Design thinking encompasses the cognitive, strategic, and practical procedures designers use, alongside the accumulated knowledge of how they approach design problems. Originating in the 1950s and '60s from studies of design cognition, it is now widely applied for product and service innovation across various contexts. This iterative, non-linear process involves activities such as context analysis, user testing, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation.
A core feature is tackling "wicked problems"—complex, ill-defined challenges with no definitive solution, a concept introduced by Horst Rittel. Designers address these by adopting solution-focused strategies, employing abductive reasoning to infer possibilities, and continuously reframing the problem. This approach highlights the co-evolution of problem understanding and solution development.