A paradigm-shifting look at design that empowers readers to tackle the world’s hardest problems
In Design Thinking For Humanity: Cultivating a Transformative Mindset for a Better and Sustainable Future, Design Thinking and Business Ecosystems Design Thought Leader, Michael Lewrick, delivers an insightful discussion of a “Designing for Humanity” framework. The author demonstrates the interconnectedness of all living beings and the urgent need for ecological and social justice, showing you how those interconnections can empower designers and innovators to address complex global challenges.
The book is divided into five parts: Future Thinking, Design Thinking, Ecological Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Exponential Thinking. Each part addresses how to tackle a variety of hard problems, from climate change to inequality and resource depletion. You’ll also find:
- Strategies for fostering empathy, collaboration, and an understanding of the intricate web of life
- Tools to help you become an agent of positive change in the world
- Proven ways to cultivate empathy and compassion for all living things and develop innovative solutions to complicated global problems
Perfect for managers, executives, and other leaders in the sustainability, innovation, design, business, technology, and social impact spaces, Design Thinking For Humanity is a fascinating and practical addition to the Wiley Design Thinking Series. It belongs on the bookshelves of everyone with an interest in solving seemingly intractable problems and improving the world around them.
Table of Contents:
Preface 10
Motivation for This Book 18
Design Thinking Essentials 29
The Framework 35
Impact checklist 50
Futures Thinking 54
Doing Futures and Foresight 56
Applying the Vision Cone 60
Facilitating Future-Oriented Design 64
The Future-Forward Design Process 65
Case Study Part 1: The Living Soil 68
Futures Thinking Toolbox 77
Design Thinking 120
Deep Empathy & Problem Framing 122
Radical Collaboration 126
The Design Thinking Process 130
Storytelling 132
Case Study Part 2: The Carbon Harvest 137
Design Thinking Toolbox 142
Ecological Thinking 166
Cultivating an Ecological Self 168
The Embedded Ecological Thinking Cycle 171
The Principles of Circularity 173
Shifts in Business Model Design 178
Case Study Part 3: Designing for Life 198
Ecological Thinking Toolbox 202
Systems Thinking 218
Understanding Complexity 220
The Integrated Systems Thinking Flywheel 224
Fundamental Concepts 226
Designing Business Ecosystems 230
Case Study Part 4: The Ecosystem 237
Systems Thinking Toolbox 242
Exponential Thinking 262
Scaling for Impact 264
The Exponential Innovation Cycle 268
Massive Transformative Purpose 269
Human-AI Collaboration 271
Case Study Part 5: Global Scale 277
Exponential Thinking Toolbox 282
A Final Word 302
Voices of Global Change 313
Index & Sources 314
About the Author :
Michael Lewrick is the visionary architect of the Design Thinking for Humanity movement and the lead author of the bestselling Wiley Design Thinking Series. As a preeminent global authority on business ecosystems and exponential innovation, his pioneering methodologies have redefined the innovation landscape for multinational organizations and high-growth startups globally. His work serves as the definitive global benchmark for practitioners committed to aligning technological power with the restoration of human and ecological systems.
