How do you create irresistible solutions that resonate with people at their core?

Approach your issue with design thinking

As an organization, you want to develop concepts that are innovative and relevant. That strike the right chord immediately. But how do you tackle that? With design thinking, MarketResponse helps organizations successfully innovate and translate deep customer insights into relevant solutions that resonate.

In the upcoming blogs we’ll tell you more about how we do that. We will also elaborate on the different projects in which we’ve applied the method. This first blog is about our definition of design thinking and approach.

Approach your problem like a designer

Design thinking is a human-centered, iterative and multidisciplinary method based on the way designers work. Designers look at a problem with an open mind, embracing empathy, creativity, collaboration and ambiguity. This mindset often produces many new ideas.

In design thinking, you first explore the context of the problem without immediately thinking about solutions. This approach helps you gain new perspectives and frames, increasing the likelihood of innovative concepts. The method is well-suited to a world where problems and challenges are increasingly complex and dynamic. Design thinking is frequently employed to solve tough societal issues and address problems that demand innovative solutions.

Putting people at the center of the journey

As with market research, putting people first is a crucial element of design thinking, also known as human-centered design. As long as you keep thinking about the people for whom you are designing, such as your customers, employees or residents, you increase your chances of developing a relevant concept.

That’s why every project starts with an in-depth study of the target audience. Who are your customers, what are their needs, what keeps them busy and what do they need? Understanding target groups fits seamlessly with our DNA in market research. We combine this knowledge with our experience in design thinking, strategy and innovation. And we take an extra creative step.

Working together to arrive at the right perspectives

We don’t do this alone. Collaboration with all stakeholders and co-creation are indispensable parts of design thinking. Complex problems are best solved together. This is where we include you as the client: your team, the MarketResponse team, the target group and possibly experts and creative thinkers from our network. This is how we create support and arrive at the right perspective. We applied this way of working, for example, in a project for a large sports association. We looked at possible solutions to allow clubs to cooperate better in HR and to retain talented employees within the organization. To do this, we explored the perspectives of employees, managers and experts.

Zooming out to arrive at new perspectives

The first step in design thinking is zooming out before we start thinking in solutions. We explore the context of the issue to arrive at new associations and themes. We look at the “problem” in different ways, listen to various perspectives and discover needs and barriers of the target audience. This starts with good research. In doing so, we work not only with qualitative and quantitative research, but with a broad spectrum of sources. Such as data analytics, data science, desk research and trend research.

By zooming out, there is room for finding new perspectives and frames. We call this frame creation. We then work further towards promising themes and development directions, and then move on to relevant and future-proof propositions.

Design thinking in practice

We apply design thinking to a variety of issues. For example, we used the DT approach to develop new concepts for a large public transport company, and worked with a trade union on services that fit a union of significance to a new generation. For a brand in the field of safety clothing, we developed a new strategy in which sustainability, a new generation of employees and product design play an important role.

In upcoming blogs, you will read more about the different types of projects in which we apply the DT method, such as strategic design, behavorial design, service design and social design.

Our Design Thinking approach

How do we approach a design thinking process? 

• Each journey has four phases: discover, define, develop and deliver.
• We zoom out before thinking in solutions.
• We work co-creatively: a diverse team, with you as the client, for the right perspective and support.
• We don’t write a report, but work toward a concept that we can test right away.
• By testing fast, we can learn more: fail fast to succeed.
• We work iteratively and take a step back when necessary to ultimately achieve the right result.

We set the bar high and go for solutions that touch not only the head, but also the heart. Irresistible concepts we call that.