30 Design thinking books

Design thinking is a powerful approach to innovation and problem-solving that has gained significant traction in business and education. If you're looking for literature to expand your knowledge on this topic, here are several highly recommended books:

1. "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman:
   This classic book focuses on user experience and usability, providing foundational knowledge for understanding the importance of design in our daily interactions with objects and systems.
2. "Change by Design" by Tim Brown:
   Written by the CEO of IDEO, this book explains how design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. It's a great read for those who want to incorporate design thinking into their business strategy.
3. "Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value" by Thomas Lockwood:
   This book compiles insights from various industry leaders and provides a comprehensive look at how design thinking can be applied to improve different facets of business.
4. "The Art of Innovation" by Tom Kelley:
   Kelley, from IDEO, shares stories of innovation and offers practical advice on fostering a culture of creativity and coming up with breakthrough ideas.
5. "This is Service Design Thinking: Basics – Tools – Cases" by Marc Stickdorn and Jakob Schneider:
   It's an introduction to service design thinking, loaded with definitions, tools, methods, and real-life case studies.
6. "Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All" by David and Tom Kelley:
   The authors argue that creativity is not just for artists but for everyone, and they provide strategies to bring creativity into all aspects of life.
7. "Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days" by Jake Knapp:
   This book from Google Ventures provides a five-day plan for working through critical business questions via design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers.
8. "Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector" by Jeanne Liedtka, Randy Salzman, and Daisy Azer:
   Explore how design thinking has been applied to social sector and government innovation, offering insights into tackling complex problems.
9. "Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want" by Alexander Osterwalder:
   It provides a detailed look at creating compelling products and services for customers using a design-thinking approach.
10. "Design Thinking: Understand – Improve – Apply" by Christoph Meinel and Larry Leifer:
    This book presents a scientific look at the principles and applications of design thinking, offering both theoretical and empirical perspectives.
11. "Design Thinking: New Product Development Essentials from the PDMA" by Michael G. Luchs, K. Scott Swan, and Abbie Griffin:
    This book is a collection of advanced, scholarly essays on design thinking collected by the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA).
12. "Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers" by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie:
    It provides a set of tools and techniques for managers to apply design thinking principles for business growth.
13. "Design Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans:
    The authors apply design thinking to life planning and personal development, offering a framework for building a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling.
14. "The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design" by IDEO.org:
    This guidebook demonstrates how design thinking can be used to address some of the world's most difficult challenges, specifically focusing on social impact projects.
15. "Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy" by Dev Patnaik with Peter Mortensen:
    This book explores the connection between the success of a company and its ability to understand and respond to the needs of its customers, advocating for empathy as a central tenet of design thinking.
16. "Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation: What They Can't Teach You at Business or Design School" by Idris Mootee:
    This text explains how design thinking can be integrated into corporate strategy to drive innovation and business success.
17. "Design Thinking Workshop: The 12 Indispensable Elements for a Design Thinking Workshop" by Michael Lewrick:
    If you are facilitating design thinking sessions, this book is a practical guide to conducting successful innovation workshops.
18. "The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge" by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble:
    The authors discuss the challenges organizations face when executing innovation initiatives and offer solutions based on design thinking principles.
19. "Innovating for People: Handbook of Human-Centered Design Methods" by LUMA Institute:
    This handbook presents 36 methods of human-centered design, offering a toolbox for anyone who wants to foster creativity and innovation in their organization.
20. "Convivial Toolbox: Generative Research for the Front End of Design" by Liz Sanders and Pieter Jan Stappers:
    It introduces tools and techniques for participatory design, which is a key component of the design thinking process.
21. "This Is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World" by Marc Stickdorn, Markus Edgar Hormess, Adam Lawrence, and Jakob Schneider:
    This book provides a step-by-step explanation of the practical considerations involved in applying service design thinking.
22. "Designing Your Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness at Work" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans:
    The authors extend their design thinking approach from their earlier book to the challenges of finding satisfaction and innovation in the workplace.
23. "The Design Thinking Playbook: Mindful Digital Transformation of Teams, Products, Services, Businesses and Ecosystems" by Michael Lewrick, Patrick Link, and Larry Leifer:
    It presents a playbook for implementing design thinking. The book includes case studies and methodologies from leading companies and universities.
24. "Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector" by Jeanne Liedtka, Randy Salzman, and Daisy Azer:
    A dive into how design thinking has been applied for social innovation, offering insights into solving complex problems across government and nonprofit sectors.
25. "Designing for Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based Graphic Design" by Andrew Shea:
    This is a design thinking guide for graphic designers who want to use their skills to address social issues and promote social change.
26. "Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers" by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie:
    The book provides managers with tools for applying design thinking to solve complex problems and find opportunities for growth.
27. "Innovating for People" by LUMA Institute:
    A guide to human-centered design, this book offers methods for anyone who wants to innovate and create solutions focused on people’s needs.
28. "The Myths of Innovation" by Scott Berkun:
    This book dispels common misconceptions about innovation and presents a realistic view of how groundbreaking ideas are actually brought to life.
29. "Design Thinking: Process and Methods Manual" by Robert Curedale:
    A comprehensive manual on the design thinking process, this book is designed to guide readers through the steps and methods of design thinking.
30. "Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience" by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden:
    It’s a practical guide to incorporating lean principles into the design process, improving both the speed and outcomes of design efforts.