Design and Innovation Thinking Course

Business strategy. Plan and secure success.

COVID-19 update: arrangement of our courses

We are now delivering courses online and in-person. Please check the delivery format of each class before enrolling.

Please note that course materials (excluding prescribed texts) are shared electronically within 48 hours of course commencement. Printing is not available.

Design thinking has its origins in human centred design and agile iterations. This places it at the forefront of current design practices, whether this is with technology or any other design challenges we face in business, society and our lives more broadly.

So what is design thinking? And what makes design thinking so special? The answer is that it can be learnt and applied by all people to improve the lives of themselves and others. Design thinking facilitates better product design and better overall user experience (UX).

This course will also include how to innovate with problem solving methods. These problem-solving methods are akin to the agile iterations of design thinking, with a focus on human-centred innovation. This learning is supported by practical exercises.

Aims

This course will teach you the principles of design thinking and how they can be used to innovate and solve problems creatively, whilst meeting the needs of human-centred design and improved user experience (UX).

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• apply design thinking principles to creative problem solving
• innovate using human-centred design principles
• utilise different design thinking models for improving user experience (UX)
• develop practical applications with design thinking and innovation principles.

Content

Design thinking principles

• Models of design thinking
• Human-centred inspiration
• Use of agile iterations

Innovation

• The need for innovation for improving User Experience (UX)
• Defining, then redefining a problem
• Continuous improvement and innovation

The thought processes behind design thinking and innovation

• Deductive, inductive and iterative thinking
• Conceptual, lateral and complexity thinking
• The mindset of a design thinker

The values and steps intrinsic to design thinking and innovation

• Key design thinking values
• The detailed steps of design thinking
• Design thinking: Its origin, definition, nature and use

Practical applications

• Design thinking in the workplace
• Innovation in the workplace
• Emerging frameworks

Intended audience

This course is intended for anyone in business, government or creative industries who are seeking to innovate with design solutions to better meet the needs of customers and society, whilst enabling improved user experience.

Prerequisites

None

Delivery modes

• Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop
• Online workshop via the platform Zoom

Materials

Course materials are distributed electronically.

Recommended reading

Brenner, W. and Uebernickel, F., 2016, Design Thinking for Innovation: Research and Practice, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland.

Brown, T., & Katz, B., 2000, Change by Design, Harper Collins, New York.

Liedtka, J M and Ogilvie, T 2011, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers, Columbia University Press, New York.

Prud'homme van Reine, P., 2017, The culture of design thinking for innovation, Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 56-80.

Thomke, S.H. and Feinberg, B., 2012, Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple, President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Tschimmel, K., 2012, Design Thinking as an effective Toolkit for Innovation, in ISPIM Conference Proceedings (p. 1), The International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM).