Design thinking is a process used to solve complex problems in a user-centric way. It uses empathy for the user. It involves an understanding of the user and their needs and limitations. When you bring design thinking into your work, you’re trying to identify alternative strategies for your visualizations that might not be clear right away. You have to challenge your own thinking and explore different ways of approaching problems and finding solutions.

Five phases that you can use when creating data visualizations are

• empathize
• define
• ideate
• prototype
• test

In the spirit of design thinking, these phases don’t have to follow a set order. Instead, think of them as an overview of actions that can help you produce a user-centered design in your visualizations.