Very often, people hearing about Design Thinking assume that it requires to be a designer. Although designers are usually integrated in a Design Thinking process and designers’ tools are used, Design Thinking is in fact widely open to non-designers.

As it is often said, we are all designers, because we design solutions everyday to respond to challenges and to reach our goals.

On another side, everyone has the ability to recognize good design. That happens when we are in that famous furniture shop and we see this new very clever kitchen tool and we say : « Oh! That is smart! And it’s so simple. How on earth no one though about it before? ».

We also sometimes recognize good design without noticing it. For exemple, when a device is so easy to use that you don’t even need a user’s manual. It is more like a feeling and even though we usually do not notice it consciously, something in us is very conscious about it. And it also applies to bad design!

Design Thinking is about becoming more and more aware of these design aspects of things, whether they are objects, places, services, systems, organisations or ideas. It’s quite an easy switch and it gets quite addictive.

Creating good design is a job and creating great design is an art. Both require years of training and practice. Starting with Design Thinking doesn’t require to be a great or even a good designer. In the begening, all it takes is a shift in how we look at things and becoming design sensitive in order to grasp design opportunities.