Design Thinking is a is a step by step human-centered approach to solve problems innovatively in the designs, businesses, society, and in our personal lives.

1. What is design thinking and how to
apply it?
Everyone who cares about solving a problem, even modestly,talks about
Design Thinking. Today, what a company offers its customers is no
longer enough. It took businesses a while to shift their focus from being
business-centric to being user-centric.With design thinking, you can
reimagine your business around your customers.

2. So what is Design thinking and why there is so much
buzz around it?
With so many variations of the answers available, here is the core of it –
Design is an “Experience” andDesignThinking is about finding “Howto
create the experience.”
It is a step by stephuman-centeredapproach to solve problems
innovativelyin the designs,businesses,society,andin our personal lives.
Even though the term holds the word “Design,” DesignThinking is not at
all limitedto the designers—the innovators in science,art, music,
literature, engineering,and business,all can practice it.
Why does your organization needto include a design
thinking approach?
It encourages the organizations to focus on the people they’re creating
for, which leads to better products, services,and processes.When you
create a solutionfor a business need,the first questionshould always be
what’s the human need behind it?
To the millions of Apple-loyal customers across the world, their products
just feel right. Steve Jobs once said,“Most people make the mistake of
thinking design is what it looks like. People think that the designers are
handed this box and told, ”Make it look good!” That’s not what we think
the designis. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it
works.”

3. Design Thinking process
Design thinking had existedfor a long ime,and even before the digital
era. But it gainedpopularity with the rise of experience-driveneconomy
in the last decade.
And that’s when the large organizations saw this as a need to standardize
the approach so that it can be adopted and followed by everyone to solve
any problem.
To standardize it, Design Thinking process has these5 identifiable
stages:
1. Empathize – with your users, learn about them, and find out their
needs
2. Define – users’ needs and problems
3. Ideate – challenge all assumptions,andideate on innovative
solutions

4. 4. Prototype – work on the solution
5. Test & Evaluate – go back to your user group to test and validate
IDEO founder David Kelley says design thinking is not a linear path, “it’s
a big mass of looping back to different places in the process.” Eachphase
is iterative and works in sync with other phases.It all starts with
unpacking your idea. With this step by step process,you can find out
how to approach design to solve the problem.
You must involve the actual users/customers,different team members,
and people who have different backgrounds and expertise,so they bring
different approaches and not stickto the conventionalsolutions.By
seeing the problem from a different angle, a new set of solutions become
possible.
The outcome of each phase should be convincing enough to serve as a
guiding principle for the rest of the process and ensure that you stay
closer to the problem areas and don’t deviate.

5. Can Design Thinking methodology fail to bring the
optimal value?
Yes, if you are doing the following:
1. Not involving the customer/consumer,orkeeping them in focus,
not asking them for inputs and problems.
2. Talking to the same people in the team who bring in their distorted
views and dominate the session.
3. Not embracing and implementing the outcomes ofDesign Thinking.
Without these,it will be just a new day with the same old problem.
Redefining the existing business process is a holistic approach that can’t
be done alone by business consultants or technology experts but by
Design Thinkers. Design thinking takes practice, but keeping a
“beginner’s mind,” with the intent to remainopen and curious,to assume
nothing, and replace ambiguitywithopportunity, is the key to deliver the
best customerexperience.
Design Thinking workshop by Pepper Square
At Pepper Square, we have conducted Design Thinking workshops for
various global clients,prospects, and students across the world.
It is one kind of interactive and creative workshop where we help
organizations shape and amplify theirpurpose, launch new products,
and develop a prototype that inspire, entertain,and improve lives.
Our philosophyrevolves around an approach to designsimple,
accessible,and valuable interactions betweenthe end-users and their
ecosystem.The solutions connect with the next-genthrough ”Design
Thinking”.

6. Our approach
The Design Thinking workshop is an exercise based on a triad approach
of Awaken, Align, and Aspire sessions.Eachsessionhas an exciting
interactive content that involves the participants to come out with their
feelings, aspirations,and concerns for the brand/product/service.
The data is gathered in an unobtrusive manner so that no role and job
title comes in the way of influencing decisions,but recorded only the
deeply experiencedauthentic feeling.

7. 1. Awaken – Beingpart of thejourney
This is a stimulus-response exercise aimedat activating the collective
consciousness ofthe group. The sensory awakening sessionis designed
to gather responses through expressionand visualizationofthe
participants’ideas and aspirations ina relaxed open environment.
2. Align – One voice communication
Human beings are built on progress.Everyone wants to change, but
change is the most challenging feat. This sessionhas exercises to
understand what people think of the brand/product/service from a
Personal, Professional, Financial,Social, Inside-out,and Outside-inview.

8. 3. Aspire – How big is your dream?
You might create many things, but you will be mostlyremembered for
that one thing that made a maximum impact on people’s lives. This
sessionhelps you focus on your core because that’s what will bring you
success and fulfillment.
The session focuses on:
1. How to solve any problem and be successful.
2. How to increase efficiencyand be 10X more productive.
3. Learn what leaders do differently to stay on top.
4. How to focus on your core skills and love what you do.
5. Tap into your hidden, creative thinking capabilities.

9. These design thinking workshops have transformed hundreds
of businesses,entrepreneurs,and individuals.Pepper Square conducts
them for large corporations,CXOs, and leaders