Aashish Solanki led a product design workshop at IIM Kozhikode, exploring how design thinking can help build customer-centric products and foster innovation.
Design is increasingly becoming an integral part of how businesses create products, solve problems, and respond to changing customer needs. For entrepreneurs and product teams, understanding users and building around their needs can make the difference between an idea and a meaningful product.
With this in mind, our Founder & CEO, Aashish Solanki, conducted a product design workshop at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. The session brought together entrepreneurs, startup owners, and product design professionals to explore the role of design thinking in creating customer-centric products.
The workshop focused on the fundamentals of product design and its role in building products that respond to real customer needs.
The discussion covered designing new-age products, user-centered design, design thinking, and designing for tomorrow. It also explored how design can become a strategic tool for businesses looking to innovate and create better experiences.
A key focus of the session was user-centered design and the importance of understanding users before designing solutions.
Through design thinking, teams can approach problems with greater empathy, explore multiple possibilities, and continuously test and refine ideas. This creates a more structured approach to solving complex problems while keeping the user at the center.
The workshop also explored how design thinking extends beyond the commonly understood five-step process of empathy, defining, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
For entrepreneurs and business leaders, these principles can help foster a culture of innovation and experimentation within organisations. Design thinking can influence not only how products are created, but also how teams approach problems and discover new opportunities.
The session brought together different perspectives from product designers, entrepreneurs, and startup founders.
Through discussions around product design and design thinking, participants explored the journey from identifying a problem to developing and implementing a solution. The workshop provided an opportunity to look at design as a broader approach to innovation rather than simply a visual or product-development exercise.
The workshop also encouraged participants to reflect on how design thinking could influence their own approach to problem-solving.
Aisha Sameeha highlighted the value of continuous research and learning, particularly how design thinking can encourage innovation and create a structured approach to learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Sana Thayyil reflected on the journey from ideation to implementation and the importance of the design community staying at the forefront of innovation.
The workshop reinforced the growing relevance of product design and design thinking for entrepreneurs, startups, and organisations.
By bringing together different perspectives and experiences, the session created an opportunity to explore how design can help businesses understand their customers better, approach problems differently, and build products with greater purpose.
