Everything that most people in the field of DT had difficulties in explaining was in front of me in form of a simple, elegant, unpretentious piece of copy, designed to appeal to the most sophisticated design purist and simultaneously enlighten to the most left brained business strategist.

Something however seemed unusual. I remember, it had to do with title “Visualization…” which seamed a little too narrow to me. I scrolled back and about lost It. The date: OCTOBER 16TH 1997.

M P Ranjan not only predicted the arrival of Design Thinking, but he also explained in detail the climate and the circumstances.

His paper provided the framework for what we now call Design Thinking and included a detailed analysis of the discipline itself. Every word, every sentence, every assertion in his paper can reside in real time, and without editing, on any influential bog or magazine on design and innovation today. Except it was written twelve years ago. Try to remember when was the first time you heard these terms in context to Design Thinking: “User Centered Design, Complex iterations,Designer generating visible and tangible scenarios” etc…etc..The entire paper is loaded with our current vocabulary on DT. But here is one paragraph that is interesting to research:

“Design Thinking is distinctly different from scientific and management thinking, in that the designer and the design team are willing to cope with a great deal of ambiguity while the boundaries of the design opportunity are gradually brought into focus.”

Is this the first reference to Design Thinking  in context to Design Thinking?

I think many of us owe Professor Ranjan an apology because, intentionally or not, in one way or another, most of us  have plagiarized his work.  There was never any doubt in my mind that M P Ranjan had to be included in the  list of  the Top Twenty of the most important thought leaders on the subject of Design Thinking.

Here is the original paper:  M P Ranjan Design Visual is at Ion 1997

MP Ranjan is teaching design at the National Institute of Design in Ahmebadad, India. He is currently spearheading the efforts to create the  “Bamboo Institute”, a new design school, anchored in the principles of Design Thinking.

Here is a link to Professor Ranjan’s papers. 

Initially, I wanted to write about a different subject, but three Twitter RT’s from our distinguished Design Thinking illuminati, Bruce Nussbaum from BusinessWeek, derailed my thought process. Instead, I decided to respond to his remarks in an open letter.

Dear Bruce,

This is regarding your eloquent comments, and triple RT’s on Twitter, about my list of the Top Twenty Design Thinkers Quote:

1. “Truly Stupid” “
   
2. “Truly Nutts”  “
   
3. “Maeda? No”
   

I will not to take it personal. Hell, you have dismissed way smarter people before me. People with serious credentials, people like; Alice Rawstohrn, critic for the NY Times, Rick Poynor, one of the most respected British design critics, and even  “Designers” in general, with the same arrogant: “They don’t get it’.

I would expect a comment like “truly stupid” from a pubescent Youtube viewer, but not from a journalist, covering a discipline whose main mantra for generating creative output includes: “defer judgment”, build on ideas of others”, “encourage new ideas”.

To be perfectly honest, somehow, I expected it. I have noticed for quite a while that unless ideas originate from members of your inner council, they are unceremoniously discarded to the DT Ghetto of your blog. I, for one, am no longer going to take a passive role in the DT community.

I give you credit for your commitment to Design Thinking and your efforts in promoting the discipline. However, in the last couple of years, I have watched how your inflammatory and insensitive remarks, instead of uniting design and design thinking, they have alienated a large, highly influential design community. But what’s worst is that, instead of presenting different views, finding new content, being constructively critical and focusing your journalistic skills on creating understanding, you used your blog more like a PR service for a handful of people and companies.

You have actually Fox-yfied Design Thinking; if we don’t speak your BrNu-DT language, we are  “stupid”, or we “ just don’t get it”.

Fortunately for BusinessWeek, and many of us, there is Helen Walters, a brilliant, well-prepared , open-minded design journalist, who keeps things “fair and balanced”.

But things, they are a-changing. There are more and more people who are ready to participate in enlightened, informative discussions on the subject. The media is listening. Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Design Observer are just a few of the credible, and established outlets, that feature stories on Design Thinking. And by the way, their bloggers make that extra effort to engage and monitor their discussions. (hint…hint)

About the Top Twenty Design Thinkers

One of the main issues that Design Thinking has been dealing with,  is the problem of UNDERSTANDING. Design Thinking is stealthy. Most people have a hard time figuring out what it is, what it does, how it works, or where it belongs.

In order for people to understand, they need to reference. If one provides a variety of sources that have a common denominator imbedded in their content, people will be able to find commonalities, identify, isolate, and cross-reference.

The challenge for me was to find a diverse group of highly influential thinkers who, without any embellishment, provide an authentic, panoramic view of the DT domain. In order to create contextual clarity I had to identify, edit, and highlight in a couple of sentences, the components that carry the Design Thinking DNA.

The list is personal, and maybe to some provocative, but it is designed to support, question, and solidify the existing parameters of DT, as well as elicit additional informational on other thinkers and projects.

