MISUNDER-

STANDING 

DESIGN
THINKING
SOURCE:https://media.giphy.com/media/IIuCS4WyAV60M/giphy.gif
HENRIK RIESS
Creative Director
UID Berlin
henrik.riess@uid.com
WHAT’S YOUR
EXPERIENCE WITH
DESIGN THINKING?
SOURCES:https://www.ideo.com
MISUNDERSTANDING #1
DESIGN THINKING 

IS AN EASY-TO-LEARN
SILVER BULLET
SOURCE:https://media.giphy.com/media/cPCmPcdkPsKSA/giphy.gif
#1 OVERDRAWN
EXPECTATIONS
HEY …

HOW MUCH TIME DO 

I NEED TO BECOME A 

DESIGN THINKER?
SOURCE:https://www.google.de
#1 OVERDRAWN
EXPECTATIONS
Z
… to decide when to use which
design method and how to
combine them meaningfully?
Are 2 days really 

enough…
#1 OVERDRAWN
EXPECTATIONS
SOURCE: Dirka Wieske, Stefanie Vogel
SOURCE: Jana Browatzki, Linda Goldhorn, Sina Walter
SOURCE: Rafaela Leitmann, Christian Lucklum, 

Sinah Nitzsche, Danny Schott
Z
Plus: A manual will not replace 

years of experience in design
repertoire.
There is no standardized
guideline for problem
solving.
#1 OVERDRAWN
EXPECTATIONS
Z
Are all stakeholders open 

for participation?
Design Thinking often brings 

along change in an organization’s
culture.
#1 OVERDRAWN
EXPECTATIONS
MISUNDERSTANDING #2
SOURCE:https://media.giphy.com/media/PjplWH49v1FS0/giphy.gif
DESIGN THINKING
WILL SOLVE ALL MY
PROBLEMS
SOURCES:TimoElliott
solution
space ???
problem
space!
solution
space!
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
The design challenge
focusses on the needs of
people - and by this - later
brings up solutions.
The challenge is 

human-centered, 

not product-centered.
SOURCE:http://politiken.dk/plus/shop/husoghave/lys/little-sun/
SOURCE:http://politiken.dk/plus/shop/husoghave/lys/little-sun/
Z#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
A good challenge involves one 

or several users. A too large 

target group leads to generalized
conclusions.
A design challenge solving
problems for everyone is
chosen too widely.
SOURCE: Unsplash
SOURCE: Unsplash
Z#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
The design challenge must
allow the team to have a broad
solution space. 

Otherwise the design
challenge is chose to narrow.
There is no ✅ or ❌ in
the challenge
SOURCE: Unsplash
Specific
question
Open
question
Specific
users
All users
TARGETED
DESIGN CHALLENGE
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
„How might a creative name
for our company sound like?“
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
„How might a creative name
for our company sound like?“
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
„How might a creative name
for our company sound like?“
Advice:
Google „creativity techniques“
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
„How might we improve 

the next versions of our
smartphones?“
SOURCE:Apple
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
„How might we improve 

the next versions of our
smartphones?“
SOURCE:Apple
#2 MISUNDERSTANDING
THE CHALLENGE
„How might we improve 

the next versions of our
smartphones?“
Advice:
Ask your designers and engineers
to collaborate in design sprints
SOURCE:Apple
SOURCE:https://giphy.com/gifs/bored-alice-in-wonderland-meh-ZXKZWB13D6gFO
WAITING
TIME
PROJECT STORYBOX
Amelie Wallmann, Jana Browatzki, Linda Goldhorn, Sina Walter
PROJECT RESULT FLOWER
Tian Sheng
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, MAGDEBURG
„How might we give people
a positive waiting time ex-

perience in their daily lives?“
TODAY’S CHALLENGE:
WAITING TIME
„How might we give people
a positive waiting time ex-

perience in their daily lives?“
Define the context
of waiting
Define the 

user group
TODAY’S CHALLENGE:
WAITING TIME
„How might we give people
a positive waiting time ex-

perience in their daily lives?“
Define the context
of waiting
Define the 

user group
Advice:
Frame the topic to
make it manageable
TODAY’S CHALLENGE:
WAITING TIME
H i n f a h r t
Wa r te ze i te n :
- a u f B u s wa r te n
- a u f M i t f a h rg e l e g e n h e i t
- i m Au to
- a u fs An k o m m e n
Ar b e i t
Wa r te ze i te n :
- Sys te m h e r u nte r f a h re n
- i n d i re k t a u f Fe i e ra b e n d
H e i m f a h r t
Wa r te ze i te n :
- a u f M i t f a h rg e l e g e n h e i t
- i m Au to
- a u f B u s
- a u fs An k o m m e n
Ar b e i t
Wa r te ze i te n :
- Sys te m h o c h f a h re n
- a u f M i t t a g s p a u s e wa r te n
M i t t a g s p a u s e
Wa r te ze i te n :
- a u f G e s c h i r r wa r te n
- a n E s s e n s a u s g a b e
wa r te n / a n K a s s e
Ze i t Zu h a u s e
- p ro d u k t i ve Ze i t
Wartezeit
Produktive Zeit
Tagesablauf_Analyse Wartezeiten
Zu s a m m e n f a s s u n g
Wa r te ze i t ~ 2 3 %
Pro d u k t i ve Ze i t ~ 4 3 , 7 %
( S c h l a fe n s ze i t ~ 3 3 , 3 % )
VISUALIZATIONS:AmelieWallmann,TianSheng
#WAITING4SAUSAGE
How might we help
Chinese students who are
desperately waiting for their
TestDaF exam results?



