Tackle the biggest challenges in business

Solve Problems Faster & Earn a Recognized Design Thinking Certificate

If you want to solve big challenges fast, understand your users better, and become the person your team turns to for breakthrough solutions, this Design Thinking Training is for you. Instead of theory-heavy lectures, you’ll learn a hands-on, human-centered approach that helps you design solutions people truly need — and gives you the confidence to drive innovation in your organization. Over two intensive days, you’ll practice design thinking techniques to empathize with users, reframe problems, generate bold ideas, prototype potential solutions, and test them with real people — all before making big investments.

Here’s what you will walk away with:

  • Adopt a Human-Centered Mindset — Learn how to see challenges through your users’ eyes and design solutions that truly meet their needs.
  • Solve the Right Problems — Use design thinking tools to reframe challenges, align your team, and focus on opportunities that deliver impact.
  • Prototype & Test Ideas Quickly — Turn your ideas into simple, testable prototypes and get real user feedback early in the process.
  • Lead Innovation with Confidence — Whether you work in product, marketing, operations, or strategy, design thinking skills will make you the person people turn to for creative, effective solutions.

How Design Thinking can help

Use Case

Make Better, Faster Decisions

Enable your team to make informed decisions through user insights and iterative prototyping.

Use Case

Improve Customer Experience and Loyalty

Break down silos and gain a holistic view of your customers to create more personalized and impactful experiences.

Use Case

Keep Up with Market Demands

Build scalable and adaptable solutions to meet evolving customer and market needs.

Use Case

Reinvent Your Supply Chain

Gain full visibility and improve the agility, efficiency, and resilience of your supply chain through innovative design solutions.

Use Case

Reduce Operational Costs

Optimize your operations and uncover new cost-saving opportunities through innovative problem-solving techniques.

Use Case

Enhance Product Development

Accelerate the product development cycle and bring more user-centric products to market faster.

The ROI of an Innovation Strategy Built on Design Thinking

30%

increase in customer satisfaction from user-centric solutions.

(Source - McKinsey)

<6

months to see significant improvements in process efficiency and product development with a comprehensive design thinking approach.

(Source - IBM)

What You'll Learn In This Program

A hands-on, fast-paced workshop designed to help you solve real problems, generate bold ideas, and create solutions that truly work

Empathize & Frame the Problem

Understand your users and define the right challenge

  • Learn how to uncover real user needs and pain points
  • Use empathy mapping and journey mapping to gain insights
  • Reframe problems into opportunities worth solving
  • Align diverse stakeholders around a shared understanding

Ideate & Prototype Solutions

Generate creative ideas and bring them to life quickly

  • Use design thinking tools to explore bold, innovative solutions
  • Facilitate structured brainstorming sessions to unlock creativity
  • Select the strongest ideas using proven prioritization techniques
  • Turn your ideas into simple, testable prototypes fast

Test & Refine

Validate solutions before making big investments

  • Learn how to plan and conduct rapid user testing
  • Gather actionable insights to improve your prototypes
  • Confidently refine your ideas based on real-world feedback
  • Walk away with the tools and mindset to drive innovation in your organization

Core Skills You'll Gain

Learn and apply the principles of Design Thinking

  • Understand the key principles of Design Thinking and human-centered design
  • Use analytical and critical thinking to tackle complex, “wicked” challenges
  • Develop empathy to deeply understand stakeholders and their needs
  • Practice creative problem-solving techniques, including rapid prototyping and conceptual thinking
  • Test the feasibility of your ideas with real-world considerations
  • Receive a Digital Practitioner Certificate upon completion

How You'll Learn

Experience Design Thinking through hands-on collaboration

  • Participate in a mix of individual and group activities to gain shared understanding
  • Work in cross-functional teams to explore wide-ranging, innovative ideas
  • Balance expansive thinking with practical realities to create implementable solutions
  • Learn through an interactive, democratic process that values every voice
  • Move quickly to generate and validate ideas, leading to faster innovation and meaningful outcomes

