RECONCEPTUALIZING DESIGN THINKING AND EQUIPPING DESIGNERS FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF DIGITAL INNOVATION
Year: 2015
Editor: Christian Weber, Stephan Husung, Gaetano Cascini, Marco Cantamessa, Dorian Marjanovic, Monica Bordegoni
Author: Kleinsmann, Maaike; Snelders, Dirk
Series: ICED
Institution: TU Delft, The Netherlands
Section: Design for Life
Page(s): 557-564
ISBN: 978-1-904670-64-3
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
With the advent of a third wave of digitization designers are facing new challenges to create products and services. We believe that the far-reaching user involvement and the flexible functionalities of third-wave digital innovation is radically changing the work field of designers. The paper focuses on two main effects of third-wave digital innovation; convergence and generativity. We analyzed the consequence of these two effects on three process-oriented roles of the designer that make up an important part of Design Thinking: (1) the designer as integrator; (2) the designer as boundary creator; and (3) the designer as the user s advocate. Based on this analysis, we propose three new roles that better fit the third wave of digital innovation: (1) designers as function orchestrators; (2) designers as gatekeepers of initiatives; and (3) designers as advocates of human desire. To fulfill these new roles and to equip designers for the new wave of digital innovation, we belief that there is a need for reconceptualizing Design Thinking.
Keywords: Design Thinking, Digital Innovation, Design Theory, Service Design