Design Thinking and Problem Framing

Design thinking and problem framing concern how designers define the problems they tackle and apply human-centred, iterative methods to generate and test solutions.

Definition

Design thinking and problem framing is the study of how designers construct and reconstruct problem definitions and apply human-centred, iterative methods to develop solutions.

Scope

This topic covers the framing and reframing of ill-defined problems, abductive reasoning in design, the human-centred design process of empathising, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing, and the diffusion of design thinking into business, public-sector, and social innovation. It treats problem framing as a central designerly act and examines both the promise and the criticisms of popularised design thinking.

Core questions

• How does the framing of a problem shape the solutions a designer can imagine?
• What reasoning underlies the move from problem to solution in design?
• What does the human-centred design process consist of, and what are its limits?
• Why has design thinking spread beyond design, and what are the criticisms of this diffusion?

Key theories

Problems as wicked and co-defined with solutions

Buchanan argues that design problems are wicked and indeterminate, so designers do not receive fixed problems but actively frame them, with the problem and its solution developing together.

Frame creation and abduction

Dorst characterises the core of design thinking as abductive reasoning that creates new frames, proposing a working principle and value that, if adopted, would make a desired outcome achievable.

History

Building on the wicked-problems critique and reflective-practice accounts of the 1970s and 1980s, design thinking was articulated as a transferable, human-centred innovation method by consultancies such as IDEO and by Stanford's d.school in the 1990s and 2000s. Tim Brown's writing popularised it for management, prompting both wide adoption and scholarly scrutiny of its claims.

Debates

Rigour versus popularisation

Whether the diffusion of design thinking into management as a simplified, staged process retains the depth of designerly reasoning or dilutes it into a superficial toolkit that overpromises innovation.

Key figures

• Richard Buchanan
• Kees Dorst
• Tim Brown
• Horst Rittel

Seminal works

• buchanan1992
• dorst2011
• brown2009

Frequently asked questions

Why is problem framing so important in design?

Because design problems are typically ill-defined, the way a designer frames a problem determines which solutions become conceivable. Reframing a problem can open entirely new and better solution spaces, so framing is treated as a core design skill.

Is design thinking a rigorous method?

Scholars distinguish the rich, abductive reasoning studied in design research from the simplified staged version popularised for business. The underlying practices are well grounded, but critics argue that packaged design thinking can be applied superficially.