If there are wicked problems, there must also be good problems and also, perhaps, bad problems – those not quite so wicked. If there is such a thing as design thinking, there must also be other types of thinking. Is there a form of thinking that is used by designers that is different from other forms of thinking? Is it possible to design without thinking?
I propose that we abandon “design thinking” as an isolated (and branded) activity distinct from design. Design thinking can refer to thinking generally about design issues or to the way designers think when designing as opposed to other forms of thinking. Design thinking workshops should simply become design workshops or given some other name. The misuse of the phrase may never completely disappear, but I suspect the current backlash may ultimately discourage it.
Design thinking should also be distinguished from design method and design process. If design thinking is a unique form of thinking typically used by designers, it must be only one of a few different modes of thought and it must be possible to design without thinking. I will address both these possibilities in the remainder of this article.