Forget B-School, D-School is hot
The Wall Street Journal published the umpteenth article on design thinking education.
What I keep on missing in these pieces is some reflection on what understanding people actually means: ethnographic and anthropological observation and fast prototyping, combined with some creativity, will not by themselves create sufficiently sustainable solutions, I believe.
When you deal with people, you will always need a model of behaviour, and this requires a serious understanding of cognitive and behavioural science, as well as some behavioural economics.
However, what is definitely commendable about these initiatives, is the integration of design with business. Designers are not always good at that, and business people too have often difficulties working out strategic design challenges.
