Designthinkers agency

Hi! We are DesignThinkers.
We love to innovate, we always do this with people at the centre. Want to know more about us?

So, what’s your challenge?

Customer Experience Design

Optimize your customer experience across all channels and define more customer focused sales approaches.

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Employee Experience Design

Optimize your employee experience from recruitment to retirement and attract and onboard a new generation of talent.

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Service Strategy & Innovation

Design and implement your innovation processes and improve your organizational model bottom-up.

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Want to make an impact?

Explore ways to enhance social and sustainability impact within your organization.

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But don’t just take our word for it…

ING GROUP | ACCELERATING INNOVATION PROCESSES

How can we support ING in a human-centred way improving services in the financial industry?

Accelerators, capability & team building | 1000+ people reached | The Netherlands, Spain, Germany & Romania

ING is preparing for future-proof innovation. Therefore, with facilitation by DesignThinkers, we accelerated an innovation process that embeds the users’ perspective in product & service development. As a result, we successfully combined Lean, Agile & Scrum with Design Thinking. In this manner, we empowered ING to bring relevant solutions to the market faster.

ING DRIVEN INNOVATION

ING is preparing for the future whatever the speed of change. DTA collaborated with ING to co-create an internal innovation process embedding the users’ perspective in new service development. Consequently, DesignThinkers Academy trained a team of ING employees that will foster a more human-centered perspective within the organization.
Furthermore, DTA also guided the ING Accelerator teams to develop, test and implement new services. As a result, DTA designed all of the tools which were used for the individual workshops, guidelines, toolkits, Accelerator programs and flows.

METHODOLOGY

With the facilitation of DTA, we accelerated an innovation process that embeds the users’ perspective in product & service development and successfully combining Lean, Agile & Scrum with Design Thinking, in order to enable ING to bring relevant solutions to the market faster.

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CARTIER: EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FUTURE SCENARIO

How to improve the Cartier employee experience adapting to their functional & emotional needs?

Design sprints, capability & team building | 150+ people reached | Amsterdam, Paris, Miami & New York

The Employee Journey project at Cartier involved participants from different departments of their global organization. This was essential in order to allow the co-creation of shared solutions. As a result, in a learning-by-doing manner, participants were guided through a Design process that enabled them to visualize future scenarios. Read on to learn more about applying Design Thinking in luxury retail.

CARTIER DRIVEN INNOVATION

The project was executed on a global level, involving teams in the Paris, New York and Amsterdam offices. An important aspect was how to bring about relevant stakeholders. Working with a human-centered perspective resulted in more extensive changes than imagined at the start: aside from redesigning the physical working space, we embedded employees’ emotions and attitude into the new design.

METHODOLOGY

Through learning-by-doing, participants were guided through a Design process that enabled them to co-create Persona profiles and their Customer Journey. Moreover, this enabled them to visualize Future Scenarios of service. Ultimately, DesignThinkers Academy and Cartier worked together on a project closely related to the Employee Experience, more specifically, the working environment.

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COCA-COLA | REBUILDING A GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM

How can we support the Global Coca-Cola HR Department in redesigning its employee services?

Accelerators, Process design & Remote coaching | 500+ people reached | EMEA, USA & Baltic states

Our collaboration with Coca-Cola was an interesting case of Design Thinking in HR. DesignThinkers facilitated the redesign of Coca-Cola HR & the employee ecosystem. How can we demonstrate a human touch in the digital world we work in? Resulting in improved service scenarios for hiring and on-boarding for new Coca-Cola employees worldwide. The main outcome is a set of prototypes & roadmaps on how to implement these pilots.

COCA-COLA DRIVEN INNOVATION

How can we support the HR Department of Coca-Cola in redesigning its employee services following a ‘Design Thinking’ approach?

Design Thinking Workshops for Coca-Cola Global HR were carried out in collaboration with the GBS department. We facilitated Design Councils consisting of Coca-Cola employees and Coca-Cola Human Resource professionals. This was a co-creation effort to explore the Coca-Cola Global business Services eco-system and opportunity areas for improving services and design improved Service Scenarios especially for hiring and on boarding of new Coca-Cola employees. The main outcome is a set of Prototypes & Roadmaps on how to implement the Pilots.

METHODOLOGY

How can we demonstrate a human touch in the digital world we work in? The idea was to treat the Coca-Cola employees we worked with, as customers of our services. Along with this new mindset came new emphasis on the experience of these services. Putting ourselves in the shoes of our customers, we asked ourselves four key questions, focussing on getting a deeper understanding in customers’ desires, needs and pain points. In the end, we helped the GBS department to produce a Customer Journey Map that was applicable to their employee journey. In doing so, Coca-Cola’s HR professionals can envision the employee experience and breathe new life into how they view their global employee ecosystem.

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“Our experts take pride in guiding you through a structured design approach and establish a new way of working to sustain innovation.”

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L'ORÉAL: FUTURE LEADERSHIP AMIDST A DEPARTMENT MERGER

How can we aid L’Oréal in co-creating a ‘future leadership manifesto’ while going through a global departmental merge?

Workshops, Training Program, Toolkits, 1000+ people reached | 1-year collaboration | The Netherlands, Germany, Spain & Romania

L’Oréal faced challenges of effective future leadership when deciding to merge several departments worldwide. We used multiple training formats to help them with: incorporating the Design Thinking mindset in the company’s cultural fabric, creating a brand strategy that raises awareness and solidifies commitment to the new way of working, and crafting a roadmap and defining what success looks like in the future.

L’ORÉAL DRIVEN INNOVATION

The advent of a new Parisian department store presents the L’Oreal Group with more growth opportunities. To realize these opportunities, L’Oreal was interested in cooperating with the owner of this venue, the Hong Kong-based DFS Group. This merge presented exciting new ventures, but it also left both organizations with questions about strategic leadership in the future. L’Oreal invited DesignThinkers to organize training sessions for both parties to co-create future scenarios of success. Read on to learn more about applying Design Thinking in luxury retail.

METHODOLOGY

The program was built on existing research and carefully prepared with pre-defined personas, journeys, and key insights, as well as a simulation session. In the final stage of the program, future scenarios were designed to support the successful launch of DFS’ venture in Paris, supported by a strong team culture. The focus of the project was set on defining long-term and short-term goals that are human-centered. Together, we did research on how the merger will affect employees, end-users, and other stakeholders. Design Thinking in luxury retail was the guiding principle throughout the process; we helped L’Oreal build human-centered capabilities and introduced tools that help facilitate successful leadership after the merger.

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BLOOMBERG | CREATING NEW SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE LIVES ACROSS THE WORLD

How can we improve the communities of Rotterdam and Butuan with human-centered design?

Capability building | 500+ people reached | The Philippines and the Netherlands

Every year, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable arm of Bloomberg Corporation, organizes the Global Mayor Challenge. In this competition, city authorities around the world must come up with a sustainable solution to improve a dire issue in their current jurisdiction. As Design Thinking consultants, we helped the governments of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Butuan, the Philippines with injecting human-centered thinking into their final products. Read on to learn more about applying Design Thinking in NGOs.

Through extensive collaboration and the teams’ incredible grit, we managed to cross the finish line together: Rotterdam and Butuan were honored as winners of the Global Mayor’s Challenge 2021. Each city received $1M each in funding to further develop their ideas into viable, sustainable solutions.

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PICTET | DESIGN THINKING IN BANKING TO BOOST INNOVATION

How might we help Pictet to build Design Thinking capabilities?

Design sprints, Capability building & Qualitative research | 500+ people reached | Switzerland

Change and innovation usually face a certain amount of resistance in traditionally conservative industries. A set of capabilities is required to ensure the successful implementation of new ideas, which is crucial to growth and development. In this 1-year project, we worked on introducing improved ways of working (such as Design Thinking) within Pictet. Together, we facilitated new skills such as research design, ideation, prototyping, and effective collaboration at one of the largest banks in Switzerland. Read on to learn more about applying Design Thinking in banking and investment.

 

PICTET DRIVEN INNOVATION

Headquartered in Geneva, Pictet is a Swiss-based bank with a focus on private banking. As one of the largest Swiss banks, it primarily offers services in wealth management, asset management, and asset servicing, to private clients and institutions. The Pictet Group employs around 4,600 people, including 900 investment managers.

Before approaching DesignThinkers Academy, Pictet had already taken the first steps in creating a Learning and Development Program for their employees. To further build on this, we provided an all-around Design Thinking Capability Training internally with the strategic goal of integrating new and improved ways of working into the organization.

In addition to building new capabilities, we also assisted their Product Innovation teams with a number of Design Sprints to collaboratively develop new and innovative products and services. We also helped Pictet to hone in on the idea of developing a Community of Expertise internally.

