How Design-Thinking Is Helping Businesses Propagate In 2021

Design thinking today encapsulates a fundamental aspect of creative leadership. Visionary entrepreneurs and business people who believe in carving their path instead of following a conventional route rely on design thinking to re-imagine the future.

It demonstrates a way of thinking to solve problems that disregards set processes while prioritizing the consumer’s needs above everything. It is an iterative, hands-on approach to formulating innovative solutions that rely on observational empathy and curiosity towards the way humans interact with their environment.

But this isn’t all that’s making design thinking take the business world by storm!

Design thinking is “human-focused,” which suggests that real evidence of how actual consumers interact with their service offering is applied rather than acting on how an organization “thinks” they will engage with it. To be genuinely human-centred, business owners must observe how people use a product or service and continue to refine it in a way that improves their experience. This is the “lean methodology” aspect of design thinking, favoring moving quickly to get prototypes out to test rather than ongoing research.

In contrast to traditional problem-solving, which is a linear process of identifying a problem and then brainstorming solutions, design thinking only works if it is repetitive. It is less of a means to get to a single solution and more of a way to respond to consumer needs continuously.

But how is this critical to businesses looking to rent a large or private office space post the pandemic?

We often find that when organizations look to renting private office spaces, the conversation around is rooted in the wrong direction, beginning with the furniture or the room itself rather than what the office space can do to enhance the human experience.

This brings us to the central argument- “Do we ever consider what we want our workspaces to do beyond just what we want them to be? The correct emphasis should be on thinking about the activities and experiences you as an employer want to create within this private office space and then enable it.

One key lesson here is: coworking spaces are not and rather cannot be designed like traditional offices. You may find multiple private office space options where people and companies interact, often in beneficial ways. These office spaces are built to facilitate community building while still allowing for privacy.

Since it is always centred on humans, this method also ensures that the functional and working environment in a coworking or shared office space meets different users’ expectations. Just the presence of modern furniture and decoration doesn’t necessarily correspond to the end-users. A deep reflection is required, and this is where design thinking comes into its own.

The spaces we occupy profoundly impact our experiences, feelings, psychology, productivity, mood, and creativity. The private office spaces owned by businesses must be set up to facilitate the purpose behind each phase of their operations. A team can truly optimize productivity only when exposed to a space that embraces the mindsets required at every point of the business process.

As they have evolved, coworking spaces have become quite savvy at managing their occupants’ shifting space needs. A hint lies in the architecture. Many coworking spaces utilize these principles of design thinking to delineate spaces as needed by organizations.

For example:

Round tables work great when you want to encourage people to collaborate during ideation and brainstorming sessions – and so does standing up. Ideally, these spaces should be located away from the actual work desks or else this may stifle creativity.

Even without moving the furniture, large shared office spaces can create options for companies that need more space — as flexibly as the need arises.

This shift towards human-centred design and experiences embraced by coworking spaces in recent years is increasingly evident in many organizations shifting to these experientially designed spaces. There are plenty of onsite amenities that rival the splashier startups while adding a unique approach that ensures cross-collaboration with other businesses as part of the coworking ethos.

This shift holds tremendous potential for companies who want to stand out from their competition.

The whole idea riding on the thought process: A thoughtful workplace makes people happy, helps them stay longer, become more productive, and ultimately translates into solid business relationships.

We are proud to say that our intuitively designed private office spaces have helped forge long-lasting relationships with over 500 brands! If you are curious to see if we would be a good fit as your office space provider, book a tour with us today!