Reorienting design thinking through systems thinking

TL;DR: Reorienting design thinking through systems thinking reorients the process to include nature, non-human and humane elements, emphasizing natural recovery and green transition.

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss how systems thinking can serve as an entry point to a re-oriented design thinking process model where equal value is attached to nature, the non-human and the humane. Design thinking matured at a time (mid 90s - 00s) when climate and environment did not receive the same attention as in recent years. We believe that design thinking still has its justification as a process tool. However, we want to discuss if design thinking as a process tool can be strengthened if we supplement the process with a consistent focus on ecosystems and systems thinking. In this paper, we specifically address and discuss the role of systems thinking and systems mapping as perspectives to reorient the design thinking process in the 2020s where natural recovery and green transition should have the highest priority as a result of the general state of the planet. In two projects, a module course for innovation and entrepreneurship and an international co-curricular project on systems mapping, we have employed systems thinking at different phases in the design thinking process. In this paper, we evaluate in which ways and to what extent systems thinking has contributed to the learning process. We exemplify and argue how students have obtained a deeper understanding of the complexity of ‘wicked problems’ and the mechanisms causing them. In conclusion, we point to a potential for reorienting the design thinking process by combining it with systems thinking and approaching it as a continuous movement between ontological and operational perspectives.