Design Thinking: When collective intelligence is invited into your creative processes

‍What is design thinking and why is it a game-changer?

Design thinking is much more than a trend. It is a human-centered approach that highlights the real needs of your customers or employees, in order to innovate intelligently. Unlike traditional linear methods, we start by understanding before creating, with iterative phases that promote collaboration. In short, everything that collective intelligence likes!

Design thinking and collective intelligence: an obvious marriage

Imagine a diverse team around a table (or virtual whiteboard), with varied skills and different perspectives. Everyone brings their know-how, but above all their unique perspective. That's where the magic happens. Collective intelligence enriches every stage of design thinking, from brainstorming to prototyping.

The result: innovative and feasible ideas, while being aligned with the needs of the field.

Concretely, how does it work?

During a Big Bloom design thinking workshop, we involve everyone in a process that alternates reflection and action. Here are the key steps:

• Empathy: You start by listening, observing, and understanding the people you're creating for. No more assumptions! Then, the problem to be solved is clarified. There, the diversity of ideas generated through collective intelligence brings out unexpected angles.
• Ideation: Everyone's favorite phase: we let go of ideas, even the craziest ones. And that's where a Big Bloom facilitator knows how to turn this flow of ideas into innovative solutions.
• Prototyping: This is where design thinking becomes more concrete: we go from concept to prototype.
• Pitch: Last step, and not the least: the pitch. Each team must convince a jury of the relevance of its solution.

Concrete examples: when design thinking boosts innovation

At Big Bloom, our hackathons become incubators for social innovation thanks to the combination of design thinking and collective intelligence.

For example, Production Schools were looking for a new way to finance themselves. A solution around the sale of art objects was created thanks to the concrete project proposed by the employee teams.

Conclusion: Design thinking and collective intelligence is a bit like coffee and a croissant: it's good separately, but together, it's downright great. So, ready to shake up your creative processes and move from idea to action? With Big Bloom, it's possible!