If you think the list is “truly stupid”… you are of course entitled to your opinion. If you would like to put AG Laffley at the top of the list, I don’t have a problem. If you want to challenge my inclusion of Brad Pitt, it’s ok too.But before you do, take a little journalistic “deep dive” into the Ninth Ward project In New Orleans. Pitt was instrumental in the entire development; from concept, to implementation and execution. Study the project and look for DT characteristics. I call the process DT- Forensics. I make it easy on you…instead of looking for DT footprints, try to find things that don’t belong to Design Thinking…you will have a hard time finding any.

Regarding your comment “Maeda? NO”, questioning John Maeda’s inclusion in the Top Twenty DT list, I am puzzled…I don’t know what to say.

But here is what I would like to say; since you have already made a list of the top Design & DT programs, why not compile your own list of the Top Twenty Design Thinkers?  It would give everybody some serious food for thought, but more importantly the entire DT community would benefit. And ultimately that should be both our objective.

In closing, I think you are truly a nice guy. I met you long ago, and you are partially responsible for my passion for DT. I have tried numerous times to get in contact with you but you have never responded to any of my requests.

I have talked to David Kelly a few times, Roger Martin Invited me to Toronto to discuss my work, and recently I met with Fred Collopy, from Case Western. Some agreed with my ideas, some did not. Personally, I subscribe to some of their work and some I disagree with completely. 

Design Thinking’s main assets are based on an open exchange of thought and the inter-linking of seemingly “stupid ideas” in order to create, what my friend Marcel Wanders calls,  “The Unexpected Welcome”.

Regards,

Nicolae

1.  Bruce Mau. D-Thinker, theorist and doer, the father of modern Design Thinking. His work and design philosophy paved the way to liberate design from its pre-conceived borders. In his words: ”…it is not about the world of design, it is about designing our world”.

2. Steve Jobs, today’s quintessential visionary; discovered, navigated and choreographed through a labyrinth of systems and subsystems to create a holistic, authentic, unmistakable ONE. Jobs is responsible for giving design a seat at the boardroom table and influencing an entire global culture; Design Thinking and Design Doing in complete and absolute synchronicity and harmony.

3. David Kelly, founder of IDEO; coined the term Design Thinking. Kelly is responsible for the creation of Stanford’s d-school, one of the top DT institutions in the world. He has been the key figure in the development, standardization and fine tuning of the Design Thinking curricula.

4. Li Edelkoort, the Grand Dame of design education. As former chair of the Eindhoven Design Academy, she was the visionary and restless promoter of interdisciplinary studies that provided the fertile ground for the development of Design Thinking.

5. Paola Antonelli, chief Design Curator at MOMA, exposed Design’s expanded territories in the monumental exhibition “The Elastic Mind”.  She is the most important ambassador of the design domain. Her curatorial directions give credibility to design’s newly discovered assets.

6. Jonathan Ive, Apple’s Wunderkind, responsible for inducing, managing, cross-pollinating artistic, economical and technological creativity within ONE single interface; Design Thinking’s main objectives flawlessly executed.

7. Bill Mc Donnough, the architect of the future, the architect with a conscience. Mc Donnough uses the essence of Design and Design Thinking to weave, business, ecology and culture into life-changing, real and doable projects around the globe.

8. Hartmut Esslinger, founder of Frog Design, a virtuoso thinker who, for over twenty years, constantly questioned pushed, expanded the mission of the design disciplines.

9. Rene Mauborgne & Chan Kim, economic theorists, who penetrated the analytical world of business and finance with simple revolutionary theories that blurred the lines between left and right brain thinking.

10. Philippe Starck. By thinking of people as active protagonists within an environment, and considering every point of contact with the experience itself, he reinvented the hospitality business model, and paved the way to the development of human-centered, design-driven strategies.

11. Tim Brown, IDEO’s chief, the prophet and voice of DT. His efforts gave Design Thinking global exposure and business validation. His just released book, “Change by Design”, provides some of the first clear and detailed insights into the culture of Design Thinking.

12. Tyler Brule, founder of Wallpaper magazine and Monocle. His keen eye enabled him to curate creative content of the highest grade, and expose the public to a never before seen global aesthetic culture. In the process, he inevitably created an early platform that encouraged the cross-pollination between materials, products, technology, business and design…the fertile ground for the evolution of Design Thinking.

13. M P Ranjan, professor at the National Institute of Design, Ahmebadad, India, predicted the rise of Design Thinking in 1997, and produced, in my opinion, the first and most valuable paper on Design Thinking. It contains ALL of the main DNA strands of DT that are considered still viable today, including the term “Design Thinking”.

14. Chris Anderson, TED’s creativity curator extraordinaire. Chris has been instrumental in designing the ultimate “Experience for the Enlightened Mind”. TED has transformed the monolithic, self-serving conference model into a global interdisciplinary forum that houses some of the world’s greatest creative capital, including that, of most of the top twenty design thinkers.

15. Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School, a relentless ambassador of Design Thinking for business and academia. His work on “Integrative thinking” and its adoption into the DT-strategy, has been crucial in the process of creating contextual clarity between left and right brain thinking.

