Design thinking as a process for people-centered innovation in the financial sector, Capco Institute 2018 Paper by Jeremy Myerson and Rama Gheerawo

Design thinking is less prevalent in financial services than in other industries, but this is starting to change. The core principles of design thinking are relevant to the transformation journey that the sector is undergoing.

This paper provides an overview of the origins, principles, values, and benefits of design thinking as a creative framework for innovation in business. It looks specifically at the rise of design thinking in the ten years since the global financial crisis and its suitability for financial services transformation challenges.

In setting out practical frameworks for adoption, the paper presents three people-centered projects from the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art, carried out with financial companies:

• Designing a hybrid bank branch network (with a large Italian banking group)
• Rethinking the financial office environment (with a large Scottish banking group)
• Banking without barriers for older people (with a U.K. retail bank and an age charity)