40 Design Thinking Success Stories

I’m incredibly optimistic of the power of DT but also always on the lookout for design thinking success stories and examples. As I’ve shared my knowledge of design thinking with others, I’ve frequently been asked how often it delivers demonstrable results and how broadly it can be applied. Below is my collection of design thinking success stories that have helped reinforce my conviction that design thinking can deliver incredibly powerful results and be applicable to everyone.

Consumer Packaged Goods

• Braun – Creating a Better Oral B Toothbrush
  • Designing a Simplified IoT Electric Toothbrush
• PepsiCo – How Indra Nooyi Tured Design Thinking Into Strategy
  • Indra Nooyi HBR Design Thinking Interview
• Procter & Gamble – Classic Oil of Olay + DT Case, often Cited by A.G. Lafley
  • Using Design Thinking to Guide Product Development for Oil of Olay Brand

Education

• Design Thinking Success Stories for Educators – Good collection of K-12 DT Cases
  • Design Thinking for K-12 Educators
• Teaching Kids Design Thinking – Enable Kids to Solve the Worlds Biggest Problems
  • Great Fast Co Design Article on Teaching Kids DT
• Riverpoint Academy – Small school that achieved real results through DT
  • Design Thinking STEAM School Case Study
• Alpha Public Schools – Designing a High School Through Design Thinking
  • Awesome Case of Designing an Entire High School Via Design Thinking
• One School District’s Approach to Innovation For the 21st Century
  • Dense but Rich Dissertation of Use of Design Thinking in a School District
• Memorial School – Design Thinking in a Medford, MA Elementary School
  • The Power of Empathy in the Elementary Classroom

Financial Services

• Bank of America – “Keep the Change” Program
  • Click Link & Scroll Down for Bank of America Case Profile
• ABN AMRO – Design Thinking As Competitive Advantage in the World of Banking
  • How ABN AMRO Leverages Design Thinking
• BBVA / USAA / Citi – Design Thinking Success Stories at 3 Large Banks
  • 3 Banks Integrating Design Into Customer Experience
• Deutsche Bank – Design Thinking to Achieve Customer Proximity
  • Evolution of Design Thinking in Deutsche Bank’s IT Division
• Bank of Ireland – 20 Minute Podcast with Bank of Ireland’s Head of DT
  • Bank of Ireland’s Lesley Tully on the Value of Design Thinking

Healthcare

• GE Healthcare – Building a better MR scanner experience for children by using paintings and storytelling
  • GE Healthcare – From Terrifying to Terrific
• Thomas Jefferson University, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Montreal – Design Thinking Success Stories at University Hospitals
  • NY Times – Design Thinking for Doctors & Nurses
• UCSF & IDEO – Applying Design Thinking to Schizophrenia Care
  • Design Thinking in Healthcare – Schizophrenia
• Mayo Clinic – Design Thinking at Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation
  • Design Thinking Lessons from Mayo Clinic
• Stanford Healthcare – Design Thinking to Improve Patient Experience
  • Design Thinking at Stanford University Medicine

Journalism

• Voice of San Diego & OrbitaLAB – 2 news media outlets that apply DT principles
  • Design Thinking Case Studies in Journalism
• Hearken – How Design Thinking is Being Applied to Journalism
  • Why Design Thinking & Journalism Go Together

Non-Profit/NGOs

• Golden Gate Regional Center – Design thinking to provide better, faster service to support people with developmental disabilities
  • Design Thinking & Winnebago at GGRC for Better Service
• Design Thinking in Museums – Stories from DT practitioners specializing in museums
  • Collection of Design Thinking Case Studies from Museums
• Municipality of Holstebro, Denmark – Designing “The Good Kitchen”
  • Improving Quality of Life for the Elderly Via Better Food Service
• Mobisol, Reinventing Solar Energy Supply for Rural Africa
  • Mobisol’s Use of Design Thinking for Solar Energy
• IDEO & Cambodia – Using DT principles to bring sanitation systems to Cambodia
  • Leveraging Design Thinking in Cambodia Video

Retail

• Nike – Design Thinking Infuses Everything Nike Does (It All Starts with the CEO)
  • How Nike Became a Fashion Powerhouse Through Design
• Nordstrom – Building a Better Experience Shopping for Sunglasses
  • Nordstrom Innovation Lab Video Profile

Tech

• Airbnb – Using DT to Avoid Bankruptcy & Develop a Winning Business Model
  • Popular Airbnb Design Thinking Success Story
• Apple – Think Different about Innovation through Design Thinking
  • Innovation at Apple – Design Thinking Case Study
• IBM – I Love That IBM Has An Entire Section of its Website Dedicated to DT!
  • IBMs Design Centered Strategy
  • Design Thinking at IBM
• Google – How To Brainstorm Like a Googler
  • Google’s 3 Step Process for Generating Innovative Ideas
• Intuit – Measuring & Communicating the Impact of a Design Thinking Program
  • Intuit’s Designing for Delight
• Uber –  Creating the Future of Food Delivery through Design Thinking
  • How the Uber Eats Team Designs
• SAP – Speeding Up Development & Tech Solutions Designed to Delight Customers
  • Design Thinking in Action at SAP

Transportation

• Airports (in general) – DT to Make Airport Waiting Time More Pleasant
  • Cool Step by Step Case of Applying DT to a Common Challenge for Travelers
• Makassar, Indonesia – Using DT to Improve Traffic Congestion in a City
  • How Makassar Plans To Use Design Thinking to Improve Transport

Self-Improvement

• Designing Your Life Through Design Thinking – My Personal Story
• NY Times – Design Thinking for a Better You
• Stanford professor’s Take on How DT Can Help You Lose Weight, Stop Worrying, & Change Your Life
• Designing Your Life – Insight into the Most Popular Class at Stanford!

If you’re at the beach and would rather read an actual book full of design thinking case studies, I’d recommend ‘Solving Problems with Design Thinking: Ten Stories of What Works’ by Jeanne Lietdka.

In summary, there are plenty of available and powerful design thinking success stories, that will hopefully increase your conviction in the strength of DT. I’m always on the lookout for new examples and will continue to add to this list. Please don’t hesitate to share any great examples that I’m missing and continue to check back in as this list grows in size!

Interested in expanding your design thinking mindset and skills?  Click here for my collection of design thinking tools and resources!