So, you’ve heard the term “Design Thinking ” in the business world. But wait. What exactly is it, and why should you even care?
Well, imagine you’re tasked with solving a complex problem. This could be to improve your brand’s customer experience or to launch a new product. Maybe it is simply about navigating the digital world.
Now, instead of merely brainstorming ideas, you start by putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. Here, you’ll begin by understanding their pain points and iterating solutions that actually work. Sounds like it got magically easy, right? Honestly, it is just the power of design thinking.
Wait until you learn that it is the secret behind some of the world’s most innovative products and services. But, here’s the catch: implementing Design Thinking isn’t something you can just DIY with a few posts and some coffee.
You will actually need expert guidance from top-notch design thinking consulting firms. They will help you bring your creative ideas to life. You’ll be able to build solutions that truly resonate with users.
This blog will take you through the Top 10 Design Thinking Consulting Firms. These UX/UI Design agencies are changing the game. So, it doesn’t matter if you want to revamp your company’s approach or tackle a new project. Let’s dive in and discover!
What is a design thinking consulting firm?
So, let’s talk about how we’ve all had great business ideas sometimes. Yet, we had no knowledge of how to turn it into something real. We get confused because our thoughts are all over the place. But what if we tell you there’s a creative problem-solving approach that could fix this? That approach is called Design Thinking.
It focuses on understanding people and reimagining design possibilities. It also covers the whole process of coming up with innovative solutions. But, just like any powerful tool, it’s all about how you use it. That’s where a Design Thinking consulting firm steps in!
So, what exactly does a Design Thinking consulting firm do? In simple terms, they’re the experts who help you think differently about problems. This way, you’re able to create unique solutions.
These consultants guide you through the whole brainstorming and delivery process. They focus on empathy and ideation. They go for experimentation with your ideas. They don’t do it to make sure those ideas truly resonate with the people you’re designing for.
These firms work with you, not just for you. So, they make sure the solutions they build are perfectly customized for your individual needs. Think of them as your creative partners.
What do design thinking consulting firms do?
Imagine the impact of having a team of experts who bring creative and user-focused thinking to every part of your project. It could be huge. It can introduce so many new possibilities for your business.
A Design Thinking consulting firm will help you approach problems from every angle. It will give you solutions that are effective. They will even deeply align with your customers’ needs.
- Empathy Mapping: They start by truly understanding the needs and pain points of your users. Understanding their desires helps ensure that the solutions address real problems.
- Brainstorming: These firms perform creative brainstorming sessions once they’ve identified the key insights. This way, they come up with innovative solutions.
- Prototyping: These experts help you turn ideas into concrete prototypes. This allows you to test and refine before going full-scale with design principles.
- Testing and Feedback: These design thinking consulting firms guide you through rapid testing. They gather feedback to refine and improve based on real user reactions.
- Collaboration: These firms work closely with your own team. They empower you to take ownership of the process. They do this while providing expert guidance along the way.
What are the top 10 Design Thinking Consulting Firms?
These firms specialize in guiding businesses through the whole design process. They help them navigate the creative chaos. This way, they are able to deliver impactful, user-centered results. So, no matter how complex your project is… The right consulting firm can make all the difference!
So, let’s introduce you to the Top 10 Design Thinking Consulting Firms. We’ll see how they are transforming the way businesses approach design challenges.
1. Designit
Designit is one of a kind. It provides design thinking consulting services that go beyond simple innovative solutions. If you’re looking for something unique, Designit should be your top priority.
It’s a Denmark-based company that was founded in 1991. So, rest assured, it has taken its sweet time to build its reputation. In fact, it now has offices all around the world. This includes New York, Tokyo, and even others. With more than 700 employees working to make the best user-centric designs, Designit has found success.
Designit offers a range of services that perfectly align with the design thinking principles. They genuinely show their design thinking consulting capabilities.
- Innovation & Futures: Exploring multiple futures to make decisions. It is always based on real data.
- Brand & Marketing: It prioritizes incorporating diverse perspectives. They go from the start to the deeper meanings. This way, they create impactful brands and campaigns.
- Experience & Loyalty: Focusing on customer, employee, and brand experiences as central to business success.
- Sustainability by Design: Engaging with organizations ready to make a responsible impact on people and the planet.
By combining these aspects, Designit has become the preferred choice for many. If you’re in search of creativity with your idea, this firm is the way to go!
2. IDEO
It looks like the year 1991 had something special in the air. Designit wasn’t the only company that emerged. Another modern design thinking company made its way through. This unique and creative firm is IDEO.
IDEO was founded in California. It has made a prominent place for itself by working with major companies all across the world. Aren’t impressed yet? Wait till you find out they’ve worked with Apple and the Gates Foundation, too! It has expanded its network all the way to Kenya and China. This shows how it has reached worldwide.
IDEO recently launched their own online learning platform. This helped them teach the fundamentals of Design Thinking to anyone who’s interested. It’s called IDEO U. Let’s see how else they work with their innovative skills:
- Empathy-first problem solving: They start by understanding the real needs and behaviors of people. This is vital when you’re building a product for them.
