Design Thinking

How do we unlock the transformational power of design thinking? To do this, we must understand that this power lies not in what it encourages us to do, but in who it encourages us to become. We become design thinkers by experiencing design. In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, we will guide you through six key phases of the design journey - Immersion, Sensemaking, Alignment, Emergence, Imagining, and Learning in Action. For each of these phases, you will explore how design thinking done well impacts innovators by inviting them to bring their authentic selves into the innovation conversation. You will examine key behaviors that bridge the gap from beginner to competency, and deepen the skills that will allow you to achieve design thinking's transformational promise. You will also hear from industry leaders from all over the world who will share valuable lessons and personal stories about how experiencing design has shaped their exciting careers.

Welcome, designers! In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, you will carry on the design thinking process begun in our Insights to Inspiration course, beginning with the eighth step in our 14-Step process, bringing the ideas you developed in our Insights to Inspiration course to action. We start this course by asking, “What if?” We’ll use brainstorming in a new and creative way to generate solutions to your challenge, and then learn to take those raw ideas and synthesize them into important concepts. By asking, “What wows?” and “What works?” you will learn to move from ideation to experimentation. Throughout this journey, you will gather critical skills that will enable you to turn your ideas into action that can have a profound impact on you and your organization.

Welcome Designers! In this course, you will learn to use the most important tools from the field of human-centered design to generate ideas: stakeholder mapping, journey mapping, personas, value-chain analysis, the job-to-be-done, ethnographic interviews, and more. Learn to connect with your customers on a human level, to get beyond what they say and observe what they do. Developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, the courses sees a team of design experts join Jeanne Liedtka to explore some of these critical tools that will spark your creativity and help you discover more about your potential clients.