10 Best Design Thinking Courses & Certifications - Learn Design Thinking Online

Highly curated the best design thinking certification for beginners. Start with the top design thinking courses and learn about design thinking as beginners.

10 Best Design Thinking Courses & Certifications - Learn Design Thinking Online

In today's fast-paced and competitive world, innovation has become a necessity across all sectors and industries. Whether you're a high-ranking executive, an aspiring entrepreneur, a public servant, or even an educator, the ability to do more with less and embrace innovation is crucial. Here is where design thinking comes into play.

Design thinking is a powerful methodology that equips individuals with the tools and mindset needed to think creatively, solve complex problems, and uncover new opportunities. Throughout this blog post, we'll examine the importance of design thinking in various organizational settings and present a curated collection of top-notch online tutorials to help you improve your thinking creatively. By embracing design thinking, you can gain a competitive edge and position yourself as an innovative thinker in your field. Let's delve into the transformative world of design thinking and unlock your creative potential!

Best Online Design Thinking Courses and Tutorials

  1. Cooper Crash Course: Design Thinking in 3 Steps
  2. Design Thinking for Innovation
  3. Develop your innovation - Certified Design Thinking Bootcamp
  4. Design Thinking - Design Research and Analysis - Revised
  5. Complete Design Thinking Masterclass
  6. Design Thinking: Understanding the Process
  7. Design strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship
  8. Design Thinking: Implementing the Process
  9. Introduction to Design Thinking and People Centered Design - Revised
  10. Design thinking for entrepreneurs & startups (part 1)

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1. Cooper Crash Course: Design Thinking in 3 Steps

Understand your audience, envision a creative solution, and test your prototype by Cooper Professional Education

  • Course rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 (51,400 Rating total)
  • Duration: 1.5 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

With this design thinking course, you will be able to:

  • Apply the design thinking tutorials framework to solve problems more creatively
  • Create prototypes to test your idea early, before making a big investment of time and money
  • Understand problems from the customer's perspective
  • Guide groups to effectively brainstorm innovative ideas
  • Plan and conduct effective design research, including user interviews
  • Make and use a storyboard to communicate your design ideas
  • Identify your design research objectives
  • Make a plan to iterate your idea forward

You'll practice a design thinking course online on a real-life project and equip yourself with powerful tools to become more collaborative, innovative, and effective. You'll learn how to understand the problem from your customer's perspective, effectively brainstorm innovative ideas, and create prototypes to test your new ideas before investing a lot of time and money.

You can take Cooper Crash Course: Design Thinking in 3 Steps on Udemy.

2. Design Thinking for Innovation

Learn Design Thinking for Innovation from the University of Virginia.

  • Course rating: 4.7 out of 5.0 (6,358 Rating total)
  • Duration: 6 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking online course, you will learn:

  • What design thinking online is and when to use it.
  • How to prepare to see and take action when the opportunity arises.
  • How to use design thinking online course to generate innovative ideas.
  • How to take the many ideas you generate and determine which ones are likely to produce specific, desired outcomes?

This design thinking course will provide an overview of design thinking and you will work with a model containing four key questions and several tools to help you understand design thinking as a problem-solving approach. You will also look at several stories from different organizations that used design thinking to uncover compelling solutions.

You can take Design Thinking online course for Innovation on Coursera.

3. Develop your innovation - Certified Design Thinking Bootcamp

Make your own innovation using powerful tools.

  • Course rating: 4.2 out of 5.0 (1,994 Rating total)
  • Duration: 2.5 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking course, you will learn how to:

  • Develop a variety of concepts, products, services, processes, etc. for end users
  • Optimize the ability to innovate
  • Develop advanced brainstorming
  • Leverage the diverse ideas of innovation
  • Connect with the customers and end-users by targeting their actual requirements

With this design thinking online course, you will learn the ability to use design thinking from start-up to corporation. You will learn to use it not only in designing new products but also in innovative solutions for a given situation.

You can take Develop your innovation - Certified Design Thinking Bootcamp on Udemy.

4. Design Thinking - Design Research and Analysis - Revised

Optimize your designs by learning about design research and design analysis processes with this free online course.

