Experiencing Design

Individuals become design thinkers by experiencing design. Drawing on decades of researching and teaching design thinking to people not trained in design, Jeanne Liedtka, Karen Hold, and Jessica Eldridge offer a guide for how to create these deep experiences at each stage of the design thinking journey.

Jeanne Liedtka is a faculty member at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. Her Columbia Business School Publishing books include Designing for Growth: A Manager’s Toolkit (2011) and Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector (2017).

Karen Hold is the founder of Experience Labs, an innovation consulting firm. She is also the director of DT:DC, a design thinking community in Washington, DC, and a visiting professor at École des Ponts Business School in Paris, France.

Jessica Eldridge is a consultant working at the intersection of educational equity and purposeful innovation. She is the founder of Spark Strategic Solutions and is a specialist in design thinking, innovation management, and cross-sector collaboration.

Mathew D. Duerden, associate professor of experience design and management, Brigham Young University, and coauthor of Designing Experiences:
Liedtka, Hold, and Eldridge make the case for how the transformation of individuals through design thinking is actually how it changes individuals and allows them to make greater innovations. The focus on how the process transforms those who use it is a unique and needed contribution to the broader literature.

Maureen Thurston, chief experience officer, AURECON:
Looking for a practical guide on how to cultivate and integrate an enterprising spirit into any enterprise? Experiencing Design will show you step-by-step how to unleash the innate creativity that resides in all of us and channel it toward a purpose-led outcome. It is a marvelous read based on sound research. I’m recommending Experiencing Design to everyone in my company to read and relish.

Adam Billing, founder of Treehouse Innovation and Sprintbase:
Experiencing Design is a must-read for anyone seeking to build more change-ready and adaptive organizations. Jeanne Liedtka and her team have effectively unlocked the secret to not only developing, but also assessing the behaviors and mindsets that are essential for success in a fast-changing world.

Roger L. Martin, Founder and President, Roger L. Martin Inc.:
As Design Thinking gains in popularity, it risks being reduced to a set of rote steps that users naively assume if followed will magically produce a fabulous solution. In Experiencing Design, long-time design theorist Jeanne Liedtka and her co-authors argue persuasively that the design thinker, not a particular set of steps, is the key to design thinking effectiveness. With thoroughness and clarity, they lead the reader through the experiential journey a design thinker must take to achieve the desired breakthrough solutions.

Edward D. Hess, professor emeritus of business administration, Darden School of Business, and author of thirteen books including Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change:
This is an amazing book. It is not just another design thinking “how-to” guide. Experiencing Design is about you—how embracing design thinking as a way of being will transform the way you see, approach, and navigate the digital age. Experiencing Design is a liberating journey: it will enhance your cognitive, emotional, and behavioral abilities to think, explore, discover, create, listen, and collaborate in order to experience the joy and wonder of life more often.

David Kester, managing director, managing director, DK&A, and former chief executive, UK Design Council:
Just when the world needs to up the innovation ante, here is the code to transform yourself, your team, or your whole organization. A true landmark book rooted in design thinking—meticulously evidenced, easy to read, and, above all, actionable for frontline change agents, CEOs, and everyone in between. I guarantee much nodding and many an aha moment. Better still, you’ll finish with your own personal profile and plan!