Complete Design Thinking for Successful Professionals 

Design thinking is a powerful thinking tool which could drive a brand, business or an individual forward positively. It is also a part and parcel way of thinking that designers go through in their minds in every single design project. Thinking like a designer can transform the way organizations develop products and services on the front end, while improving processes and strategy to the backend. It is a way of simply thinking and ideating on a solution to address a problem or better meet a customer need. It is a process focused on solutions and not the problem.

In this book you will:

• Understand key characteristics of design thinking
• Understand the 5 action phases of design thinking –
Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test

• Empathize – Understand your customers / users
• Define – Define clear project / business objectives
• Ideate – Explore ideas and solutions
• Prototype – Build and visualise ideas
• Test – Review and decide best idea

This book will help you: 

• Clarify and solve problems better

• Understand your users

• Communicate in visuals confidently

• Innovate ideas and inspire others

• Experiment quickly and at little cost

This book is useful for:

• Non-design and design professionals who are involved in innovation, change management, trend-making, problem-solving and quality improvement industry
• Business and startup owners interested in providing good products and services for their customers
• Freelance designers and design students who want to make a difference in the marketplace
• Design trainers interested in delivering design thinking workshops 
• Innovation, creativity and design enthusiasts
• Design thinkers

“Daniel Ling is one of the most innovative experience designers in Asia. This book gives you the tools he uses to make customers happy and businesses successful.”

– David McQuillen, Customer Experience Pioneer & Entrepreneur

“A practical approach on adopting design thinking in your everyday life, and the book complements with great hands-on activities to guide you through seamlessly.”

– Raven Chai, Founder of UX Consulting and UXSG

“Daniel shares his wonderful experience and knowledge to improve the quality of experience design in Asia.”

– Dr Yen Ching Chiuan, Head of Division of Industrial Design NUS Singapore

Why would you buy this book?

1. The MOST COMPLETE Design Thinking Guidebook YOU will ever NEED

Daniel has harmonised a simple and easy to understand framework of design thinking action plan and mindsets, which fully encompassed what you should know of a practical and action-based design thinking approach. As an experienced and pioneer design thinker in the non-design financial industry- Daniel speaks the language of a banker while thinks like a designer.

To be an effective design thinker without an action plan or a set of important mindsets, is just difficult even with time and effort to explore. Thousands will have to be spent on design thinking bootcamps to figure out how pieces of design knowledge come together.

2. FOCUS on the HOW rather than the WHAT 

Daniel has delivered design thinking principles with practical activities and templates so that you can apply the approach to your relevant work. The book includes step by step guide to apply simple design thinking approach, exact templates to use with case studies examples and practical activities to apply with your fellow group members.

“WHAT” is design thinking could be everywhere on the internet. Everyone is demanding for the “HOW” and this book allows you to apply it.

3. DANIEL LING is the DESIGN THINKER relevant to YOU

Daniel has established himself as a designer in a business suit, with years of design experience moderating and facilitating design to sales, operations, IT, legal and marketing side of a financial bank. He does know a thing or two about talking to non-designers. 

The book speaks from non-designer point of view, which is non theoretical nor technical- the knowledge delivered is simple and easy to understand. 

“Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result.”

– Albert Einstein

At this point of writing, I am already close to publishing and distributing

this book throughout Singapore, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the rest of the world via Amazon, iBooks, Ingram and Kobo. I feel an important burden to uphold by sharing my experience in design thinking as well as the action plan and mindsets that comes with it.

By sharing this knowledge written in this book, I implore two things from you and with that I have fulfilled a life objective.

1. Apply what you have learnt

Start small but start. Wisdom from a quote, inspiration from an activity or a practical tool from a template- all these are little building blocks to apply to your individual life, workplace, school or society. Be constantly mindful of the things that you have learnt and apply design thinking everywhere you go.

2. Be the change agent

Be the salt of the earth and light of the world. Einstein implied that change is inevitable and only a fool will not embrace change. Notice that once you start the change to be a design thinker and solve problems in a unique manner, people will see and people will follow- especially when you deliver the right results.