- Rapid ideation and prototyping: They help clients produce creative ideas. So, they quickly built prototypes for these concepts. They even test and improve them.
- Interdisciplinary collaboration: IDEO’s teams include designers and researchers. But it isn’t limited because they also have engineers and strategists. They work side-by-side with clients to present solutions.
- Iterative learning: IDEO encourages experimenting and testing. This is how they refine their designs, fast. They don’t go through long and drawn-out planning phases.
Their innovation has even sparked a unique experience in their team. They focus on productivity, and their employees are happy.
3. Linkitsoft
So, what should you do when you’re not a big business like Apple? Maybe a design thinking consulting firm is going out of your budget, and all you’re getting is the design. What if you want to turn that creative idea of yours into software?
Linkitsoft was founded in 2010. We get it, it’s not that old. Yet, this modern position has given it a unique advantage. It understands the design practices that come out every year. The best part? They do this according to software principles. Which means that if you have an app or interface idea, their design thinking consulting can help you create the perfect one.
Linkitsoft is a Pakistan-based company. It has expanded to Malaysia, too. This shows how its services have helped it grow to more than just one location. What gives you the advantage here is that they:
- All-in-one solution: They combine creative design thinking consulting abilities with development and testing. From UX/UI Design to developing and launching, they’d be there at every step.
- Brainstorming Sessions: They listen to what their clients actually want. They help them get creative and listen to them clearly to create custom designs.
- Feasibility Analysis: When you give them an idea, they test whether it can take shape. They actually test the Proof of Concept before going all in.
- Technical consulting: Linkitsoft combines both design thinking consulting and technical consulting. This way, they’re able to guide you on how your idea would look as software.
Think about it, wouldn’t it be great to have all your experts working together? Design thinking consulting would be easy, and you’d have a whole project going!
4. Smart Design
Smart Design came way before IDEO or Designit. It didn’t even come out in the 90s. As a matter of fact, it came out in the year 1980. That’s how long it has been in the industry.
It has put in a lot of effort to hold its place in one of the top 10 design thinking consulting firms. It redefines UI/UX design and gives it a new meaning. They are New York-based and make design thinking consulting actually fun. If you’re more focused on creating user-centric designs, then smart design is a great option.
Their work is generally unique. It aims to bring about new and powerful experiences into the world. This is how:
- Research and Insights: Understanding user needs and behaviors. This is how they make impactful design decisions.
- Business and Organizational Design: They align business strategies with unique design solutions.
- Product and Service Design: Creating intuitive and effective products and services. This way, their products stand out.
- Engineering and Technology: Smart Design implements some technical solutions that can enhance the user experience.
The best part is that they’ve worked with various industries. Hence, their experience spans far and wide. Due to this, you will be sure that your idea gets the focus it deserves.
5. Landor
Now, this is a big one. Landor has been in the design thinking consulting space since 1941! That’s before many of the modern countries today even came into being!
If they’ve held their position that long, there must be something rare and unique hidden under the mist. But, what exactly? It is about their way of deep understanding of human behavior and strategic insight. By combining both, they’ve created a unique methodology that ensures every project has its own unique aura.
The company is based in San Francisco. Its offices span far and wide, all the way to Europe and Asia.
- Design Thinking Consulting: They utilize data and analytics. This way, they’re able to create a brand strategy and connect it to business goals.
- Creativity: They design with visual and motion design. This ensures a cohesive and engaging brand identity.
- Diversity: Creating brand-led customer and employee experiences. This encompasses physical, digital, and behavioral aspects.
- Effective branding solutions: They try to capture a brand’s essence in the design. Of course, a brand’s identity reflects it.
They are near to completing a century in the design thinking consulting industry. You can expect not to fail there. You’ll have a reliable source working with you.
6. Big Spaceship
Here’s another modern agency. Let’s get out of the 1900s and jump into the 2000s. Most people go for the agencies built in the 1900s for extra credibility.
Think about it… The modern world is constantly evolving. It brings its own design practices and rules. In this case, more modern companies can work great for you. Big Spaceship is also one just like this. It is a Brooklyn-based company that made its debut in 2000. It may not sound that old, but that’s more than two decades ago.
This brand understands emotions. It emphasizes the creation of meaningful connections. It does through curiosity and belief.
- Brand Promise Development: They make sure that every initiative reflects the core values and commitments of the brand they’re working with.
- Human Identity Exploration: They understand the fluid nature of customer identities. This helps them build a stronger design and strategy.
- Community-Led Market Strategies: They often engage with communities. This helps them push brand growth beyond traditional marketing funnels.
- Modern approach: They take a more diverse approach by experimenting carefully to build innovative solutions.
They’ve worked with Google and even Starbucks. This shows how their clients are those who genuinely take design seriously.
7. Luxoft
Luxoft is an engineering firm that goes above and beyond with design thinking consulting services.
Their approach is one of a kind. It combines business strategy with proper financial analytics. Their design expertise drives innovation and growth. It came out in 2000, too. It was built in Russia. The unique thing about them is that they take a psychological approach. This way, they’re able to push growth.
Making a human-centered design thinking consulting project isn’t easy without understanding the human psyche.
