The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods

by Michael Lewrick, Patrick Link, Larry Leifer

How to use the Design Thinking Tools A practical guide to make innovation happen The Design Thinking Toolbox explains the most important tools and methods to put Design Thinking into action. Based on the largest international survey on the use of design thinking, the most popular methods are described in four pages each by an expert from the global Design Thinking community. If you are involved in innovation, leadership, or design, these are tools you need. Simple instructions, expert tips, templates, and images help you implement each tool or method. The Design Thinking Toolbox help innovators master the early stages of the innovation process. It’s the perfect complement to the international bestseller The Design Thinking Playbook .

Genres: Design, Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Entrepreneurship, Ebooks, Professional Development

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[Natasha Milsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really impressed with the first book, but the second is even better. Easy to follow with great ideas for facilitating meaningful discussions. I cant wait to get out lockdown and put some of this in to practice

[Tyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeay! i’m finally done with this book. in summary, i fall in love with the way the authors crafted the contents. it beyonds my expectation. it makes me realise that i haven’t learned much about design thinking in my career as product designer. the tools here are so helpful. i’m happy i found this book in the crisis period (i’m questioning what’s next or what’s next big thing i want to learn and pursue). instead of exploring something new, this book helps me to evaluate my design process. it feels like i have another mentor who was coaching me how to use design thinking framework properly. 😊

[Laura May]

This was actually way more helpful than I anticipated. Yes, there's unnecessary text, no, the comic steps are not helpful, and sure, I've encountered lots of the tools before. But it was worth it for the tools I *hadn't* yet met, for the flashes of inspiration those brought, and most of all, for the illustrations!

I'd definitely recommend this to designers, innovators, facilitators, and leaders.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely will stay on my shelves -- great reference book!

[Mónica Pavía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro se convirtió en mi principal herramienta para desarrollar cualquier proyecto, donde puedo consultar diferentes frameworks para identificar propuestas de valor

[Stanislava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great source of ideas for workshops and approaches to engage with stakeholders and take your products and services to the next stage.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

useful

[Claudio Lener · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn everything about the design thinking process from workshops to interviews, brainstorming sessions, and how to come up with ideas from distilled notes...this is for you.

[Amanda Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great visuals and explanations, I feel like I'll refer back to pieces of this in the future!

[Inkyblots2024 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give this a completely honest review aside from the fact that I had to have 100 pages read before the first day of class and was required to read and be tested on this entire book by day 3 of class. It's a good toolbox but needs more editing for English-speaking audiences. The tools are helpful for each phase of the process. Here are my favorite thoughts I got from this book:

* Break up the process and focus on defining the problem before you create a solution/prototype
* Don't fall in love with a prototype or idea EVER. It limits creativity.
* Get into the emotional journey of the user.

A few notes on improving the toolbox in future steps:
* Make sure the editing is consistent. There were so many examples of awkward editing or mistranslations that made reading feel choppy.
* Some of the tools felt a little repetitive or not different enough. This was only really frustrating when I was quizzed on the minutia of each, which isn't the book's fault.


I'd recommend this book for those in design thinking and innovation. Just please, if you're teaching a class of students, don't make them memorize 300+ pages of this book and quiz them on the tiniest little details.

Recommended watching with this: the IDEO's "Reimagining the Shopping Cart" video.