Design thinking er en iterativ proces, hvor en designer søger at forstå brugeren, udfordre antagelser og omdefinere problemer i et forsøg på at identificere alternative strategier og løsninger. Definitionen på design thinking er mange - her et uddrag:

Brown (2019) (CEO/president, IDEO): “Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”

Brown (2012): "(...) it is a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity."