Design Thinking has come to be defined as combining empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality in analyzing and fitting various solutions to the problem context.

The goal of Design Thinking is "matching people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and viable as a design strategy".

The premise of teaching Design Thinking is that by knowing about how to successfully approach and solve difficult, multi-dimensional problems - more specifically, effective methods to ideate, select and execute solutions - individuals and businesses will be able to improve their own problem solving processes and skills.

There is also significant academic interest in understanding how designers think and design cognition.