a starter kit of design thinking books if you want to dive into creative problem solving.
Design thinking is one of the critical skills for people working in almost any industry right now. In fact, as mentioned here, Microsoft recently identified some of the most in-demand skills for the future, and they included digital skills, analytical skills, continuous learning capabilities, and design thinking.
While there are programs where you can learn to think about design, like stanford’s d.school or the newly formed school of design and creative technologies at the university of texas, you certainly don’t have to go back to school if it’s something you want to explore.The basics of design thinking are easily grasped, and you can start honing the skills by applying them to your next project.
You are reading: Best books on design thinking
If you’re interested in delving into design thinking to discover what it means, the methods, and how it applies to business or organizational challenges, here are five books we recommend adding to your library.
here is a roundup of the top five design thinking books that we recommend for learning some of the essential concepts.
If you want to know how Design Thinking applies to business…
#1. Business Design: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage, by Roger L. martin
Written by Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a professor of strategic management, The Design of Business talks about why companies need design thinking to “innovate and win.”
The year this book came out, the mit sloan management review called it: “…an elegant and uncompromising survey of why design thinking shouldn’t be considered soft that it’s good for business on the edges, but not necessarily in the center.”
Although it is about ten years old, the concepts in this book are still fresh. As design thinking continues to evolve and many large companies and corporations are still embracing it, this remains a relevant classic.
if you want to know how design thinking can affect companies…
#2. change by design: how design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation, by tim brown
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change by design was written by tim brown, CEO and president of ideo, the design consultancy that has been one of the leaders in design thinking and human-centered design. (Interestingly enough, Brown just announced that he would step down after 19 years and Sandy Speicher would.)
as ideo describes it, this book is not written for designers, but for leaders: “change by design… is a book for creative leaders seeking to instill design thinking at all levels of an organization, product or service to promote new alternatives for business and society.”
The book was recently updated and includes additional material, including new case studies and a new introduction.
if you want to jump headfirst into design thinking…
#3. sprint: how to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days by jake knapp with john zeratsky and braden kowitz
full disclosure, we are huge fans of jake knapp, one of the authors of sprint. he was one of the reasons we now do corporate design sprints. so we’re a bit biased when we say you need this book. especially if you want to get acquainted with design thinking concepts in a fast but deep way. the book outlines a concrete five-day process you can go through to figure out and test a new idea.
Using this book and the methods it describes, you can learn the fundamentals of design thinking — knowledge gathering, user research, prototyping — in five short days and gain hands-on experience.
extra tip: check out jake and john’s most recent book. make time: how to focus on what matters every day.
if you want to apply design thinking to social innovation…
#4. the field guide to human-centered design, by ideo.org
This book comes from IDEO.org, the non-profit arm of the global design consultancy. They describe their mission as: “…to design products, services, and experiences to improve the lives of people in poor and vulnerable communities.”
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the field guide enables you to learn design thinking methods and how they can be applied specifically to projects and work in the social sector. which is especially great about this book is that it is a hands-on tutorial that guides you through the design thinking process step by step.
also outlines 57 design thinking methods and activities that can be used by anyone, no matter what their challenge, industry, or focus.
if you want a lot of creative design thinking activities…
#5. creative workshop: 80 challenges to improve your design skills, by david sherwin
While not billed as a “design thinking” book, Creative Workshop is chock-full of exercises and activities rooted in design thinking methods. Like a few on this list, we like the practical nature of this book and that it provides 80 different ways to spark creativity and solve problems.
The book includes brainstorming, thoughts and suggestions from top designers. keep it on your desk at work for the next time you get stuck and need inspiration.
one of the books written internally on the voltage control shelf is beyond prototype, by our founder douglas ferguson. Drawing on his experiences running design sprints for top companies, he wrote the book to offer practical advice for people moving from discovery to realization.
Looking for a partner in Design Thinking?
We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of design thinking books. voltage control offers a variety of options for innovation training, design sprints, and design thinking facilitation. Contact us at hello@voltagecontrol.com if you’d like to talk!
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