An overview of the literature on design thinking: trends and contributions

This paper discusses the findings of a systematic review of the literature on Design Thinking from 1980 to 2014. A multi-methods approach combining bibliometrics, content analysis and semantic analysis was applied. The findings indicate thatDesign Thinking projects share a common set of phases; however, there is no consensus about the most relevant tools andmethods to be applied in each project phase. A definition of Design Thinking is proposed. Some Design Thinkingcharacteristics are highlighted: the centrality of the user in a human-centered approach; an iterative prototyping method;exploring wicked and ill-structured problems; applying problem-solving concepts; the reasoning approach is divergent-convergent thinking based on abductive logic; the use of visual techniques to explore ideas; and the importance ofinterdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team collaboration.