Design thinking and sustainability

As creativity and the designerʼs approach to problem solving become a necessity for business management in an increasingly complex world, the already increasing role for design in business is expected to grow further.

Authored by Grant Young Principal Consultant, Zumio in Sydney, this paper briefly explores the impacts of design on business before providing a working definition and overview of the key themes of design thinking. It then outlines commonly recognised environmentally-focused sustainable design principles and considers how design thinking could be applied in support of these.

This paper argues that same design thinking tools gaining currency in the business/innovation frame can play a constructive role in enabling sustainable practice, if applied to such ends. Among other benefits, design thinking can assist businesses in adjusting to new business models, such as those provoked by a shift to Product Service Systems, among other competitive and market pressures

Design thinking and sustainability