Design thinking is like a bridge that connects human experiences with the wonders of technology and the goals of business. It's all about putting people first, ensuring that innovation not only solves real problems but does so with creativity and a deep understanding of what people truly need.
This approach is for anyone looking to craft solutions that resonate on a human level, blending art, technology, and commerce in a way that speaks to our shared experiences. It's especially valuable for those of us who thrive on creativity, offering a structured yet flexible way to navigate the intricacies of problem-solving and the dreaded creative block.
So, does design thinking pair well with creative work? Like prosecco and salty-caramel popcorn! It's a way to brainstorm for creativity in the same way it was used for the innovation we all call the iPhone. I would like to share my notes with you from the live session I led on Saturday to those interested in our CWH + DreemPortfolio Challenge.
Empathy helps you write with the audience in mind, making your essay more engaging and relevant.
Define Defining your topic clearly guides the direction and focus of your essay.
Ideate Ideating ensures you explore all possible angles and arguments, enriching your content and making it unique to you.
Mock up a Minimal Viable Post or Product (MVP) Prototyping with a sketch and an outline helps organize thoughts coherently, making the writing, illustrating and workflow smoother.
Test Testing for feedback allows you to refine your post for clarity, impact, and persuasiveness. Like the tagline for 
Iterate and iterate and iterate Don't be afraid to back up for revisions. Using the test findings to upgrade your post brings about a higher level of original content.
Share Sharing is the best part! Unfortunately, this phase often is left out of the teaching Design Thinking frameworks, but not here. Here we saved the best for last.
I hope you hear my excitement. I've struggled with perfectionism and performance anxiety as some of you do. Bringing Design Thinking to my creative work, including my writing has brought a real breakthrough. I intend to share it so that I can do my bit to reduce creative suffering of other makers.
To close, Design Thinking is about keeping it real with what people need, mixing in some tech know-how to bring the post to life, and making sure it also hits the mark for a creator win. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it is an in-your-pocket strategy when you're facing those brain-twisty plots and really want to come up with something both nobody else would dreem-up that is totally consumer-friendly.
Design Thinking is your secret weapon for creating your next big hit, making sure it's all about the consumers of your content from start to finish.
CWH Squirrel mocking up the iPhone in studio lab using Design Thinking. Image created by hooman 
