Innovation is the main goal of many companies today. Every brand wants to be the first in doing anything that will disrupt the industry! Today we present design thinking as a path towards putting products out in the market that differ from the competition’s and stand out to your potential customers.
Design thinking is a methodology to come up with innovative product ideas in a fast way. The focus is to solve problems looking at the evolution of the product and its interaction with the user. Stanford’s Institute of Design puts forth the following steps for this groundbreaking methodology:
1-Empathize
A driving force behind design thinking is empathy, specifically with your consumer. If you put yourself in their shoes, see what they see, feel what they feel, you can anticipate and relate to their needs and their expectations when interacting with a product or service.
2-Define
Now that you have taken the first step it is important to take the ideas you had in the first and define them as a set of requirements to fulfill.
3-Ideate
This is the most creative part of the process! Use your imagination to come up with creative ways in which your product can help your potential customers.
4- Prototype
See what the product is actually like, make it a reality and anticipate how the user will interact with the product.
5-Test
This is the final step and the time to see how the product actually goes with the consumer and if there needs to be any changes to adjust to their needs.
In all, the most important takeaway of design thinking is: The consumer and their needs is what will lead you to innovation.
Want to learn how to set up a brand that stands out from the rest, enroll in our How to Create a Brand short course!