Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation and problem-solving that focuses on empathy, creativity, and iterative prototyping. It’s a structured process that can be applied to approach a wide range of problems, from product design to business strategy.

Here are the key stages of the design thinking process:

1. Empathize: The first stage of the design thinking process is to empathize with the customers who will be using your product or service. Conduct user research, such as customer interviews, surveys, and observation, to gain insights into their needs, pain points, and behaviours.
2. Define: Based on the insights gathered during the empathize stage, the next step is to define the problem or opportunity that the design thinking process will address. This involves synthesizing the research data and creating a clear problem statement that will guide the ideation and prototyping stages.
3. Ideate: The ideation stage involves generating a wide range of potential solutions to the problem or opportunity defined in the previous stage. This is a brainstorming process that encourages creativity and ideas without judgment.
4. Prototype: In the prototyping stage, the most promising ideas generated during the ideation stage are developed into tangible prototypes. These prototypes can be low-fidelity sketches or high-fidelity mockups, depending on the needs of the project.
5. Test: The final stage of the design thinking process is to test the prototypes with end-users or customers to get feedback and refine the solutions. This may involve usability testing, feedback surveys, or observation to identify any pain points or areas for improvement.

One of the key benefits of design thinking is that it places the customer or end-user at the centre of the process, which can lead to more innovative and effective solutions. By emphasizing empathy, creativity, and iterative prototyping, design thinking can help teams to develop products and services that meet real customer needs and create lasting value.