How Do You Apply Design Thinking to Your Career?

Design thinking is a process used to address problems in a human-centric manner, typically used by designers, innovators and other creatives. The principles of design thinking are empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test, which can also be applied to your career. This process is meant to be uncomfortable, embraces mistakes and leads to creative thinking. Like your career, design thinking isn’t a linear process, but built on iteration and curiosity.

By Mariah Flores

Have you ever thought about your career, whether long term or short, and just frozen up with nerves??

Career planning is stressful, especially when there are growing concerns about layoffs and recession. It can be hard to know where to begin, as you become overwhelmed with the question, “What should I do next?” With so many unknowns, now is the perfect time to start rethinking how you approach your career.

That’s where design thinking enters the picture.

What is Design Thinking??

Traditionally, design thinking can be thought of as “a process concerned with solving complex problems in a highly consumer-centric way.”?

This human-centered, creative problem-solving approach is used by designers, innovators, marketers and whole organizations across industries to put the people they’re creating for first. And yet, there’s no one definition, rather interpretations.?

“There are many interpretations of design thinking, but at its core it is a holistic framework that provides a structured way of approaching a problem,” says multidisciplinary designer Brittney Wong.

Career-wise, this thought process can help you overcome the fear that comes from decision making, even through uncertainty — which is why some career coaches use its principles to help people rethink career change.?

Principles of Design Thinking

There are five principles, also referred to as “phases”, of design thinking.?

IDEO notes that these phases are not entirely linear, as you may have to repeat steps or jump between them. “Moving through the phases of design thinking can take you from a blank slate to a new, innovative solution,” the design company shares.

The principles are listed below, along with brief descriptions:?

1. Empathize: Understanding users and what they need, through various methods of research
2. Define: Combine your research and define the problem that needs to be solved
3. Ideate: Develop creative solutions, remembering that no idea is a bad one
4. Prototype: Create small-scale, scrappy and/or tactile prototypes that represent the ideas you generated in the previous stage
5. Test: Go back to the user and get feedback on your prototypes?

“Important aspects of this method to me are defining the goal, setting time for research, and iteration. There are many nuances in between, including balancing tradeoffs and deciding what to prioritize in a project,” says Wong.?

No matter what phase you’re in, it’s important to remember that a key “guiding principle of this method is the human-centric element,” such as, Wong notes, focusing on the user’s goal.

When applied to your career, the user becomes you.?

Real World Applications

Several popular brands have used design thinking to take their services and products to the next level, including Airbnb, Uber Eats, American Express, Google, and Oral B. Imagine what all you can do when the design thinking process is applied to your career.

Embracing Change is Difficult

Change is necessary in every career, whether that be a career pivot or reaching new professional goals.?

But oftentimes, people are unable to take action to make that change a reality, even if they have all the ideas in the world.?

Why??

Your biases and entrenched behaviors may be stunting your ability to innovate your career, because you’re so focused on what can’t be done — rather than embracing creativity. The design thinking framework allows you to embrace creative solutions and discover new ways to elevate your professional journey.?

This process also aided Wong in her own career pivot from working on a software team to being a product designer, who states, “When I was thinking about how I wanted to progress my career, I realized it was important to me to keep working with people and helping them achieve their goals.”?

“I hadn’t learned about the design thinking method yet, but the importance of both identifying your values and prioritizing your values was a driving factor in my career pivot.”

So if any aspect of your career is feeling stagnant or discombobulated, design thinking helps you keep forward momentum.

Learning Moments

However, you should know that this process can be uncomfortable, as you move from a fixed mindset to one of growth. Mistakes and failures are bound to occur as you navigate your career path. It’s important to view these not as setbacks, but learning and growth opportunities.?

“As accepting and learning from mistakes become part of the process, we become more comfortable navigating risk and uncertainty,” Harvard Extension School writes in a piece breaking down career coach Ingrid Goldbloom Bloch's webinar, “Level Up Your Career with Design Thinking”.

Applying Design Thinking to Your Career

Bloch thoughtfully translates the design thinking principles into career-related applications. Similar to Wong, your first steps will be getting to know yourself (and your values/wants) better, through empathizing.?

1. Empathize: Look closely at your career goals and what fears you have, along with observing any negative assumptions/biases. Question those assumptions, which could be stopping you from reaching your desired career milestones.
2. Define: Redefine your problem, turning it into something actionable and specific. Maybe you’ve been complaining about your job or company. You can only take action on what you have control over, like building new skills, finding a new job or building your network.
3. Ideate: Make time for the “What ifs” and creative brainstorming, without dismissing any ideas that come to mind — even those that seem absurd or unrealistic. You can also gather input from others, especially those outside of your normal network.
4. Prototype and Test: Bloch says, “Stop doing and take action.” Unlike a designer, you’re not going to build an actual prototype, rather you’ll break your ideas into actionable goals, leading to one final goal (like changing careers).?

Rinse and repeat.

Your career path is not meant to be linear or perfect — and neither is design thinking. This process can help you radically change how you approach problem solving and develop new solutions, ideas and goals that will hopefully lead through your next stages of career development.

“Design thinking is all about iteration and staying curious,” says Wong.?

“Don’t be afraid to reach out to people in roles or industries you’re interested in. More often than not people will agree to quick phone or email conversations!”

Top Takeaways?

Design thinking is a process used to address problems in a human-centric manner, typically used by designers, innovators and other creatives.

• While mainly associated with design, design thinking can be applied to various industries and organizations.
• The five principles are empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. These steps are not linear and may need to be skipped, redone and shifted around — just like your career journey.
• Change is hard, but this process helps break down biases and discover creative solutions related to your career.
• Design thinking allows you to get to know yourself better and pushes you to address negative assumptions, find actionable solutions, test out ideas and learn from mistakes.