- Product and Service Innovation: They design and launch digital products. This way, they deliver an all-in-one solution.
- Customer Experience Transformation: They enhance customer interactions by identifying and removing friction. They do this throughout the product lifecycle.
- New Business Ventures: Luxoft develops innovative business models. They do this through end-to-end digital product design services.
- Organizational Innovation: They focus on cultural change and build in-house design capabilities. They do this with expert guidance.
They integrate behavioral psychology with user experience. By further combining it with game design principles, they create engaging user experiences.
8. Fantasy
New York seems to be one of the leading design hubs in the world. This is because many design thinking consulting companies have started from here.
Fantasy made its debut in New York, too. It came out in 1999. Their designs are unique. It’s all because they keep their clients as a priority when creating designs. Thanks to their distinctive approach, their work has the ability to resonate with users worldwide. They readily combine design with technicality.
You can also find Fantasy in San Francisco. Their creativity has gotten them clients like Samsung and Netflix.
- Digital Product Design: They build intuitive and engaging digital products. These have the ability to enhance user experiences.
- AI-Powered Solutions: They integrate artificial intelligence into their projects. This helps them develop intelligent platforms and services.
- Experience Strategy: Fantasy aligns business objectives with user needs. This way, they are able to create meaningful interactions.
- Service Design: They design end-to-end services that deliver consistent and valuable user experiences.
They focus on actively collaborating with their clients. This is because they don’t exactly do what they want. They focus on the client’s needs and the market trends.
9. Code And Theory
Code and Theory generally offers strategic consulting services. However, it also combines design thinking consulting aspects with the projects that are given to them.
Code and Theory came out in 2001. It is based in New York. It also has offices worldwide. This includes Bangalore. They have been able to expand because of their unified approach. It works like Linkitsoft by providing digital solutions along with Design. They aim to explore the digital world with their clients.
Their methodology starts with design. This is how they explore complex business challenges with ease.
- Design Transformation: They implement strategies driven by design. This helps change how companies operate fundamentally.
- Human-Centered Design: Code and Theory focuses on user needs. This helps them deliver better product and service development.
- Iterative Prototyping: They straight up develop and refine solutions rapidly. It’s all based on user feedback.
- Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: They bring together diverse teams. This helps them get more innovative.
They also have many projects on their website that show their ability to apply design thinking consulting principles.
10. Jump
The name is quite interesting. Imagine saying I have a product going on at Jump. Anyways, Jump is an amazing design thinking consulting agency.
Jump was founded in 1998 in California. It has taken a diverse approach and combines regular design thinking consulting with product design and innovation. Its uniqueness has helped it get several clients. In fact, you’ll see that they’ve worked with huge brands like Nike and Google. This shows how awesome their services might be.
Jump takes an interdisciplinary approach that helps them look at things through a different lens. Let’s see why:
- Strengths Discovery: They identify what sets a company apart in the marketplace. They work according to this.
- Strategic Foresight: They focus on future trends that make the business strategy stronger.
- White Space Identification: Jump focuses on discovering untapped market opportunities. They usually remain hidden, but with their expertise, it’s different.
- Business Innovation: Jump develops new ways to grow the business. They’re using design thinking and creativity actively.
Jump can be a great option to work with if you want to see where your design is lacking. You’ll find the opportunities to make it better.
Let’s connect with Linkitsoft – Combining agile tech with design thinking
If we were genuine, we’d tell you this: design thinking consulting is an amazing process until comes time for development. This one is the fun part. You ideate and brainstorm on your idea. You visualize what it would look like in shape. These firms will even create prototypes for you. Watching your ideas come to life looks awesome.
But now, you’ll come to the development stage. You’ll have to build your design and make it work. Now, just think about it. It would get so draining. You’d have to now find another company that would develop your design and test it. You may end up struggling with the deployment and testing, too.
There is no guarantee that this product will meet your expectations. So why wouldn’t you find a company that can do all these things together? Just think about it, you’ll be able to go from ideation to launch with a familiar team that you can trust. This is where Linkitsoft can help you.
We’re the design thinking consulting firm that can help guide you through design principles for your idea. We’ll help you build the perfect project. The best part? We’ll be with you every step of the way.
Why choose us?
Well, for one, we provide all-in-one solutions for creating designs and delivering these final projects. It already cuts down most problems. Here’s what we’ll do:
- We’ll listen to your idea and find ways to improve it with you. Then, we’ll understand your user needs and their pain points.
- We’ll create prototypes and mockups of your UI/UX design. This way, you’ll be able to look at your idea in action.
- The development handoff will be smooth. Our developers will constantly collaborate with our designers to ensure that the design comes out perfectly.
- We’ll test your product before safely deploying it to your chosen platform. You won’t have to worry about any bugs or crashes.
- Linkitsoft will provide ongoing maintenance and support. This will ensure that your project is secure and users understand it correctly.
So, Linkitsoft might just be the best option for you. Wait… we didn’t tell you the best part. Our services come with no hidden costs. We’re very transparent about our prices and keep them affordable. So, don’t risk going to someone else, genuinely. Connect with us instead! Let’s talk about your project and start working on it!
