The Art and Science of Design Thinking

By Sudhanshu Bhushan

Time has come when we need more synergy of disparate elements than analysis of those elements. So design thinking has arrived!

I am reminded of my early days in academics – when critical thinking came into vogue in Management Science. Critical thinking required the analysis of any subject going from general to particular. Today when I see – Integrative thinking going from particular to general – I feel fascinated to say Design thinking is the reverse of Critical thinking. The two tools – Critical Thinking and design Thinking are nothing but an Interplay of three C’s – Complexity, Confusion and Clarity. 

As an idea Design thinking is tough to pin down because design is both ubiquitous and multifaceted. Human beings are always designing something – design in farms, flower beds, coffee paper cup etc.

Only nature in its purest form has not been designed. Though it won’t be wrong to say that in the modern world even nature is subject to design – when we talk of nature in the context of environmental damage and measures to protect the environment.

Design is a conscious, self-aware activity rooted in science – the science of making things work - but also by its usage it has been elevated to an art form.

As Design Thinking is emerging, it is becoming a major tool for problem solving. From a little bit of what I have dabbled with Design thinking, I have realized that Design talks to the problem and problem talks back. Designing is a reflective conversation with the problem situation. Design is both analytic and synthetic.

Design Thinking in its real sense is experimentation, understanding and creative reframing.

I also see design as an ATTITUDE!

When I deal with problems, both personal and professional, I see an interplay of two elements – Design Attitude and Decision Attitude. What are these precisely?

Decision Attitude – is the response which is easy to come up with alternative ways of solutions to consider – which are difficult to choose from.

Design Attitude – it is a difficult response to design a good alternative – but once you have developed a good alternative – the choice and selection of alternative is trivial.

Stage 1: Conception of Design – This is the first stage where it’s important to ensure the feasibility because, for anything to exist in the real world, it needs to be in sync with the laws of nature.

Stage 2: Evaluation of Design – Next comes viability, where the production and maintenance cost of the design solution must be competitive with alternatives.

Stage 3: Indigenisation and Implementation of Design – The third and final dimension is desirability and acceptance by the users and those on whom the design is going to have the most impact.

We cannot view innovation in a purely techno-centric way. What we need today is a holistic broad spectrum multi-disciplinary perspectives as a solution to today’s problem. Solutions rooted in the realism of today and the visualisation of a dynamic future. Design thinking is the blend of the two.

Design Thinking has become so varied and ubiquitous that institution building of Design School is very contextual and indigenous to the local micro and macro culture of the place. And so we have the two concepts:

Design School –The American and European Concept

The European Concept – Every University having an integrated design school.

The American Concept – Every School/Department in the University is having its independent Design School.

India is in the process of developing its own design of Design School. India is becoming the 'Skill India' to the global community because of rich human resources. In years to come, it will become a Designing Hub in all creative disciplines of life. India is a country of storytellers. Design thinking flourishes in a rich culture of storytelling.

In Indian traditions it is said – Life is not linear, it is cyclic; the chicken came first or the egg came first?! Linear thinking is about sequences; mind maps are about connections. Design thinking is an art and science to visualize multi-dimensional human reality. This visual representation helps see the relationships between the different dimensions, it gives a more intuitive sense of the whole, and it helps to think about how best to illustrate an idea.

Design thinking is the new dimension in all aspects of personal and professional life and you need to be trained in it.

About the Author:

Dr. Sudhanshu Bhushan holds a PhD from Boston University, USA and a Certificate for Teaching Higher Education (CTHE), Oxford Brooks University, UK. He has travelled extensively around the world and has gained corporate and academic experience in USA, Europe, and Asia. A gold medalist in management education, he has authored books on Management and published many papers in diverse subjects ranging from economics, globalization, risk management, ethics, leadership, retail, and hospitality.

He is the Director of Convergence Management Advisors, Gurgaon, a business consultancy outfit. Previously he has held positions of Dean - IIMT (Oxford Brookes University, UK) and of Assoc. Dean, GD Goenka World Institute (Lancaster University, UK). He was also Founder Director, JK Padampat Singhania Institute of Management and Technology, Gurgaon. He is Ex-Vice Chancellor Shri Venkateshwar University, Gajraula (UP) India. He has also worked as Economist with Indian Cotton Mills Federation – FICCI.