Articulating design thinking

The Special Issue of Design Studies discusses four papers presented at the Design Thinking Research Symposium (DTRS) event held at Northumbria University's School of Design in the UK from April 18-19, 2012. DTRS 2012 introduced a variation on the theme of the shared approach and an international range of analyses of data provided. This time invited researchers were asked to set up their own studies based on designers' responses to a common design brief. The aim of this novel approach was to get a diverse set of different perspectives on the analysis of design thinking and action that would be complementary to earlier analyses. Each team of researchers was given the responsibility of designing a domestic product, living environment, or service for older people that surpassed conventional expectations.