Incorporating Human-Centric Innovation
Today’s competitive and dynamic landscape requires re-imagining business strategies and approaches to innovation. At the heart of your product development lives the goal of solving an unmet need for your customers. Design thinking employs methods and mindsets to promote a human-centered approach. By effectively leveraging the design thinking framework and embracing human insights, you can quickly and efficiently create better products and experiences for your customers.
About the Design Thinking Program
Learn to work collaboratively to solve complex problems while combining creative and analytical methodology. Develop deep insights, understand human behavior, articulate design needs, prototype solutions and test and validate in an iterate-based process.
The Ashland University Design Thinking program is designed by industry experts for professionals seeking a practical framework for this fast-growing discipline. From empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, testing and validating - get ready to roll-up your sleeves and apply your new skills in this hands-on, interactive course.
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Enroll Today!
8 Modules Online ($4,995)
- Enjoy self-paced learning & get your certificate in just a few weeks!
- Dive into hands-on projects & interactive discussion boards.
- Complete an optional Capstone Project to enhance your ROI.
- Collect the entire Design Thinking Ultimate Toolkit & all course materials.
Design Thinking Curriculum
Immerse yourself in innovative frameworks and identify the unmet needs of your customers. Learn new ways to infuse design thinking into your organization's DNA, encourage creativity, manage complexity, visualize, prototype, test and more!
Each module builds your skills and helps you develop your strategies. Gather the Design Thinking Ultimate Toolkit of more than 60 workbooks, eBooks, team-focused activities, templates, prototyping tools, assessments, planning guides, customizable presentations and culture posters. All to help YOU on your road to success!
Enjoy this fast-paced course that puts your customer at the center of every product and process you create.
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Design Thinking Instructors
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Carol BuehrensCarol is the author of ‘Happy RAVING Customers!’ and is a leading CX expert. She has a wealth of skills and expertise to draw from, constructing customer experiences for over 30 years for major companies such as Liberty Mutual, Northrop, McDonnell-Douglas, Bechtel, GE, Mercury Marine and ICW Group Insurance Companies. Carol’s passion for improving customer experience has resulted in numerous awards, including the prestigious “CX Innovation Award” from the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), ICW Group CEO Award, the Liberty Mutual Star Award and is listed in the World's Top 30 Customer Service Professionals. A Founding Member and Expert Panel Member of the international Customer Experience Professional Association (CXPA), Carol is also an active member of the San Diego Customer Experience Special Interest Group (CX SIG), and Professor at California State University Fullerton and University of California San Diego. |
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Lisa Perrine, Ed.D.As an experience designer and communication strategist, Lisa's professional career spans over 30 years and includes more than 1,000 consulting engagements. Her firm designs and builds places that inspire people to collaborate productively, learn quickly and make sound decisions. Unique in their commitment to co-creation, they use design thinking methods to engage end-users in crafting compelling experiences. Their diverse client list includes the Annenberg Foundation, Microsoft, Pacific Life and Sony Music. After earning an undergraduate design degree, she began her career building prototypes for a small product design studio. In 1991 she became the CEO of Cibola Systems and completed her MBA studies at Pepperdine University shortly thereafter. More recently Lisa earned a doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine where her research focused on multidisciplinary teams. Coaching Design Thinking workshops and courses is a special joy for Lisa. Many of these assist nonprofit and civic organizations with specific design challenges. Her courses have been approved for certification renewal units by several trade organizations, including the American Institute of Architects, International Interior Design Association and AVIXA. Cibola’s team is committed to supporting the underserved and vulnerable. Lisa has served on the governing boards of the Orange County United Way, the Girl Scouts of Orange County, St. Joseph Hoag Health and Mission Hospital. Her colleagues and she also volunteer our professional services for many Southern California charities. |
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Michael TruettMichael is known for creating, improving and executing collaborative design thinking sessions and customer experience frameworks across diverse industries at different stages of growth. He has worked with companies such as Spotify, The New York Times, Dow Jones, Tech start-ups and Telecom providers globally. |
What others say about the Design Thinking Program
"My favorite part was how streamlined it felt. This was something that was easy to find time for in my already busy schedule. I enjoyed the prototyping portion of the course the most. Possibly because I rarely engage in this step in my work, but also because it is very powerful to see an idea become tangible."
- Kristin S., Marketing Director
"I liked the journey mapping module, thinking through ways to optimize real problems we are facing at my company today and having time to think through optimizations or improvements. I liked the combination of video lessons and interactivity. I also really liked the last module as a wrap up. Great course - I have already recommended it to others on my team!"
- Andrew W., Project Manager
"I most enjoyed Module 5 -- specifically learning new ways of brainstorming. I could definitely see these as being beneficial and applicable to my design function, and is something I can bring back to my team and feel confident that it would shed a new light on our existing process. I really enjoyed this course and am looking forward to telling my teammates about it! Thank you."
- Matt F., Director of Operations
To learn more about the Ashland Design Thinking Program and how it helps companies and executives, schedule a call with the program manager.