16. Bill Buxton, Microsoft’s Design Thinker and Doer. Not afraid to be critical of his own company in the pursuit of holistic design solutions. His insights and knowledge into interdisciplinary relationships make him one of the most eloquent speakers on the subject of design and Design Thinking.

17. John Maeda, Head of RISD, one of the greatest minds in cross-disciplinary thinking with the uncanny ability to untangle complex algorithms into simple bite-size elegant morsels of understanding.

18. James Dyson, the modern day visionary, design thinker and design doer. Dyson has been involved for decades in a restless pursuit for finding the propper  synergy and harmony between product, design, technology, human need, learning and teaching.

19. Idris Mootee, under the radar theorist, practitioner and writer. His stunning presentations blur the lines between business and design. His design literacy and strategy knowhow reflect  the ever-so important  ”mutual respect between business and design”.

20. Brad Pitt, actor, design aficionado and activist. Pitt was influential in designing and re-building an entire community in New Orleans based on the core principles of Design Thinking:  people’s needs, sustainable environments, democratic design, quality and wellness.

So, there you have it. That’s my list. There are quite a few people who are missing, even though they are constantly mentioned in the press, and others, that some may not consider Design Thinkers, are at the very top. Why not AG Laffley, the former head of P&G, for example? Well, I have not found enough evidence to consider him a D-Thinker. He is an adopter of the DT intelligence. Laffley is essential to the DT system. Without visionaries like him, new emerging professions like DT may never find a way in the market space. However, we must make clear differentiations within the components of the system itself in order to improve the structure and maintain its  credibility. 

So, go ahead, fire away!!! Whom did I miss? Who does not belong on the list?

1. Eindhoven Academy in Holland, considered by many the top design school in the world today.
2. Institute without Boundaries, George Brown University, Toronto, Canada. Led by Bruce Mau, one of the greatest design thinkers alive.
3. Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Institute, Potsdam, Germany. The parent or sister Institution of  Stanford’s d-school.
4. Zollverein, Essen, Germany. A brand new school, dedicated 100% to the Intersection of Design & Business.

I am sure it was an oversight, but I think, by now there is enough of a DT enlightened audience to encourage  BW to move towards a much more in-depth, critical, mature and diverse coverage of Design Thinking.

As more and more consultancies want to take advantage of the media attention dedicated to DT, it is likely that unless a common definition is adopted soon, the term will be polluted permanently. I, for one, belong to what I would call the “Mau-ist School of Thought,” inspired by Bruce Mau, whom I consider the father of modern Design Thinking. Even though he did not coin, nor use, the term “Design Thinking,” I believe David Kelly did, he is the person whose work liberated design from its borders and pre-conceived constrains and exposed its total power and potential without insulting the intellect by overestimating its capabilities. His book and subsequent exhibition “Massive Change” convinced the minds of key visionary leaders to embrace a new design perspective and permanently weave it into their business models.

In my opinion the design mind consists of two modules: one tangible, Design Doing, and one intangible, Design Thinking.

Design Thinking is the intuitive thought process of the design logic, whose key assets rely on critical thinking and creative solving.

Design Thinking is the intelligence, belonging mostly to the design domain, that produces tangible products, services, experiences…and now, as a new design field, methodologies, processes and strategies.

What does it mean?

When design is stripped from forming, shaping and styling, there is a process of critical thinking and creative solving at the very core of the profession. By consciously understanding and documenting this process, a new field within the design domain emerges that deals with the creativity DNA of the design mind. When properly understood and harvested, one can transfer the creative DNA from design into virtually any discipline regardless of brain direction. This process has been recognized by thought leaders as an extremely valuable tool for fostering creativity and driving innovation.

Design Doing is the physical manifestation of Design Thinking. In addition to communication, product and service, it creates the physical settings and the conditions that induce creativity. Design Doing constructs tangible models and maps scenarios and creates visualization to complex needs that deliver value for virtually every imaginable field or domain.

The symbiotic interplay between of Thinking and Doing with its huge arsenal of proprietary  tools, creates the potential for a new design domain that can be further specialized according to its pairing with other systems and sub-systems: business, social, scientific,  political systems, etc. DT is the active enzyme that facilitates, inspires, activates communication among different disciplines.

Why do we need a definition?

Without a mental model and a conceptual scheme that encompasses the essence of the discipline, it is extremely difficult to communicate and document the norms of the discipline. It makes it impossible to exhibit the cumulative knowledge in an organized way and allow new ideas to be absorbed, edited, filtered and placed in context with existing data. Without a description, rules of engagement, boundaries, a structure, there is no discipline; there are only opinions. Without these parameters, there is absolutely NO WAY to determine, attribute and allocate value, since no one knows where DT exists, where it stops or where it begins.

“You can change the definition of “everyone” and customize it for your industry or passion, but the fact is, we need to read what everyone else is reading in order to have a sense of being in sync.” (Seth Godin)