  • Course rating: 3.5 out of 5.0 (5580 Rating total)
  • Duration: 2.5 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking course, you will be able to:

  • discuss user research for designing your product/service.
  • explain the difference between market research and design research.
  • describe how to frame questions for interviewing users.
  • explain how to create a persona to help represent your users.
  • describe the use of insight statements and a design strategy statement

The course includes:

  • Design Research - Learning Outcomes
  • Research with Users and Their Contexts - Part I
  • Research with Users and Their Contexts - Part II
  • Question Framing and Conducting Research
  • Design Research - Lesson Summary
  • Design Analysis - Learning Outcomes
  • User Stories and Themes
  • Personas
  • Insight Statements, Design Strategy Statement
  • Design analysis - Lesson Summary

This free design thinking online course begins by introducing you to research for design. You will first learn about the main differences between market research and design research. You will then know the key questions you should consider when designing and how to frame these questions in interviews.

You will also learn about a user's Mental Model and how this model directly impacts professional designs. Next, you will learn how to analyze the information obtained during the research phase.

You will learn how to derive themes from user stories and how to create a customer journey map. You will then learn about personas, what they represent, and why you need to create one.

The course will then guide you through insight statements and why "How might we' questions can help re-frame your insight statements. Finally, you will learn what a design strategy statement is and how it can be used effectively.

By the end of this course, you will have a solid understanding of research and analysis for design, and you will be able to apply this knowledge in a practical setting.

You can take the Design Thinking - Design Research and Analysis - Revised Certificate Course on Alison.

5. Complete Design Thinking Masterclass

The most complete Design Thinking course on the market. 7 easy steps to expert-level Design Thinking professional!

  • Course rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 (1,897 Rating total)
  • Duration: 4.5 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

With this design thinking online course, you will be able to:

  • Manage and deliver entire design thinking projects and know exactly how to price the work
  • Pitch your projects perfectly to your investors
  • Learn design thinking online methods focused on business requirements analysis, customer research, problem definition, and ideation as well as prototyping, testing, and the impact delivery.

In this design thinking course you'll get to work on an actual business case example - you'll be using design thinking to create the restaurant experience of your dreams. This will allow you to understand how the design thinking tools work fully. You will learn how to tackle any design challenge that has been presented to you, and how to only do the customer research to fully understand the perspective of your customers.

You will learn how the entire design thinking process works so that you can use any methods you might already know or even create your own exciting methods how to prepare your or your client's business for the delivery of the experience that has been designed. Everything is explained using a cause-and-effect methodology - every design thinking process step creates value for the next step.

You can take Complete Design Thinking Masterclass on Udemy.

Design Thinking as an Approach to Strategy

6. Design Thinking: Understanding the Process

Having a good understanding of the process will help you explain the benefits to management and clients and implement design thinking in your organization.

  • Course ratings: 3,848 total enrollments
  • Duration: 0.7 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking course, you will learn:

  • agile, lean, and design thinking.
  • preparing to sell design thinking to your organization.
  • finding the real problem.
  • Ideation.
  • Prototyping.
  • Correcting course.
  • Offshoring and outsourcing.
  • getting past organizational inertia and silos.
  • tracking your success.

The course includes:

  • Where Design Thinking Fits in a Business
  • Design Thinking Isn't Magic
  • The Design Thinking Process
  • Pros and Cons of Design Thinking
  • Making Design Thinking Happen in Your Organization

In this design thinking online course, you will learn where design thinking fits into product development and what it can help you achieve. The course describes each step in the process, from identifying the problem you want to solve and brainstorming solutions, to prototyping, development, and release.

Learn about the pros and cons of this approach and how to overcome challenges such as organization inertia and silos. Done right, design thinking can start your organization moving toward broader user-centered design techniques such as information architecture, content testing, usability testing, and marketing research.

You can take the Design Thinking: Understanding the Process Certificate Course on LinkedIn.

7. Design Strategy: Design Thinking For Business Strategy And Entrepreneurship

Learn Design Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship from The University of Sydney.

  • Course rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 (538 Rating total)
  • Duration: 20 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking online course, you will learn:

  • What ‘design strategy’ is
  • How it differs from traditional design thinking and business strategy
  • How it can be used to improve existing products or services in your business or introduce breakthrough ideas.