METHODOLOGY

To ensure full immersion in Design Thinking, we guided Pictet through a curriculum that closely follows the Double Diamond  methodology of divergent/convergent thinking. Simultaneously, we organized masterclasses that dived deeper into hard skills and soft skills, such as conducting interviews for qualitative research, effective ideation, empathy, communication, and negotiation skills. Furthermore, to boost innovation, we ran a 3.5-day Design Sprint to optimize the connection between the teams with their clients. This serves to provide insights into future product innovation in the most accurate light possible. Finally, we coached Pictet’s senior consultants on adopting and facilitating the Design Thinking mindset in their organization.

At the end of this project, Pictet’s teams were more confident in creating and rolling out innovative ideas that fit the needs of their customers. They were also more comfortable using the Double Diamond / Design Thinking mindset in their daily work.

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MASTERCARD | DIVERSIFYING REVENUE STREAMS IN BANKING

How can we develop a human-centered management roadmap to diversify revenue streams in the MENA region?

Design Research, Customer Insights, Business Model Canvas |1000+ people reached | Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria

We helped Mastercard to embed the Design Thinking mindset on different levels of management and in everyday business. Applying creativity in crafting business models, diverse revenue alternatives with cross-functional teams were identified. A human-centered approach was adopted in formulating roadmaps for new service concepts. Moreover train-the-trainer workshops were organised for management teams to foster innovative climates and developing new business models.

METHODOLOGY

We helped MasterCard to embed the Design Thinking mindset on different levels of management and in everyday business. Some deliverables included:

Creating diverse revenue alternatives with cross-functional teams

Formulating roadmaps towards new human-centered service concepts

Facilitating management teams in fostering innovative climates

Developing new business models

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SALESFORCE | DESIGN THINKING FOR SALES ENABLEMENT

How can DT help Solution Engineers become better equipped to demonstrate relevant services and enrich client interactions, to optimize the sales process?

Co-creation, Customer 360, Increasing sales | 100+ reached | Amsterdam

More companies are heading towards co-creation with their customers. It’s a means for more effective conversations, which in turn generate more value and waste fewer resources. That’s why Salesforce came to our Academy for the Design Thinking Facilitation training, with the goal of hosting more co-creation sessions with their clients instead of traditional sales talk. We organized multiple sessions for their Sales Enablement team on how to guide creative sessions that maximize ideation and bring Salesforce closer to their customers. 

Since Salesforce had an established customer strategy, our job is to find out how Design Thinking can enhance this, especially internally. Using traditional DT tools, we designed a training approach that takes Salesforce’s strengths into account and develops those strengths into competitive advantages. Facilitation skills with a human-centered approach will help the team to understand what their customers really need, in order to help them with the best service offerings.

METHODOLOGY

Since Salesforce had an established customer strategy, our job was to find out how Design Thinking can enhance this, especially internally. Using traditional DT tools, we designed a training approach that takes Salesforce’s strengths into account and develops those strengths into competitive advantages. Facilitation skills with a human-centered approach will help the team to understand what their customers really need, in order to help them with the best service offerings. By co-creating together with clients, Salesforce Solution Engineers became better equipped to demonstrate relevant services and enrich client interactions, which benefits the overall sales process tremendously.

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RITUALS | ACCELERATING EXCITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

How might we create exciting new experiences for customers of the iconic Rituals products?

Innovation, Design Thinking Flow, Client-centricity | 100+ reached | Amsterdam

To accelerate a client-centric and data-driven mentality amongst teams, Rituals sought to adopt the Design Thinking mindset and process as an organization-wide way of working through a Design Sprint. By using this methodology, teams embraced the importance of reactivity to actual customer needs, co-creation across teams, usage of a common innovation language, and inclusion of stakeholders (internal and external) in the process.

METHODOLOGY

DesignThinkers worked closely with Rituals to tailor a Design Sprint that would fit seamlessly with the Rituals culture. Branded innovation toolkits were designed for the Rituals team. With personal guidance from our expert facilitators, the group explored several techniques in the Design Thinking flow, such as Personas, Qualitative Design Research, Briefings, User Journeys, Framing, Ideation, Storytelling and Prototypes by working on a relevant challenge. This helped the Rituals team to become acquainted with the innovation mindset in the context of their own professional environment.

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ING GROUP | ACCELERATING INNOVATION PROCESSES

COCA-COLA | REBUILDING A GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM

“A refreshing and engaging experience that went beyond my expectations.”

Tupo Muocha, UNICEF

“Mind blowing when I figured out I can really use Design Thinking in many aspects of my work.”

