A dreadfully incomplete list of Design thinking tools, tips and courses

Updated and back by popular demand

What is this? As the name suggests this is a list of tools that span design thinking and human-centred design (HCD). The tools go both ways because parts of Design thinking are based on HCD, especially the start of projects.

Who if this for Well, you may have gotten a flavour of design thinking before or you might be interested, sceptical or confused this is for you. This is list of trusted resources that might help you ‘learn by doing’ in the Design thinking space. I feel like concepts like these tend to make more sense once you start applying them so below are some links to get you going.

Videos worth watching

Design & Thinking (2012) Great intro to the whole thing explained in fairly plain English.

TED Talk, How to build your creative confidence. A great way to get your head in the game.

Ingredients for Design thinking

The diagram below is a good way to think about — and compare — how Design Thinking may differ from other design / creative thinking approaches. Hassi & Laakso, 2011

Online Toolkits and Research tools

Toolkits

• Collective Action Toolkit frog
• The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design IDEO
• Design Thinking for Educators IDEO
• Design Kit Methods IDEO
• Development Impact and You Nesta
• Hyper Island Toolbox Hyper Island
• Disruptive Design Toolkit Unschool
• Circular Design Guide IDEO
• Designing for Public Services Nesta, IDEO
• Convivial Toolbox Liz Sanders
• d.school resources Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University
• 18F Methods US Government
• Service Design Tools 💖 Roberta Tassi

Ethics

• Little Book of Design Research Ethics IDEO
• Ethics Guidebook Academic edition (other resources as well) 
• Government codes and Guidelines for Australia

Interviews

• User Interviews: How, When, and Why to Conduct Them by Kara Pernice
• Getting People to Talk: An Ethnography & Interviewing Primer IIT Institute of Design
• How Louis Theroux Asks A Question

Three flavours of Research Planning

• Flavour 1 by Péter Balázs Polgár 
• Flavour 2 by Margie Mateo Villanueva
• Flavour 3 by Johny vino

Courses

Free courses online

• Introduction to Human-Centered Design Acumen
• Design Thinking Action Lab Stanford* only during semesters
• Designing Futures RMIT University
• Design Thinking Virtual Crash Course Stanford
• Design Kit IDEO

Paid courses

• Design Thinking Monash University
• Insights for Innovation IDEOU
• Learning Design Thinking: Lead Change in Your Organization frog and Lynda
• Design Thinking for Innovation Coursera
• Methods to Synthesis Udemy

Presentations and podcasts

• Introduction to Human Centred Design made for Code for Australia
• IDEO Design thinking workshop 2016
• IDEO U Design thinking resources
• Stanford Social Innovation Review Design thinking podcasts

Back to the history if you are interested: Design thinking origin story plus some of the people who made it all happen