What we do and why

The Electronic Colloquium on Design Thinking Research is a forum for the rapid and widespread interchange of ideas, methods, and results in Design Thinking Research. The purpose of this forum is to use electronic media for scientific communication and discussions in the Design Thinking Research community. The Electronic Colloquium on Design Thinking Research (ECDTR) welcomes papers, short notes and surveys with

• relevance to Design Thinking Research
• innovative solutions to Design Thinking research challenges
• interdisciplinary focus

The scope

Typical topics covered by ECDTR include research on and development of (digital and analogous) tools for Design Thinking, the dynamics and communication within and among design teams, indicators for predictability of the innovation potential of teams, the communication of ideas, improvements in the process management of Design Thinking, and the implementation of Design Thinking practices in large and small corporations. This is not meant as an exhaustive list; studies in other areas related to design thinking, such as communication or industrial design or methods of teaching Design Thinking to university students from various disciplines as it is done in the D-School at Stanford University and at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute in Potsdam, Germany, are welcome, too.

Indeed, the main focus of Design Thinking Research and the ECDTR is to understanding why Design Thinking has been so successful in the past and how this successful method can be supported and further enhanced in the future.

We have updated our theses section (see DTR Resources / Theses). Additional PhD theses come from Stanford University and the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. You are invited to submit your PhD, Master or Diploma thesis to the local office.

The Electronic Colloquium on Design Thinking Research now also accepts PhD theses and Master's theses on Design Research topics for publication. You are encouraged to submit your thesis to the ECDTR local office (ecdtr-admin@hpi.uni-potsdam.de). You can find the theses at https://ecdtr.hpi-web.de/static/books/theses/

The Electronic Colloquium on Design Thinking Research is proud to announce the publication of our first report. From now on, the colloquium is open for your submissions. Read our call for papers and find out, how to submit your paper to ECDTR.

For years, the Bootcamp Bootleg (d.school, 2010) has been a valuable toolkit to facilitate design thinking practice. The booklet shares methods for five process phases, or modes, in creative work. Teams are guided up to a point where they hold successfully tested prototypes. At that stage, design thinking teams have ... more >>>

Drawing on the Dynamic Creativity Framework and Failure Theory, this paper explores what it means to advance domain knowledge with creative ambitions. Failures are analysed as an extraordinary resource in the search for radical innovation. Success-Failure Analysis is suggested as a methodological approach to advance domain knowledge based on outcome ... more >>>

Failures are a key concept in design thinking. They are discussed as a resource for learning, whereas fear of failure would be a major block to creative activity. We attempt to clarify the term by reconstructing “failures” as “inconclusive outcomes” in the Dynamic Creativity Framework. This includes a definition of ... more >>>