Design thinking vs. designer's thinking: what's the difference?

Awang Besar, Nazirul Mubin (2025) Design thinking vs. designer's thinking: what's the difference? Bulletin. Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kedah, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kedah.

Official URL: https://kedah.uitm.edu.my/research

Abstract

Different theoretical and historical underpinnings give rise to the contrast between "Design Thinking" and "Designer's Thinking." The term "Design Thinking" first appeared in the latter half of the 20th century, thanks to academic institutions like Stanford's d.school and design consultancies like IDEO. It offers a human-centred, problem-solving methodology that incorporates steps like empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test, and was influenced by Simon's (1969) The Sciences of the Artificial. Originally presented framework for creativity, as a general It places a strong focus on scalable, approachable solutions to challenging issues, regardless of the user's formal design knowledge. Designer's Thinking," on the other hand, describes the reflective and cognitive methods that skilled designers have honed via their work experience. Designer's Thinking emphasises the context-specific, iterative character of design practice, which defies formalisation, and is based on the work of academics such as Cross (1982) and Lawson (2006). Schön's (1983) concept of the Professional designers' embodied abilities and disciplinary expertise are the foundation of Designer's Thinking.

Metadata

Item Type: Monograph (Bulletin)
Creators:
Creators
Email / ID Num.
Awang Besar, Nazirul Mubin
nazirulab@uitm.edu.my
Contributors:
Contribution
Name
Email / ID Num.
Editor
Anuar, Azyyati
azyyati@uitm.edu.my
Editor
Ahmad Zawawi, Azlyn
azlyn@uitm.edu.my
Subjects: T Technology > TA Engineering. Civil engineering > Engineering design
T Technology > TS Manufactures > Production management. Operations management > Product engineering > Product design. Industrial design
Divisions: Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kedah > Sg Petani Campus
Journal or Publication Title: Buletin RMU4U
ISSN: 2805-475X
Keywords: Design thinking vs Designer's thinking, Human-centred problem-solving methodology, Cognitive methods of professional designers
Date: 2025
URI: https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/140940
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