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What is design thinking, anyway? [Technical.ly Podcast]

It's solutions-based thinking — and it's not just for designers. This month we speak with one expert in Philly and our lead reporter in Brooklyn about why design thinking is having a moment.

Natalie Nixon is the director of the Strategic Design MBA program at Philadelphia University. (Photo by Zack Seward)

There’s a lot of methodologies out there for getting stuff done. You’ve got rapid iteration, you’ve got Lean, in the software realm you’ve got Agile. But in this month’s Technical.ly Podcast we’re talking about design thinking.

It’s solutions-based thinking, building simpler processes for more complex issues — and industries across the board are adopting the approach to get consumers more comfortable with an always changing future.

Natalie Nixon runs an MBA program at Philadelphia University that teaches design thinking to students from a wide range of fields. The school’s Strategic Design MBA program hosted its first class in 2013. We catch up with Nixon to see what design thinking is all about. (For seven principles to keep in mind for leading with design thinking, be sure to check out Nixon’s recent article on Inc.com.)

After that, from one of the global homes of design culture, we talk to Technical.ly Brooklyn lead reporter Brady Dale about how design culture is spreading out from Dumbo creative agencies to the wider business world.

  • Listen below, download the episode or subscribe to the Technical.ly Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.
Companies: Philadelphia University / Technical.ly

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