Since I do not have much knowledge on design thinking besides from our reading, I will reflect upon the pros and perils on design thinking using the Gainesville project. The pro of design thinking, in short, seems to be when you know how to do it right, it will solve you problems you otherwise would not be able to. The success of design thinking comes with a combination of striking of creative moment and a great team with CX and UX researchers who are able to conduct high quality work with the correct methodology and critical thinking skills so that they may “plan, recruit, execute, analyze, and synthesize” the work thoroughly. With all these prerequisites, the failure of Gainesville does not come with a surprise (even with the work done by IDEO). I think one of the most challenging part of the success is the striking of creative moment. Without it, the pros of design thinking could easily turn into its perils. In the Gainesville project, for example, the new logo, the tagline, the website all made the town appear to be more creative. However, the failure to identify the core problem made the appearance of creative moment practically impossible. More importantly, as the article also addresses, one peril of design thinking is that it sells a fantasy. It gives people the illusion that they may not necessarily need to be equipped with all the prerequisites mentioned above. There is an easy way out. And they can be one of them.
One example of a failed (or fail-ing) design thinking project that popped up to my mind is the release of new Huawei phones this year. As one of the largest Chinese provider of smart devices, Huawei has achieved great success in the past. However, the recent release of their phones met great obstacles and widespread discontent from the customers. Similar to the Gainesville Project, the failure to identify the true need of its users leads to their poor sale. While Huawei has enjoyed great success in branding, utilizing the sense of patriotism of Chinese users, it has not been as lucky this year. While the new phone does have some superficial innovative changes, it does not seem to worth the sharp increase in price.
