Audience as Stakeholders: Design Thinking vs Conventional Research

This proposal discusses how design thinking allows the designer to arrive at solutions that more strongly connect with the audience because the audience is made an integral part of the process.
<br>Design thinking encompasses personal design problem solving, decision making and critical thinking. Design thinking utilizes methodologies to discover and fulfill the final requirements and goals of a project; whether designing logo or a furniture program for a highly utilized space, it is necessary to start with design thinking. Design thinking permits the designer to become empathic with the audience for whom they are designing in order to pinpoint the problem; this includes observation and, most importantly, conversations in order to evaluate and understand the design needs. Further methodology includes researching the possible solutions to the problem as well as testing solutions with the audience in order to make successful decisions. In addition to the pragmatic results of design thinking, the continuous use of its research methodology improves important critical thinking skills central to the individual designer and the collaborations in which he or she participates.
<br>We are aware that designers can come up with good, even great solutions without the audience; however, the inclusion of the audience as a stakeholder in the outcome is a key component of design thinking. Design thinking assists the designer in creating solutions that strongly connect with the audience because they are made an integral part of the process. This poster presentation will discuss design thinking methodologies that include the audience as stakeholders.