UX CASE STUDY
The Relevance of Design Thinking
Design Thinking Academy: An educational mobile app designed to turn a complex methodology into a practical, everyday tool. Created as a 48-hour challenge, this project focuses on making high-level design strategy accessible to any professional.
Role:
Product Designer
Type:
Research-Led
Domain:
Data Infrastructure
Platform:
Mobile
Note: This solution was developed under 48-hour hiring challenge and resulted in a formal job offer, confirming its strategic value.
Overview
Background
Design Thinking is a highly effective methodology used by mature companies, its efficient application is often overlooked in many other organizations.
Challenge
The core challenge was to design an impactful mobile application focused on the principles of Design Thinking. The project aimed to create a new, effective way to teach and apply this methodology, developing a platform that was intuitive enough to fundamentally change how people learn and use this process.
Goals and Objectives
My goal was to demonstrate that this method is not just a corporate buzzword, but a crucial and impactful process for a wide variety of fields and professionals.
Discovery
Process
The process involved understanding the magnitude and relevance of Design Thinking's implementation. I used reliable data to establish a source of truth, such as research showing design-driven companies have significantly outperformed the market. This helped me demonstrate the tangible benefits and justify the project's importance.
Based on the slide provided, the 219% refers to how much design-driven companies have outperformed the S&P 500 index over a 10-year period.
User Research
The user research revealed a significant gap in the understanding of Design Thinking within the Portuguese context. Despite 76.9% of participants having higher education, a large majority were not familiar with the methodology. This finding was critical, showing a preference for practical over theoretical learning. This directly shaped the app's strategy to emphasize a hands-on approach.
E-Learning Gamification
Finding the right tools for the app, research showed that gamification has a significant impact on employee engagement. 85% of employees become more engaged with gamified solutions, highlighting the success of this methodology. Additionally, 92% of employees remain in their jobs due to human-centered design and empathetic management.
Problem Definition
The main problem is low awareness of design thinking, increased remote-work isolation, and a lack of practical tools for structured problem-solving in corporate environments.
1
Low awareness of design thinking
In the Portuguese corporate context, many people do not know the method or understand its value.
2
Weak adoption in companies
The method is recognized in theory, but it is not widely used in day-to-day corporate culture.
3
Need for faster innovation
Companies face pressure to innovate quickly, especially in a more digital and competitive environment.
4
Remote-work isolation
Post-pandemic work patterns reduced social interaction, making team connection and collaboration harder.
5
Lack of practical learning tools
Existing learning approaches are not always interactive enough to teach problem-solving methods in a memorable way.
Why this is portfolio-worthy
This project addresses a critical gap observed in my corporate experience—the widespread lack of structured problem-solving methodologies outside of the design discipline—by demonstrating how the design thinking framework can be adapted as a versatile, cross-functional strategy for effectively identifying and resolving complex organizational challenges.
Defining
Persona
This product serves corporate professionals who need a more structured way to learn, solve problems, and collaborate in fast-moving environments.
Primary user
Consultant needs practical guidance and clear progression, not abstract theory.
Secondary user
Managing roles, key participants who need visibility, engagement, and a way to support team growth.
How Might We
To ensure that I never lose sight of the user. This process translated user needs into user stories, which were then used to create actionable "How Might We" questions. This ensured every designed feature was directly linked to a specific user goal, validating the project's direction and ensuring the final product would be truly useful and relevant.
Execution
Design Synthesis
The research points to five core design requirements:
Make design thinking understandable for non-designers.
Support collaboration in remote and hybrid teams.
Show progress and learning clearly.
Offer practical problem-solving, not theory alone.
Adapt to different roles and experience levels.
Wireframing
The wireframes demonstrate my ability to translate research insights into a structured app experience while also thinking through the broader product roadmap, from user needs and gamification to flow, content hierarchy, and future scalability.
Final Proposal
Acknowledging the constraints of a weekend challenge, the traditional design process was strategically adapted. Key steps such as in-depth user interviews, extensive brainstorming, and wireframe user testing were streamlined to meet the tight deadline. Despite this, the project was successfully delivered, showcasing the ability to produce a strong, viable result under significant time pressure.