Is Design Thinking Bullsh*t?
Aug 13, 2025
It’s a mindset! It’s a methodology! It’s (drumroll please)... design thinking!
Or is it all just a load of bullsh*t?
Well that all depends on how you slice and dice the topic of design thinking. Let’s do this Ugly Unicorn style.
But First… Life Updates
A little life update folks. My dad’s in the hospital, so any good thoughts and vibes you can send him will be much appreciated. I’ve been very preoccupied with his situation, and I can’t go visit until Covid calms down a smidge. But my mom’s with him, and my dad’s been telling me not to worry. So that’s what I’m trying to do.
Stripe Number Four
On a more positive note, I finally got my fourth stripe on my jiu-jitsu blue belt! I’m very excited about this. It took about four years of dedication to get these four stripes.
Jiu-jitsu brings me so much joy, but it is work. The belt is just a visual representation of that, and I’m going to be very proud to wear it. Injuries, blood, sweat, tears, and aches in literally every part of my body - it’s all in that belt.
Bringing the Inspiration
What else is going on? I’ve been doing more UX consultations, booking sessions and going over people’s portfolios. It’s really cool to see what some of you are working on! And it’s fun to be a part of that journey in a small way.
Keep it up and you will go far. Plus you’re helping light a fire under my ass, because seeing people diving into this with passion is nothing short of inspiring. So shoutout to all you fresh UXers. This is what Ugly Unicorns is all about!
The Work-Work
In my IRL workplace, a.k.a. the work-work, things are full steam ahead for me right now. The lead UX on my team is busy and asked me to step on a certain project. And you better believe I stepped up for real.
It’s definitely a struggle bus to be doing so many components of this project by myself. Makes me appreciate the value of the team even more! In the meantime I am making it work and putting in the extra time to get this done.
No matter where I am, I want my boss and my team to trust me, to know I deliver. So I am keeping my nose to the grind and doing everything I can to keep things on track.
It’s All About the User
As I work on this project, I keep reminding myself that at the end of the day, it’s all about the user. And it turns out that I have also reminded a few other people at work of this as well. Not because I love to argue, but because all the expertise and experience in the world means nothing if the UX is bad.
Tie-Breaking
If it comes down to my expert opinion against someone else’s opinion, who’s the tie-breaker? The one with seniority? Or the most experience on the ground?
How about a big fat NEITHER. How about the USER is the tie-breaker.
Testing is what should set the precedent for user experience, because that is where the rubber meets the road. What serves the user is what brings in the money and keeps us all working. So the user experience has to be on the user’s terms.
If it all makes sense to the development team, marketing, the CEO, you name it… it all still comes down to whether the user is happy. So that’s the data we need and how we evaluate our success.
Ending Arguments
The true value of usability testing isn’t just in validating your ideas and application. It can also end arguments.
The opinions and ideas of people on the UX team can get wrapped up in ego, but if the user is at the forefront then you can resolve that issue quickly. Feedback from the person who will pay for your product is priceless and can shut down unnecessary debate so much faster.
Remember: you do NOT want to be on the team that makes the next Quibi. Yuck. How embarrassing. And you can avoid that! If you use proper design thinking to put the user first.
Design Thinking is BS?
A few years ago an award-winning graphic designer named Natasha Jen put out a talk called “Design Thinking is Bullsh*t.” Hoo-boy. I did not agree with this at all.
In a nutshell, Natasha said that:
Design thinking is a buzzword, which is a problem.
There are five linear steps to design thinking:
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
These steps don’t include critique or evaluation.
Design all happens on 3M Post-Its, which doesn’t reflect modern life or tools.
Got all that? Here’s my take.
That’s NOT Design Thinking
You saw it here, folks, Natasha Jen isn’t actually talking about design thinking. Her explanation proves she doesn’t actually understand the topic of design thinking. There is nothing wrong with being a graphic designer, but it’s clear she’s approaching a topic she doesn’t fully understand through the lens of her graphic design experience.
I’ve been to school for graphic design, so I understand what Natasha means about the importance of critique. But that’s a subjective process for graphic design. It’s actually not useful to have a lot of opinionated feedback when you’re a UX designer, because design thinking is all about the user.
Being honest, there are times in UX design where the appearance of the product doesn’t even really matter. Function is what we care about the most. Can the user get from point A to point B without any roadblocks? Because if they can, great. If they can’t, it doesn’t matter how pretty everything looks.
Mindset vs. Sequence
Since user experience has to guide every aspect of UX design, we can’t just go through a linear process for design. It’s not a step-by-step process. It’s just not.
Design thinking is a methodology. At its core, it’s a mindset. You put the user first, and you keep doing that the whole way through. You can’t just check off boxes and call that design thinking.
As to the Post-Its comment? I found that funny, because there is truth to it. We do use sticky notes a lot. Why? Because it forces you to keep things simple, to look at things from a higher level. You can only fit a few words on there. You keep it simple so you don’t get bogged down in the weeds.
So is that a creativity problem? Not at all.
No Critique?
Natasha’s comments about design thinking and lack of critique? Now that’s the real BS. Try going into a stakeholder meeting without hardcore data, and try showing them a product with no validation for your decisions.
UX critique means pushing back on subjective ideas and leaning into real usability data. Simply put, all the creative critique in the world can’t solve bad design. So subjective feedback has to take a backseat to user preferences.
5 Aspects of UX Design Thinking
Empathize. Define. Ideate. Prototype. Test. Those ARE the five components of design thinking. But they are not a five-step process. You don’t start at one end and work your way out to the other.
Every one of those concepts are things you can bring into any part of the UX design process. It’s actually a feedback loop, not a sequence. You go through that loop as many times as you need to in order to make the users happy, and you don’t have to go through it in order.
UX vs. UI. vs. Design vs. UX Design
Words matter, and I wonder if the words we’re using to describe design and UX are causing communications. Design is not superior to UX. Design is UX, and vice versa. I think we need to be careful not to glorify “design” above other ways of describing UX.
And we definitely shouldn’t associate design with how things look more than how they work. Unless we’re talking about UI and graphic design.
Companies that think beyond transactions and focus on user experience are killing it these days. Design-led thinking is making money and it’s making happy, loyal customers. So you really can’t overestimate the importance of design thinking. Users can tell when you put the user experience first.
My Challenge to You
This might sound stupid, but it needs to be said. If you want to get into user interface design, or user experience design… can you please make sure you know what that means? Learn what you’re getting yourself into so you can knock it out of the park and communicate clearly about it!
Understanding what you actually are supposed to do matters. If you’re working on UI, it’s okay to focus on user interface. It’s okay to focus on how things look, if you’re in UI design. But you can’t come into UX design and think that it’s all about wireframes and prototypes. The user has to be included in the process.
Design Thinking Leads the Pack
A few examples of design-led companies that regularly crush their competition:
Apple (duh!)
Coca-Cola
Nike
Starbucks
Disney
Whirlpool
The list goes on and on. And if you compare these companies with their competitors, you’ll see why they’re there. Microsoft vs. Apple can be argued various ways but when you use an Apple product you can feel the thought that went into UX. It just doesn’t compare.
Think about Target vs. Walmart. Disney vs. Universal. There’s just a different perception, a different feel to the user experience.
So UX design is not just a step-by-step process to make things look nice. It’s not a sequence or a checklist. It’s how you approach a product on every level. It’s a win-win situation for your company and your users. And when you cut out all the BS, that’s what Ugly Unicorn-style design thinking is all about.