Five Industries Revolutionised by Design Thinking

Design thinking is the discipline that approaches innovation and creativity from a human perspective. It focuses on the development of products and services in a manner that best serves public needs and interests. Designers will research, observe and study a group and then suggest developments to products and services catered to the experiences of that group. The best Design Thinkers are observant, creative and empathetic. 

Design Thinking is a highly profitable field - the average salary of a Design Thinking professional in the US is $121,138, meaning they make more than $60 per hour. Design Thinking has been credited with the successes of major organizations like Amazon, Netflix, Airbnb and UberEats. But it doesn’t end here - here is a list of the industries that have tremendously benefited from the fresh insights of Design Thinking:

1. Finance:

American Express’ Pay It Plan It

American Express found that customers wanted transparency from their banks and they experienced a lot of anxiety regarding large payments. Customers were also wary of credit cards and preferred to use debit cards. American Express, as a result, collaborated with design facility IDEO to conceptualize Pay It Plan It.

This is an application that can be downloaded that allows customers to pay for small purchases on their phones and gain rewards (Pay it). Customers can also split large purchases into several smaller ones and also pay a small monthly fee depending on their APR to replace the interest payments (Plan It). Overall, Pay It Plan It saved AmEx customers money. 

To learn more about the integration of Design Thinking in Finance Services, you can access our course on Basics of Design Thinking in Finance Services. 

2. Healthcare: 

The PillPack

The  Creators of PillPack understood that patients with chronic illnesses faced difficulty in the purchasing, organisation and timely consumption of different medications. This prompted them to create PillPack, a medicine subscription service. 

Users of this service can opt for their physicians to send the prescriptions directly to PillPack’s pharmacies. Over there, the medications are packed into small packets with labels indicating the medicine name, dosage, the day/date/time of consumption and even if they should be consumed before or after a certain meal. These small packets are inserted into a dispenser for easy and accurate dispensing and delivered to the patients. This service was so successful that Amazon acquired PillPack through an auction for $1 Billion in 2018. 

Curious about the role of Design Thinking in Healthcare?  Check out our course on Basics of Design Thinking in Healthcare. 

3. Tech:

Google’s Project Bloks

Project Bloks was introduced by Google to introduce young children to the world of coding by integrating it into their playtime. Design facility IDEO used play-doh, blocks, foam core, 3d printed models and other materials to build blocks with coding commands on them. Children could then build their own ‘codes’ by arranging the blocks in a certain order. Although adults learn coding from top to bottom, designers understood that children would be confused by it. They opted for a left-right approach along with top-bottom. 

The final Project Bloks coding kit comprised of a Puck, Baseboard and Brainboard. The Puck acts like the children’s method of controlling the code, like an on/off switch or direction. The Puck activates the Baseboard, while the power and network are given by the Brainboard. The Brainboard, in turn, relates the instructions from the baseboard(s) to the final object like a speaker.

To learn more about the integration of Design Thinking in the Tech industry, join our Basics of Design Thinking and Tech Industry.

4. FMCG: 

Proctor & Gamble’s Oil of Olay

Proctor & Gamble had a problem on their hands -  their brand Oil of Olay was slowly becoming obsolete and only used by older women. The competition in the skin care industry grew fierce and the Oil of Olay was struggling to survive. The P&G team got to work observing their target demographic - women aged fifty and over. They found that these women were not dedicated to the brand and were price-conscious. In other words, they would not invest in the Oil of Olay if prices were to rise. 

P&G researchers decided to observe other age groups of women. They decided upon women in their mid-thirties as the ideal target audience for their products. They observed that these women were concerned about the newly appearing lines and wrinkles on their faces. They would also apply skincare products several times a day. They invested in cleansing products, toning, moisturising creams, facials and treatments - in other words, they were dedicated customers. Women in their mid-thirties were also employed with higher salaries than women of previous generations - they had disposable income and identity to project as professional women. P&G rebranded Olay from being a skincare line for older women to being a skincare line dedicated to helping mid-age women maintain their youthful, healthy skin.

Eager to know more role of Design Thinking in FMCG? Check out this Basics of Design Thinking in FMCG.

5. Non-Profit:

Embrace Incubators 

The Embrace team noticed that babies in South Asian countries had a high mortality rate, particularly among the deprived classes. They narrowed down the cause to the lack of incubators for newborns in these countries. Incubators are expensive, difficult to handle/repair and in shortage to the growing number of children being born in these countries every day. The team observed newborns in Kathmandu, Nepal and observed how premature babies rarely made it to the hospital. It seemed futile to direct their creation to hospitals and they decided access should be prioritised.

The Embrace team developed the Embrace Incubator, which resembled a sleeping bag -  the Phase-Change material kept the baby’s body temperature at the ideal figure for 4 hours. They could be dipped in hot water for a few minutes to be used again. The Embrace Incubator was light, easy to use and only needed water to clean. This makes it accessible and practical for underdeveloped areas. The team was selected for the ‘Innovative Technology for Public Health’ by WHO and won INDEX people’s choice awards, the biggest global design competition.  

Want to learn more about the role of Design Thinking in the Non-Profit Sector? Here is our Basics course on Design Thinking in Non-Proft Sector.