UX Designers are focused on developing creative problem-solving techniques to meet the needs of users. Design thinking is one such practical approach that designers use to create user-centric designs.

Design thinking is different from other methods in the sense that in this process, the sole focus is on users. It is all about understanding the users and finding solutions for their problems rather than researching the problems and trying to decipher the complexities involved.

The beauty of this method is that it encourages new thoughts. It is natural for the human mind to be limited due to various conditioning factors. Design thinking helps designers grow out of that. It empowers them to look beyond tried and tested methods and find new perspectives.

To master in design thinking, there are five main areas that you need to understand in detail. Let us take a look at them one by one.

Empathize
Empathy is the foundation of the design thinking process. Because the focus of this method is on users, understanding their behavior, wants, and needs is critical. To build empathy, designers interact with real users through various UX research methods like interviews, focus groups, card sorting, etc.

This step helps designers to build their design based on real insights rather than on assumptions. It also helps them to connect to users on an emotional level, which they can translate into their design to create a bond with the users. When a design touches users' feelings, they naturally tend to use that product or service more. Contrary to popular belief, effort spent on research is never wasted. In fact, in the long run, it helps you save time and money.

Define
This is where you define the problem based on all the information you have collected from the research methods. Here you try to figure out the problems that users might face. For this, it is ideal to create user personas- fictional characters that will help you in decision making from the user perspective.

To define the problem, create a problem statement. A problem statement is a statement that is framed from the user perspective and is action-oriented. Putting the problem in words will help designers see the steps that they should take in creating the solution. It helps to identify the gap between needs and goals.

For example, a good problem statement will look like "Help the commuters plan their travel better" instead of "We need to devise strategies to ease routine travel-related problems."

Ideate
With an understanding of users and a clear problem statement, the next step is towards developing solutions. This is the step where creative and innovative ideas take birth. Here designers sit together and carry out various techniques like brainstorming, mind mapping, and debates to come up with all sorts of solutions.

They also try to visualize their ideas through methods like sketching, storyboarding, etc. It is a very challenging step and requires everyone involved to be open-minded and not limited by their personal views. By the end of this stage, designers will have a set of ideas which they will try out to find the best among them.

Prototype
To find the best idea among a set of ideas, we move on to prototyping. It is basically an experimentation step where designers try out different ideas and see how they work. A prototype is a low scale version of the original product. It can either be drawn with pencil on paper or built using prototyping tools to function like a real product.

The goal behind creating prototypes is to make sure whether the design is on the right path or not. These prototypes are given to users and stakeholders to use and gather feedback. Depending on the feedback, it goes through various iterations. Throughout this stage, the prototype goes through changes and redesigns until a solution that works perfectly is found.

Test
The testing step usually begins with a high fidelity prototype of a design. It is done to make sure that the design works as intended and there is no bug. Depending on the results of the testing, changes will be made to the original solution. Testing can be carried out by in-house teams, target users, or by experts like UX consultants.

Testing helps designers validate their design and see if the product they have built goes on to satisfy the user expectations from the user research. Sometimes, the result of this step will take designers back towards previous steps. They might go back to redefine the problem statement or include extra features in prototyping, depending on the test results.

To master the design thinking process, you must carry out these five steps well. It is essential to remember that design thinking is not a linear, step-by-step process. It needs constant moving back and forth until you create the design that's best suited for your audience.