Design Thinking
Design Thinking is a user-centered process for understanding problems, imagining solutions, and testing ideas.
It’s about seeing the world through the eyes of the people you’re designing for.
It helps you ask:
1. Who is this for?
2. What do they need?
3. What problem are we really solving?
4. How can we test our idea early and improve it?
This mindset encourages empathy, creativity, and experimentation.The 5 Stages of Design Thinking
Empathize
Understand the people you’re designing for.
Interview users, observe their behavior, and find out what frustrates or delights them.
Define
Identify the real problem.
Turn your research into clear problem statements — what issue are you really solving?
Ideate
Brainstorm ideas.
Think up as many creative solutions as possible, no matter how wild they seem. Focus on quantity first.
Prototype
Make a simple version of your idea.
Sketch it, build it, or mock it up in Figma. Keep it quick and low-cost.
Test
Put it in front of real people.
See what works and what doesn’t. Learn, improve, and repeat.
It’s okay to jump between stages. Design Thinking isn’t always a straight line.