Custom Training Formats

Designed to fit your team’s needs and schedule

  • Align with us to identify business focus areas for your training
  • Choose from 2 full days or 4 half-day sessions spread across four weeks
  • Single-day and half-day workshops also available
  • Attend online or face-to-face — whichever works best for your team

Meet Your Instructor

Phil Smithson

Phil Smithson

Phil Smithson is the Chief Collaboration Officer of On-Off Group and a Human-Centered Design Facilitator at The World Bank Group. His breadth of experience with a diverse list of local and international clients including Nestlé, AIA, Security Bank, Meralco, Cebu Pacific, JP Morgan, and many others has given him a well-rounded and inclusive facilitation style. He is known for ensuring all voices are heard and able to participate in a collaborative and creative way.

Phil facilitates Strategic Planning, Design Thinking, and similar sessions and has mentored a number of leaders from public sector partners, including public hospitals and Military Treatment Facilities. He speaks English, Filipino, and French.

He often travels internationally with The World Bank Group to facilitate workshops and has recently led sessions in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka.

Connect on LinkedIn (opens in new tab)

Success Stories from Our Graduates

Real career transformations from professionals just like you

"The workshop made me see how important it is to look at challenges from a different perspective. Not blocking off any ideas at the start will help me as a Project Lead in guiding our stakeholders through the different requirements of our projects."

Vincent Bajamundi

Project Management Lead,

Tenet Global Health

"I highly recommend it! The entire training was enjoyable, and we had the opportunity to develop solutions for real-life challenges, making it a valuable experience."

Eliza Te,

Business Analyst,

Indra

"The workshop builds up the client-centricity muscle of every employee. Therefore every employee would get to understand the needs of the clients rather than just focusing on what thy want."

Gino Paolo Villanueva,

Agile Coach,

Sun Life

"I learned more to utilize empathy skills in problem-solving. If you want to apply a flexible approach to different business scenarios, you should attend this workshop!"

Godofredo Buning, Jr,

Case Management and Engineering,

Meralco

"I have attended a lot of training in the past, but this is one of the best training I had at least for the last 3 years. The online setup is perfect for this type of training. Miro has been a good collaboration tool. The trainer is very accommodating, he has a well-modulated voice and tone. The training gave a very fresh perspective and not info overload."

Benjamin,

Business Analyst,

Indra

"The course didn’t just help me empathize with our clients and customers but also let me see what In1Go envisions for the company. When we want to grow, we feel better prepared now because of the new skills we learned."

John Carlo Obo,

Integrations Team,

In1Go

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this training for?

This training is designed for professionals and teams who want to solve challenges creatively and drive meaningful change. It is ideal for leaders, innovators, managers, and anyone looking to apply design thinking to improve products, services, or internal processes.

Do I need a design background to join?

Not at all! No prior design experience is required. The Design Thinking training is suitable for anyone interested in innovation, problem-solving, and creating better user experiences — regardless of background.

What will I be able to do after the training?

After completing the course, you’ll know how to apply Design Thinking principles to tackle complex challenges, generate innovative ideas, and create prototypes you can test with real users. You’ll gain the tools and confidence to lead human-centered innovation within your organization.

How long is the training and what is the schedule?

The program runs for four half days and is highly interactive. We also offer custom options to run the course as 2 full-day sessions, single-day workshops, or alternative formats. Sessions can be conducted online or face-to-face depending on your needs.

Will I get a certificate?

Yes! Upon completing the training, you’ll receive a Design Thinking Digital Practitioner Certificate that you can proudly showcase on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Get Inspired With Design thinking Success Stories

Case Study

ADB Drives Design-led Innovation To The Wider Organization

Case Study

Meralco Transforms Utilities Management with Innovative Design Thinking

Case Study

Makati Medical Center Foundation Improves Military Hospital Systems with Design Thinking

Case Study

TUKLAS Empowers Philippine Communities through Design Thinking and Human-Centered Innovation