Design Thinking and Design Doing: Describing a Process of People-Centred Innovation

This chapter outlines the benefits of Design Thinking as a creative framework for innovation that can be applied to projects and organisations across government, business and the public sector. It includes a short history of the Design Thinking approach to set context and define the concept. However, much of the ensuing discussion and evaluation of ideas and methods is based on recent publications, papers and journal articles to give a current view of academic and practitioner activities. At the heart of the approach is a people-centred focus, and the chapter discusses the role of Inclusive Design and design ethnography in underpinning Design Thinking. It outlines five principles: Involve People, Translate Design Thinking into Design Doing, Create Value and Capture Value, Follow the Arc of Design Thinking and Navigate Complexity. It aims to give an overarching view of Design Thinking, demonstrating the value that it can bring to diverse areas of research and application. Challenges and observations for progressing the approach are also noted.