From Da Vinci to IDEO: Beyond the Buzzword of Design Thinking
Design Thinking
Ever wondered about the minds that wandered before the term "design thinking" even existed?
Before David Kelley and Tim Brown of IDEO wrapped it up in a neat package in the 1990s, design thinking wasn't the domain of designers alone. The landscape was painted with genius, scientists, inventors – those renaissance pioneers who dared to see the world differently.
Reknown Design Thinkers
Hedy Lamarr: Not just a Hollywood siren, but the mind behind frequency hopping – a precursor to today’s Wi-Fi.
Marie Van Brittan Brown: She redefined home security, making the world safer, one peephole at a time.
Marjorie Joyner: Revolutionizing hair care and beauty.
Leonardo De Vinci: A maestro who didn’t just paint the Mona Lisa but also envisioned flying machines.
Albert Einstein: E=mc^2, need I say more?
Nikola Tesla: The genius who lit our world in ways Edison couldn't.
Design Thinking Mindset
Here's the deal: all great innovators, whether in literature, art, music, science, engineering, or business, share this secret sauce. They were all, in essence, design thinkers. It’s a title that doesn't belong in the elite corridors of design studios. It’s universal.
Their journey? A dance of observing, wondering, exploring, reimagining, and evolving. They weren’t just thinkers; they were doers, shaping our world with every thought.
Design Thinking vs. Scientific Method
Drawing a line in the sand, we have the scientific method – a structured approach to acquiring knowledge, to explain. On the other side, there's design thinking – our dynamic route to knowledge, aimed squarely at problem-solving. Different roads, but both leading to innovation.
In the grand designscape of things, we’re all potential design thinkers. You just need to embrace the mindset, see the possibilities, and get to creating.
