From Tools to Confidence – Learning Design Thinking by Doing It Together

By Shila KC & Annamari Sandlund

Starting point: Seeing things from different perspectives

When we walked into our first Design Thinking course, we came from different professional, cultural and educational backgrounds. We also had different ideas about what Design Thinking was. Shila associated design mainly with designers and physical products, while Annamari expected it to be mostly a process supported by different methods and tools. We were both asking the same question: What does Design Thinking really mean in practice?

Already on the first day, Design Thinking became more concrete through examples and hands-on exercises. Exploring its evolution was also one of our first key learnings. We started to understand that Design Thinking is more than a set of tools, and Johansson-Sköldberg et al. (2013, 131) made a similar point. Seeing Design Thinking as a mindset also helped us understand why it can be applied far beyond traditional design fields. Tschimmel (2026) also pointed out that innovations are adopted more slowly in fields such as education and culture. This broadened our view how Design Thinking can support new approaches in those fields.

For Shila, one example stayed especially clear: Doug Dietz’s redesign of the MRI experience for children. Hospitals may buy machines, but the patients are the real users. Looking at the situation through a frightened child’s eyes showed how a technically functioning solution can still fail from a human perspective. It made empathy more concrete: good design starts with understanding who the real user is, how they experience a situation, and where design thinking can create the most value. The same idea is supported by (Bhamra, Walters & Moultrie 2017, 209) which explains that service design places emphasis on understanding users’ experiences and empathizing with them at different points of interaction.

Collage of MRI machines, showcasing different designs aimed at making the experience more child-friendly. The images include a standard MRI scanner, a colorful underwater-themed machine, and a pirate ship-themed MRI. Each design emphasizes the importance of empathy in healthcare environments.
Empathy changes the perspective: seeing the experience through a child’s eyes can transform fear into something more positive. Case study: Doug Dietz for GE Healthcare, presented in Katja Tschimmel’s Design Thinking Masterclass material. © 2026 by Katja Tschimmel, MINDSHAKE for SID, Laurea UAS

Learning by doing – Together

Our own teamwork gave us another lesson. We started as individuals with different perspectives, but through discussions, ideation, visualization and prototyping, we gradually became one team. We learned that the first idea is rarely the final or best one. For Annamari, one of the biggest shifts was learning to trust the process instead of trying to find the right solution too quickly. We had to ask question after question, challenge assumptions and sometimes go back before moving forward.

Different methods helped us move from broad questions towards more concrete ideas. Semantic confrontation pushed us to combine seemingly unrelated ideas and explore something new. Framing, personas, ideation, visualization and prototyping helped us make our thinking visible and gradually find a shared direction. Buchanan’s (1992, 15) discussion of wicked problems also helped us understand why the process did not always move forward in a straight line. Experimenting, making mistakes and trying again started to feel like part of learning, not something to avoid.

Illustrated Design Thinking suitcase filled with students’ key learnings, including empathy, creativity, confidence, teamwork, questioning, new methods, prototyping and learning through a creative process.

Students’ reflections on the most important learnings from the course.

From tools to confidence

By the end of the course, we had not mastered Design Thinking, but we had become more confident in using it. We learned to trust the process, ask better questions, turn ideas into concepts and move forward even when the answer was not clear. Mootee (2013, 66–69) also helped us understand how making ideas tangible and experimenting can turn uncertainty into learning.

And perhaps that is why Design Thinking was our first course. It gave us a foundation for our SID studies – and hopefully a few useful superpowers for whatever comes next in our working lives.

Infographic titled 'From Tools to Confidence: Learning Design Thinking by Doing It Together' by Shila KC and Annamari Sandlund, showcasing various aspects of design thinking.
Sometimes one image says more than a blog post.

References

  • Bhamra, T., Walters, A.T. & Moultrie, J. 2017. The potential of service design as a route to product service systems. In: Sangiorgi, D. & Prendiville, A. (eds.) Designing for service: key issues and new directions. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • Buchanan, R. 1992. Wicked problems in design thinking. Design Issues, 8 (2), 5-21. https://doi.org/10.2307/1511637
  • Johansson-Sköldberg, U., Woodilla, J. & Çetinkaya, M. 2013. Design thinking: past, present and possible future. Creativity and Innovation Management, 22 (2), 121-146. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12023
  • Mootee, I. 2013. Design thinking for strategic innovation: what they can’t teach you at business or design school. Hoboken: Wiley. Accessed 28 September 2026. https://laurea.finna.fi/Record/nelli01.2550000001111847
  • Tschimmel, K. 2026. Design thinking masterclass at Laurea UAS. [lecture]. Held on 4-5 September. Laurea University of Applied Sciences.

Visuals

Header and summary images created with AI based on our prompts. Suitcase image created with AI based on our original photo. MRI image: Doug Dietz for GE Healthcare, presented in Katja Tschimmel’s Design Thinking Masterclass material.

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Comments

3 responses to “From Tools to Confidence – Learning Design Thinking by Doing It Together”

  1. TANJID Avatar
    TANJID

    I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I especially liked how you explained that Design Thinking is not just about using tools and methods, but also about developing the right mindset, understanding users, and learning through teamwork. The example of redesigning the MRI experience for children was particularly interesting because it clearly shows the importance of empathy in creating user-centred solutions. I also appreciated your reflection on how experimenting, making mistakes, and trying again can build confidence. Your blog helped me understand that Design Thinking is a learning journey rather than a fixed process. Thank you for sharing your valuable insights and experiences!

    Reply
  2. anumaharjan295d167b3a Avatar
    anumaharjan295d167b3a

    Hi Shila and Annamari, 

    I enjoyed going through your blog post. I liked that you started with your different expectations of design thinking and how your understanding of it grew during the course. 

    The Doug Dietz example really made me think. It says a machine can do its job perfectly but still be a bad experience for the person using it, which shows why empathy has to come in the first place. 

    I liked how you described asking questions after questions and challenging your assumptions. That takes patience, and it seems to be what helped you find better ideas instead of settling on the first one. 

    Moving from tools to confidence is a great takeaway. The suitcase and infographic wrapped it up really nicely. 

    Thank You! 

    Reply
  3. mex00008 Avatar
    mex00008

    Hi, I really enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for sending me the link to it.

    I deeply agree with your point that Design Thinking is a mindset. It made me wonder whether, after two-year study journey, the most valuable thing we gain might actually be a different way of thinking.

    The hospital example you gave mede me think about my own experiece again, especially the relationship among doctors, children and parents. Looking at the MRI experience through the child’s eyes is very important. But when I think about my experiece in a children’s hospital, I start to wonder who exactly the “user” is.

    The child is certainly the patient and directly experiences the treatment, but parents are also deeply involved in the whole service. Before coming to the hospital, they may search for information, read reviews and choose a doctor. During the visit, they accompany the child and communicate with the medical staff. After leaving, they reflect on the whole experience and make their next decision. And there are also the doctors, who provide the service and interact with both the child and the parents.

    So when I think about the whole hospital excperience, it starts to feel much complex. Maybe it depends on which part of the service we are designing. If we are redesigning an MRI room, the child’s experience may be the main focus. But if we are thinking about the whole hospital service, more people and more experiences become part of the picture.

    This also makes me wonder what we will see differently two years from now. Maybe by then, we will look back at cases like this in a very different way. That would be great.

    From Mengyun Xu.

    Reply

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