You will also deep-dive into the practical application and impact of these strategies in one of Australia’s newest, most innovative financial institutions, UBank, and the global re-insurance giant, Swiss Re. You will have a set of tools to inform product design and development for your own start-up, or to extend the product roadmap of an established organization.

You can take Design Strategy: Design Thinking for business strategy and Entrepreneurship on Coursera.

8. Design Thinking: Implementing the Process

You, or someone in your management chain, think that design thinking is the answer to all your problems. Now it’s up to you to make it work at your company.

  • Course ratings: 1,588 total enrollments
  • Duration: 0.8 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

The course includes:

  • Finding the Right Problem to Solve
  • Coming Up with Good Ideas
  • Testing Your Ideas with Real Customers
  • Planning Your Development Work
  • What Design Thinking Gives You

In this design thinking course, learn what’s involved in setting up a design thinking exercise to kick off a new project or subproject. Get tips for assembling your team, including how to determine who should be involved from across your organization.

Discover what activities you need to perform to define the problem space, set goals, ideate on a solution, test that solution with a prototype, and then plan your implementation.

Plus, learn about some of the common issues that can get in the way of a successful design thinking session, as well as the traps that people fall into when they do this for the first time.

You can take the Design Thinking: Implementing the Process Certificate Course on LinkedIn.

9. Introduction to Design Thinking and People-Centered Design - Revised

Learn how the concepts of Design Thinking can provide an effective solution-based approach to difficult problems.

  • Course ratings: 3.9 out of 5.0 (6,859 Rating total)
  • Duration: 2.5 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking course, you will:

  • discuss design thinking for creative problem-solving.
  • describe mindsets for designers.
  • explain the people-centered design.
  • learn how to reflect on a problem when designing.
  • learn how to explore an issue and analyze it.

The course includes:

  • People-Centered Design - Learning Outcomes
  • Introduction to Design Thinking
  • The Need to be People Centered
  • People-Centered Design Methodology
  • People-Centered Design - Lesson Summary
  • Problem Discovery - Learning Outcomes
  • Examine and Reflect on the Problem
  • Reconsider the Right Problem to Solve
  • Problem Discovery. Lesson Summary

This course will first introduce you to design thinking and people-centered design. You will learn effective design thinking strategies and the 7 mindsets for designers.

The course will teach you how to make true innovation happen by putting people at the center of your development process. You will learn that design thinking is a proven and repeatable problem-solving protocol that you can employ to achieve results.

The course will also discuss the four main paths for people-centered design. Next, you will learn about solving design problems. The course will teach you that when examining your problem, you need to ask yourself what the problem is.

You will learn to look at the different angles of the problem, break the problem down, and rephrase the problem. You will then study how to explore the design challenge and put a frame around the reconsidered problem to arrive at the 'right' problem to solve.

Creating a design using a human-centered approach to innovation will help you answer people's needs and paves the way for the success of a business. This Introduction to Design Thinking and People-Centered Design course will help you develop the mindset of effective designers and how to properly reflect on a problem when designing.

You can take Introduction to Design Thinking and People-Centered Design - Revised Certificate Course on Alison.

10. Design Thinking For Entrepreneurs & Startups (Part 1)

An intro to the first two steps of the 'design thinking' process: developing empathy & framing the problem/opportunity.

  • Course rating: 3.8 out of 5.0 (379 Rating total)
  • Duration: 1.5 Hours
  • Certificate: Certificate of completion

In this design thinking online course, you will:

  • Discover and understand how to apply the first few steps of the design process to your new venture.
  • Improve your ability to think more like a designer (open to opportunities) rather than as a manager focused on constraints.
  • Strengthen your empathy, meaning your ability to better understand people and their needs.
  • Have the opportunity to join Bootpeers a community of budding entrepreneurs learning together about lean methodologies and design thinking.
  • Be provided with a booklet explaining the main concepts contained in the videos and driving you through the steps of the design thinking process.

This design thinking course will introduce you to the basic concepts and tools behind design thinking and takes you through the first two steps in the design process. These steps are fundamental to reducing the risk involved in your new venture.

You can take Design Thinking online course for entrepreneurs & startups (part 1) on Udemy.


Thank you for reading this. We hope our course curation would help you to pick the right course to learn Design thinking. In case you want to explore more, you can take the free Design thinking courses.

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