Think Bigger than Design Thinking

The title of a June 7th article in the Wall Street Journal tells us to: “Forget B-School, D-School is Hot”.

Which is quite the opposite of what the article actually conveys. The real news in the story, and it’s good news, is that companies are hungry to integrate design (the D) into their business practices (the B) – not to replace one with the other. They are looking for fresh, creative ways to solve their challenges, more participatory than the typical client of outside talent role, more integral than the services agencies traditionally provide. They are choosing to work creatively to envision and realize a new future for themselves. In short, they want to become creative business people.

This is a giant step forward. Business has not always recognized the value of design. For this alone we should be deeply grateful to IDEO, the D School at Stanford, and to Hasso Plattner. Thank you.

But the comparison of D school to B school is a tired one by now. It worked initially to illuminate the option of an alternative; but now it is time to harness the full potential of the integration of business and design  rather than continuing to fuel a competition.

“Design Thinking” seems to have become the tool of choice for “problem solving”. Great beginning, but problem solving is only one dimension of design. Just as making is another dimension of design. To continue isolating these parts of the system of design methodology is to miss the potential for the whole of what design can accomplish. It’s time to think bigger than that.

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