In this chapter, the authors illustrate how design thinking can ignite a creative spark—from a blank page to actionable insight—through real-world challenges and iterative experimentation. The narrative centers on the story of a multidisciplinary team at Stanford’s d.school who enrolled in a course known as “Design for Extreme Affordability” (67). The team, composed of electrical engineers, computer scientists, and MBA students, was tasked with developing a low-cost solution to reduce infant mortality in developing countries. Their project began with the challenge of designing an affordable infant incubator, but early research revealed that hospital incubators, even if low cost, were not well suited for rural environments where premature babies are often born. Field research in Nepal and India helped them uncover a deeper human need: Mothers in remote villages require a baby-warming device that can work outside of hospital settings.

Spurred by these insights, the team reframed their design challenge. Rather than focusing solely on technical cost cutting, they concentrated on empathizing with the end user. They iterated (refined their idea) through multiple rounds of rapid prototyping, which eventually led to the creation of a prototype shaped like a tiny sleeping bag.