yet they often struggle to understand how to put them into practice. Design is a powerful tool for problem-solving and innovation. But there are many common misconceptions about design in the corporate world that will take more time to die. When people hear the word “design,” they often think of aesthetics, brainstorming, wireframes, and branding. They may question how long it will take, how expensive it will be, and where it should fit into the process. Some people even believe that design is only for creative types or designers. And that it's only relevant for consumer-facing products and services.

However, design is a fundamental human activity and capability that everyone can take part in. Design uses creativity to collaboratively solve problems and propose new ways of solving challenges. Design is a critical enabler of innovation and growth. People's limited understanding and misconceptions can act as barriers to greater design adoption. This can be a pain point for many designers.

How to overcome the misconceptions?

To overcome these misconceptions, we need to shift our thinking. Instead of looking for design projects, we should try to find opportunities where design methodology would add value. Let's say a team is struggling with a lack of clear product vision. We can use design methodology to gather a better idea of the user and define the challenge first. Sometimes, a business will push to release a solution that might not create significant gains for the customer. When that happens, we can gather stakeholders to run a value proposition workshop. We can show the business how design tools and methods can save time and resources in the long run.

Start small

Starting small is key to getting the business on board with design. Find an opportunity that could benefit from a design approach and use that as a pilot project. This will allow the business to see the value of design firsthand without committing too many resources. Encourage collaboration and co-creation between designers and non-designers. Focus on the results and show the tangible benefits of design. You can do this through exercises, activities, methods, and tools that everyone can leverage.

We don't even need to use the word “design” if it carries negative connotations for some people. Instead, we can engage people in activities where they learn a design method or tool and contribute to the process. This way, they can have ownership and share their ideas without feeling overwhelmed or forced into something unfamiliar.

Once we've built more interest and changed people's minds about design, we can continue to educate the business about what design is and what it can do for them. We can create a community within the organization to share knowledge, best practices, and ideas. This community can help build enthusiasm and support for design. It can also help people to see its value beyond what they first thought.

In conclusion, design is a powerful tool that everyone can use to solve problems and drive innovation. By overcoming misconceptions and starting small, we can bring design thinking and doing into our businesses. We can help our teams to work more collaboratively, creatively, and effectively.