Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.

The handbook

The handbook provides an introduction to the evolution of design as a way of thinking and achieving a competitive advantage across a range of sectors. It documents 80 methods that cover all stages of a design process, providing actionable guidance for applying the methods in workshops, education, research and practice.

Buy the book → How to cite the book

Book and toolkit

80 methods

24 templates

7 case studies

What people are saying

The design tools in the book have helped our students to experiment and playfully combine analytical and creative thinking.

Michel Brokke
Lecturer Research & Design, Hotel & Facility, Breda University of Applied Sciences

The book Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat. is engaging to read and intuitive to understand. Readers of the book can gain knowledge of the aspects and features of the design process to help them solve complex problems and develop innovative ideas, concepts and solutions.

Yuli Suseno
Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle

Anyone who doesn’t find a solution to their problem from this practical book, can only blame themselves.

PAGE magazine

A neat, concise handbook.

Sarah Dawood
Designweek.co.uk

The book is amazing, it is practical, easy, objective and so simple, one of the best books I’ve bought in the last years.

Reader from Portugal

The online courses

Join more than 130,000 learners on a journey of discovery. Hear from the book authors and industry practitioners in these self-paced online courses.

Offered by the University of Sydney

Innovation through Design:
Think, Make, Break, Repeat

This course is based on the book Design Think Make Break Repeat and structured in five modules. Through videos and exercises, some of the authors of the book demonstrate how to apply the think-make-break-repeat process to any project. The content is brought to life through a mini series exclusively produced for the online course in which designers from Atlassian, Design+Industry and Wunderman Bienalto share their insights.

View the course →

Creative Thinking and Innovation

This course explores how the success of Pixar and Nobel Prizes winners is linked to creative thinking and innovation. It also features industry case studies with industry experts from IBM and Google, who share how they use creativity and innovation in their work – from designing sustainability dashboards to using AI to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

View the course →

Course contents

120,000 enrolled

28 course hours

Enrol free

What people are saying

Loved the carefully curated real life examples that perfectly matched the topics that were being explained … a great introductory course to anyone who is curious about the concept of ‘Design’.

Divya S.
August 24, 2022 (via Coursera)

Great overview of the design innovation process! The content is up-to-date and the professors really go above and beyond to make the course feel like a regular university course as much as possible.

L.L.
November 8, 2020 (via Coursera)

Highly recommended! Excellence! Content and presentation style, written and video very conducive to online learning!!

Glenda P.
August 10, 2022 (via Coursera)

Great course I recommend it to anyone trying to learn about UX Design.

Kaleb W.
May 17, 2023 (via Coursera)

A great learning experience!

Alfonso A.
May 4, 2023 (via Coursera)

Excellent and well worth the time to take the course.

James L.
November 10, 2022 (via Coursera)

Awesome course for understanding design thinking and innovation.

Maftuna B.
September 19, 2022 (via Coursera)

Methods toolkit

Resources. Exercises. Templates. Gratis.

You can find free resources for the 80 methods included in our book below. Resources include printable templates, materials for running design exercises and slides for using the methods in a class or workshop setting.

Go to the toolkit → Watch the case studies

About

The handbook introduces the reader to the changing role of design as a way of thinking and a framework for solving complex problems and achieving systemic change. It documents 80 methods that cover all stages of a design process, providing actionable guidance for applying the methods across a range of projects.

The methods are complemented by seven case studies to demonstrate their application in different domains, from designing interfaces for autonomous vehicles to addressing health and wellbeing.

Learn more →