LIEGE COGO DE SOUZA, WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

SALESFORCE | DESIGN THINKING FOR SALES ENABLEMENT

“The design sprint with top professionals from DesignThinkers and the hands-on approach inspired my work as a human-centered design consultant.”

ALEXANDER FAGA, SWISSCOM

BLOOMBERG | CREATING NEW SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE LIVES ACROSS THE WORLD

MASTERCARD | DIVERSIFYING REVENUE STREAMS IN BANKING

“Why did we not apply Design Thinking earlier? Great investment to accelerate career development.”

BORIS MAGGIA, ISO

ING GROUP | ACCELERATING INNOVATION PROCESSES

CARTIER: EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FUTURE SCENARIO

“A refreshing and engaging experience that went beyond my expectations.”

Tupo Muocha, UNICEF

PICTET | DESIGN THINKING IN BANKING TO BOOST INNOVATION

MASTERCARD | DIVERSIFYING REVENUE STREAMS IN BANKING

SALESFORCE | DESIGN THINKING FOR SALES ENABLEMENT

RITUALS | ACCELERATING EXCITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

“The design sprint with top professionals from DesignThinkers and the hands-on approach inspired my work as a human-centered design consultant.”

ALEXANDER FAGA, SWISSCOM

COCA-COLA | REBUILDING A GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM

L'ORÉAL: FUTURE LEADERSHIP AMIDST A DEPARTMENT MERGER

BLOOMBERG | CREATING NEW SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE LIVES ACROSS THE WORLD

“Mind blowing when I figured out I can really use Design Thinking in many aspects of my work.”

LIEGE COGO DE SOUZA, WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

“Our experts take pride in guiding you through a structured design approach and establish a new way of working to sustain innovation.”

“Why did we not apply Design Thinking earlier? Great investment to accelerate career development.”

BORIS MAGGIA, ISO

ING GROUP | ACCELERATING INNOVATION PROCESSES

“The design sprint with top professionals from DesignThinkers and the hands-on approach inspired my work as a human-centered design consultant.”

ALEXANDER FAGA, SWISSCOM

CARTIER: EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FUTURE SCENARIO

COCA-COLA | REBUILDING A GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM

L'ORÉAL: FUTURE LEADERSHIP AMIDST A DEPARTMENT MERGER

“A refreshing and engaging experience that went beyond my expectations.”

Tupo Muocha, UNICEF

BLOOMBERG | CREATING NEW SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE LIVES ACROSS THE WORLD

PICTET | DESIGN THINKING IN BANKING TO BOOST INNOVATION

“Mind blowing when I figured out I can really use Design Thinking in many aspects of my work.”

LIEGE COGO DE SOUZA, WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

MASTERCARD | DIVERSIFYING REVENUE STREAMS IN BANKING

“Our experts take pride in guiding you through a structured design approach and establish a new way of working to sustain innovation.”

SALESFORCE | DESIGN THINKING FOR SALES ENABLEMENT

“Why did we not apply Design Thinking earlier? Great investment to accelerate career development.”

BORIS MAGGIA, ISO

RITUALS | ACCELERATING EXCITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

CARTIER: EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FUTURE SCENARIO

L'ORÉAL: FUTURE LEADERSHIP AMIDST A DEPARTMENT MERGER

PICTET | DESIGN THINKING IN BANKING TO BOOST INNOVATION

“Our experts take pride in guiding you through a structured design approach and establish a new way of working to sustain innovation.”

RITUALS | ACCELERATING EXCITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Elmo Diederiks
Senior Partner & Innovation Lead

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Tim Schuurman
Founding Partner & Senior Consultant

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Dimitra Tsertou
Service Designer & Visual Designer

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Ilana van de Boel
Associate Partner Client Strategy

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Marjo Staring
Founding Partner & General Manager

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Christina Lennartz
Project Lead & CSR Officer

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Daphne Lamberts
User Researcher & Facilitator

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Jeroen van der Weide
Senior Partner & Senior Facilitator

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Thomas de Bresser
Senior Consultant & Facilitator

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Els Dragt
Senior Design Researcher & Trend Analyst

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Fieke Sluijs
Senior Consultant & Facilitator

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Pedro Janeiro
Senior Consultant & Facilitator

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Adela Cristea
Partner Eastern Europe & Senior Consultant

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Lacramiora Loghin
Partner Eastern Europe & Senior Researcher

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Layth Weldali
Partner MENA & Senior Consultant

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