Design thinking misses the mark

The gap between promise and practice in real world complexity

Illustrated by Christoph Niemann for SSIR

In their 2024 article Design thinking misses the mark for Stanford Social Innovation Review, Anne-Laure Fayard and Sarah Fathallah argue that design thinking has failed to live up to its promise as a transformative tool for social change. Once seen as a fresh way to tackle difficult problems, the approach became popular across nonprofits, governments and foundations because it encouraged people to put human needs at the centre of decision-making. However, as it spread, it also became more formulaic and less able to respond to complex real-world contexts.

“A more meaningful approach requires recognising that design is never neutral, and that every intervention is shaped by assumptions, values and power dynamics that need to be made visible and open to scrutiny.”

Fayard and Fathallah assert that many projects fail because they underestimate structural and political realities, overlook existing power dynamics and prioritise rapid ideation over long-term implementation and accountability. Drawing on examples from education, policing, prison reform and international development, they show how participatory processes can become superficial when communities are consulted without real decision-making power. They also question the sector’s focus on novelty and scale, arguing that meaningful impact often comes from strengthening existing community knowledge, relationships and systems rather than constantly creating new solutions.

“Many of the challenges design thinking is applied to are not simply problems to be solved but long-standing systems shaped by history, politics and unequal power relations that cannot be addressed through short cycles of ideation and prototyping.”

Rather than rejecting design altogether, they call for a more thoughtful and self-aware approach that recognises how every project is shaped by values, assumptions and power relations. This means paying closer attention to who benefits, who makes decisions and whose voices are missing, while also shifting focus from quick solutions to longer-term relationships and trust. Lasting change is more likely when work is grounded in local realities and developed alongside communities over time rather than imposed through ready-made methods and fast cycles of innovation. The article closes with a set of critical provocations for designers and practitioners, encouraging them to reflect more deeply on participation, accountability, impact and the assumptions embedded in their own practice.

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Read Design thinking misses the mark in full at Stanford Social Innovation Review

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