How is design thinking applied to COVID?
The COVID-19 pandemic has been the hardest blow to this modern society, and no one has escaped it. From governments, health services, companies, and people in general, all have had their challenges during the quarantine. However, human beings always can be resilient, and with design thinking, this is possible more now than ever.
You may be wondering, what do design thinking and COVID have in common? And if you already know what this kind of design is, then maybe are a wonder: how it can be related to the pandemic? Do not worry, because next, you will see how this methodology provides a new approach to solving problems. At Bright Design Studio, this methodology and design thinking is applied in finding solutions for our clients.
Read info on how Design Thinking is applied to business can be found here: https://www.brightdesignstudio.net/blog/importance-of-design-thinking-in-business-and-consumer-insights
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Design thinking process
Times of uncertainty are what have motivated the great creators and entrepreneurs of the planet. New opportunities emerge from each crisis, and only the wisest know how to seize them. Today, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the above is no exception and many new entrepreneurs have known how to adapt to this crisis.
Many of them have used a very efficient and innovative methodology, which is being used by professionals and companies thanks to its humanistic perspective on things. This methodology is nothing more and nothing less than design thinking.
There are many definitions for this concept, but everyone agrees that it is a user-centered, action oriented process to offer solutions to certain problems. But the most important thing it is divided into a series of stages that characterize this process, and which are the following:
1. Empathize
This is the basis of the design thinking process because this stage focuses on defining the profile of the user or consumer to whom the solution is directed. As in an investigation, you must establish objectives and decide what techniques will be used to collect user data.
For this, techniques that allow the company to approach the user in a safe environment are usually used, such as observation, in-depth interviews, or Focus Groups. All of these allow the corporate environment to generate empathy with its potential consumers.
2. Define
After obtaining all the information through data collection techniques, continue to classify and identify what has been obtained. In this way, it is possible to obtain relevant solutions that adhere to the needs and desires of the user.
The Cluster technique is commonly used, in which all the information collected is placed on post it. Then this information is grouped and classified depending on its content, and then sentences are found that synthesize the information of each category.
But not everything ends there, because this synthesis must be a self-explanatory sentence, and it must be the one that gives rise to the challenge through a question.
3. Ideation
After setting the question or challenge, it is time to move on to designing your solution. And in this case, the first stage of this process is to raise as many ideas as possible to answer the question posed. So yes, brainstorming is the best technique to use in this step.
4. Prototype
After generating the ideas, it is time to make them tangible through a prototype. This stage of the design thinking process has the purpose of being presented to the user. So they can give their feedback, or say if it satisfies their wishes or needs.
Of course, this prototype does not have to be a definitive model; it can be a concept, a model, or even a storyboard. Always something cheap and fast, that allows knowing the user's information.
5. Test
Finally, the prototype is presented to the public, and it is expected to obtain Feedback through the same techniques that have been used to create empathy with the user. Then, all the information must be incorporated into the prototype to improve the solution that is being sought.
Design thinking and quarantine
As you may have seen, design thinking is a very versatile and functional process. The best part is it does not work only in products, but to offer a wide variety of solutions to current problems, such as COVID and quarantine.
Since 2019, when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, global alerts sounded and changed the world we knew. But that did not mean we had to stay stagnant, and many not only took advantage of this situation but took it by the reins and changed the paradigms.
How they did it? Well, we can say that they empathized, defined, devised, and prototyped, and tested great solutions, unifying design thinking and quarantine.
Innovating in times of Coronavirus: Success stories
Many are the innovative ideas and ventures that have come out of design thinking and quarantine, but below we will mention some of the most relevant and inspiring ones. We started with the Hispanic Cooperavirus project, an interesting play on words between Cooperate and Coronavirus. Catchy, right? Innovate your business with us
This initiative was born from empathizing with the real needs of health personnel, which is why they designed a digital platform to mobilize medical supplies during the crisis. Therefore, it is a perfect example of empathy and ideation.
Another success story is the LU-Touch project, developed by the Lupeon Company. They looked at the problem of direct contagion thanks to making contact with certain objects. So they created a device that reduces this contact, increasing the security and confidence of the user when walking outside.
The prototype on which they were based was a key, something simple and that can be carried out practically, but so useful that it responds to a modern need. And speaking of prototypes, the maker movement stands out, who made quick models of tools for the healthcare sector with 3D printing technologies. But make no mistake; all of these creators were also focused on receiving feedback. Today, the maker movement continues to update itself to offer better contributions to the healthcare sector.
So, as you will see, there is not much distance between design thinking and COVID, when it comes to improving a problem. The ultimate goal is always to respond to people's real problems, and the quarantine has brought problems, but never without solutions.
