Rethinking Design Thinking – Paul Pangaro – PICNIC ’10

In a world of increasing complexity, our problems just seem to get worse and worse. While the activity we call “design” began at the dawn of civilization, “design thinking” has recently been proposed as a means to solve these “wicked problems”—as well as all but guarantee a path to innovation for organizations of all stripes.

But what is “design thinking”? And is it the panacea proposed?

In an unblinking assessment of where design is and where it could take us, Paul Pangaro offers a critique of design thinking grounded in a cybernetic perspective. He argues that conversations are the heart and substance of all design practice, and shows how a cadence of designed conversations is an effective means for us to comprehend, and perhaps even begin to tame, our wicked problems.

Related articles

• Sylvian Cotton’s On design thinking (fredzimny.wordpress.com)
• Design Thinking: 11 Ways to Open Your Innovation Lens (innovationtools.com)
• Primer deck: Design thinking (fredzimny.wordpress.com)
• Design Thinking for Social Innovation: A Conversation with IDEO’s Sally Madsen (innovationtools.com)
• Why Design Now: The Next Generation of Design Thinkers Panel (fredzimny.wordpress.com)
• John Kembel’s intro to design thinking (fredzimny.wordpress.com)
• Designing for tomorrow needs (fredzimny.wordpress.com)

Photocredit: Xander @416cyclestyle.