Outside In

The Architecture of Design Thinking

March 29, 2019

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“Architects should own design thinking.”

Really?!? And Do we?!? And Should we?!?

In recent, and not so recent conversations, I have heard architects throw around those two buzz words. Along with proclamations stating “we are the original design thinkers.” I struggle with this in part because the majority of what we do, in the most traditional sense, is implementation. (Take a look at the latest project schedule and tell me how much time is dedicated to design or more specifically design thinking.) I am also conflicted because there are architects who have been quick to point out that what I do as a strategy consultant isn’t architecture, but I would argue that the majority of my project schedule is dedicated to design thinking, putting my client first.

To wrap my head around the topic a little more I decided to take a deeper dive into the origins of Design Thinking.

While the term has taken off in recent years, one of the first times “design thinking” was printed in a book was in John E. Arnold’s book, Creative Engineering, in 1959. Arnold, a professor of mechanical engineering and business administration at Stanford University, is best known for being a pioneer who advanced inventiveness through a process that involves creative thinking and imagination. He assessed that design thinking can yield one of the four following:

novel functionality or solutions that satisfy a unique need or solutions that meet an old need in an entirely new way
higher performance levels of a solution
lower production costs
increased saleability

In his writing, Arnold recommends that product designers utilize a balance approached seeking out opportunities in all four areas of design thinking.

Where else has design thinking appeared in print?

1965

In his book, Systematic Method of Designers, Bruce Archer used it in an argument to broaden conventional design but expanded that design thinking is an approach that management could use in their decision making process.

1969

Herbert A Simon’s used design thinking as a way of thinking in the sciences with his book, The Sciences of the Artificial.

1973

Robert McKim’s book used design thinking with engineering in, Experiences in Visual Thinking.

1980

Bryan Lawson’s book, How Designers Think, addresses design thinking in architectural terms.

1982

Nigel Crosses’ article on the Designerly Ways of Knowing made design thinking more relevant in general education.

1987

Design Thinking was authored by Peter Rowe’s describing various methods and approaches used by architects and urban planners

1991

The first international series of research symposia on Design thinking was at Delf University.

It was also in the 1990s that IDEO came into being and Design Thinking was specifically adapted for business purposes by David M. Kelly.

Design Thinking took off in the 21st century primarily as a business tool integrated into books by writers like Richard Florida, Daniel Pink, Roger Martin, Tim Brown, Thomas Lockwood, and Vjay Kumar.

The decade is also marked by the launch of Stanford’s D. School in 2005 and a design thinking program in 2007 at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany. Early 2000 is also known for growing design thinking as a strategy to tackle the design of services.

Buckminster Fuller is also extensively credited to the development of design thinking. His class, Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science (CADS) in 1956 at MIT’s creative engineering lab applied scientific methods to generating designs.

The work of three women has also greatly contributed to the field of design thinking.

Liz Sanders

Liz founded, MakeTools, and is best known for her work in applied design research. Many of the tools she developed are still being used today in applications in human-centered design and design thinking.

Jane Fulton Suri

Jane co-authored IDEOs human-centered design tools, but her book, Thoughtless Acts?, makes an argument for the link between observation and design inspiration.

Deborah Szebeko

Deborah founded the design agency ThinkPublic in 2008. The agency focuses on design and innovation in the public sector and NGOs.

So do we own design thinking?!? Probably not.

Could we own a piece of it? Yes, but As a firm believer in practicing what you preach, if you want to carve out your part of the design thinking market, start with your firm and grow from there.

When is the last time you applied innovation outside of your projects, to your business?

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