B.A. Tian Sheng
University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburg
SOURCE:https://blog.tandem-schools.com/2015/10/07/die-internationale-sprachprufung-testdaf/
„I took the TestDaF a few weeks ago…it was
harder than I thought. I talked to my parents and
friends, and thought I was prepared - even for bad
marks - but after the exam the fear of not passing
got back to me […]“
„Most universities [in Germany] expect you to
pass all 4 tests. The most stressful thing about it
is to wait until the results are announced.
Sometimes I cannot sleep and check online to see
if it is already there. It’s super stressful for me!“
„The thing is: I am not interested single marks. 

I just want to know if I have passed overall. […]
Some of my friends for instance ask their mates
to do that - but on the other hands - it’s something
personal.“
Huaquin (24)
Student from Beijing
SOURCES:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Woman_with_computer.jpg


We met …
… Huaquin - student from China - who took the TestDaF
and now has to wait several weeks for her results


She is in need of …
… a sensitive notification whether she passed the entire
exam or not


We were surprised to discover …
…that continuously looking up the results on the web is 

an exhausting and overburdening experience for her
SOLUTION SPACE
BRAINSTORMING
How might Huaquin 

be sensitively informed
whether she passed
successfully or not?
Waking Light
Forget-me-not
SOURCE:TianSheng
„Result Flower“
SOURCE:TianSheng
MISUNDERSTANDING #3
SOURCE:https://media.giphy.com/media/ATmBdBQGgLXSU/giphy.gif
POST-ITS & LEGO BRICKS
ARE ENOUGH TO JUDGE 

AN EXPERIENCE
#3 DESIGN SENSING
AS CRUCIAL ELEMENT
SOURCE:TianSheng
2nd sensory 

prototype
SOURCE:TianSheng
How might we enrich
a patient’s waiting
time at the doctor’s office?



Jana Browatzki, Linda Goldhorn, 

Amelie Wallmann, Sina Walter

University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburg
SOURCE:http://www.mopo.de/image/5531860/max/1920/1080/4f6f43f89cfe837ad26077ab89251f41/RA/04-hygiene-arztpraxis-dpa-jpg.jpg
„Usually you sit there for a while. At least for 30
minutes. I can´t really enjoy the time there. Of
course you start looking for some distraction like
watching the other patients come and go, or
reading magazines […]“
„I had my iPhone with me but just used it to check
messages from time to time. I prefer browsing
through the magazines that are available. Most of
them are not up to date anymore though, and the
crossword puzzles are already filled in. I wouldn’t
fill them out anyway because the magazines
belong to the practice. What if somebody else
would like to read them too? […]
Although I have to say: Sometimes I would like to
pull out an interesting page or take the entire
magazine with me when there is something really
interesting to read. But I am too shy […]“
Anna (32)
Secretary from Berlin
SOURCES:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Woman_redhead_natural_portrait.jpg


We met …
… Anna (32) who has to bring up patience for waiting 

at her doctor’s office


She is in need of …
… positive distraction during her waiting time


We were surprised to discover …
… even though she has her smartphone with her she is 

looking for serendipitous entertainment in the room
SOLUTION SPACE
BRAINSTORMING
How might we create
serendipitous entertainment
for people who wait at the
doctors office?
SOURCE:JanaBrowatzki,LindaGoldhorn,AmelieWallmann,SinaWalter
60
Drucker
Laptop
160
138
118
90
3cm
SOURCE:JanaBrowatzki,LindaGoldhorn,AmelieWallmann,SinaWalter
SOURCE:JanaBrowatzki,LindaGoldhorn,AmelieWallmann,SinaWalter
SOURCES:VictoriaBatz,HenrikRieß
SOURCE:JanaBrowatzki,LindaGoldhorn,AmelieWallmann,SinaWalter
SOURCE:JanaBrowatzki,LindaGoldhorn,AmelieWallmann,SinaWalter
SOURCE:https://media.giphy.com/media/RR1IUBBFi4clq/giphy.gif
CONCLUSIO
WHICH LESSONS CAN WE 

DRAW FOR OUR…

… EDUCATION
… AGENCY
… ENTERPRISE?
THANKS
:-)
HENRIK RIESS
Creative Director
UID Berlin
henrik.riess@uid.com
SOURCE:https://giphy.com/gifs/taylor-weekend-NRW2yP1aoYTsY
Lecturer Interaction Design
Institute of Industrial Design
Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal

Misunderstanding design thinking // IFA Beerlin mini lecture // IDZ Berlin