Learning to design: giving purpose to heart, hand and mind

Purpose – Design thinking is becoming a topic in strategic management. Questions range from “What is it?” to “How can we approach design?” This paper aims to offer a glimpse into early design education in design schools and link them with early design education in the organization. The purpose of the paper is to make basic design thinking and design methods accessible to managers and to show organizations a path along which they can learn about design. Design/methodology approach – The paper uses actual examples from design education and design research to illustrate how people explore design methods and design thinking. Findings – The paper finds that hands-on exercises for managers and their organizations facilitate their own exploration of basic design principles and basic design methods. Practical implications – Systematic inquiry into the organization is an iterative activity. It can be launched in almost any environment with few resources in terms of time and money. Originality/value – The paper shows how managers can prepare their employees and organizations for a strategic design effort.