The Design Thinking Playbook
Lewrick · Link · Leifer
Mindful digital transformation of teams, products, services, businesses and ecosystems.
The new book in the Wiley design thinking series
Design thinking
for humanity.
Practical tools and methods to build resilience for a better future. Five lenses, 47 templates and one case from vision to global scale.
By Michael Lewrick · Illustrations by Nhu Nhu Nguyen · Wiley 2026
5lenses: futures, design, ecological, systems, exponential
47templates and canvases from the book
1case study, the Living Soil Mandate, from vision to scale
3 winsfor people, the planet and society
Why this book
From spotlight to floodlight.
Human-centred design puts the user in a spotlight and leaves the rest of the system in the dark. Our challenges, climate, resilience, AI, are wicked and connected. Design Thinking for Humanity turns the ecosystem from a backdrop into a stakeholder.
Robust is not enough. Resilient is not enough.Exponentializing systems bounce forward and use disruption as fuel for learning.
One integrated practiceFive lenses and 40 concepts, from foresight and biomimicry to leverage points and the massive transformative purpose.
The Resilience BlueprintOne canvas that brings purpose, preferable future, win-win-win value and implementation together.
The framework
Five lenses. One way of seeing the whole.
No single method brings a system back into balance. The five lenses work together around human- and life-centred values.
Futures Thinking
Anticipate several plausible futures and shape the preferable one.
18 templatesDesign Thinking
Empathy beyond the user: communities, nature and future generations.
7 templatesEcological Thinking
Regenerative by design, within planetary boundaries.
6 templatesSystems Thinking
Find root causes, feedback loops and leverage points.
8 templatesExponential Thinking
10X restorative impact with ethical intent.
8 templatesTemplates
Start with a template.
Every tool in the book comes with a template. A selection to start with:
Futures Thinking · p. 92Scenario Planning & the 2x2 MatrixFour plausible futures built from the two most critical uncertainties.Futures Thinking · p. 114BackcastingA planning method that starts from a preferable future and works back to today.Design Thinking · p. 144Future PersonaA persona set in a future scenario, with its needs, fears and context.Design Thinking · p. 152Wicked Problem FramingA framing tool for complex problems with no single right answer.Ecological Thinking · p. 204Doughnut Economics ModelA model to keep solutions within the safe and just space between social foundation and planetary boundaries.Ecological Thinking · p. 206Biomimicry & Permaculture PrinciplesPrinciples from nature as a source of ideas for products, services and systems.Systems Thinking · p. 246Causal Loop Diagramming (CLD)A diagram of the reinforcing and balancing feedback loops behind a problem.Systems Thinking · p. 248Leverage Points AnalysisAn analysis of where a small intervention creates the biggest change in a system.Exponential Thinking · p. 284Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP)A short, ambitious purpose statement that inspires a movement.Exponential Thinking · p. 294Exponential Ethics CompassA compass to keep scaled technologies responsible, equitable and humane.Exponential Thinking · p. 296The Resilience BlueprintThe canvas that integrates all five lenses into one actionable strategy.Ecological Thinking · p. 210Regenerative Business Model CanvasA business model canvas that adds ecological and social value creation.
“Human-Centered Design was once the prevailing model; today it has expanded and Lewrick provides the clear, powerful frameworks needed to put these principles into practice and create a sustainable 3-wins model.”
Don Norman, Design for a Better World
Voices
What leaders say.
“This insightful book elevates design methodologies into a systemic framework, providing leaders with the practical tools needed to integrate planetary boundaries, geopolitical risk, and technological advances into modern decision-making.”
“An essential guide for leaders shaping the future, where scaling AI is not just a technical act, but a moral and systemic evolution in human wisdom and empathy.”
“This unique book brings Design Thinking back to its original purpose: solving the world’s wicked problems, charting a course for a new era of designing exclusively for humanity.”
“This bold and essential blueprint calls on leaders to move beyond human-centered design, providing the transformative framework needed to address today’s wicked problems through systemic, regenerative, and life-centered action.”
The book
Design Thinking for Humanity
Practical Tools and Methods to Build Resilience for a Better Future. With a preface in dialogue with Jeanne Liedtka, the toolbox for all five lenses, the Living Soil case study and the Resilience Blueprint.
Michael Lewrick · Illustrations by Nhu Nhu Nguyen · Wiley, 2026 · ISBN 978-1-394-36639-2 · English edition
The author
Michael Lewrick
Author, keynote speaker and facilitator, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Michael Lewrick is the lead author of the Wiley design thinking series, including The Design Thinking Playbook, The Design Thinking Toolbox and Design Thinking for Business Growth. The books have reached more than 3 million readers in over 25 languages.
He was Chief Innovation Officer at Swisscom and head of the innovation labs at Deloitte, is a visiting professor at the University of Liechtenstein and leads Lewrick & Company in Vaduz. With Design Thinking for Humanity he brings design thinking back to the big questions: resilience, regeneration and responsible AI.
Work with Michael Lewrick
Bring the five lenses into your organisation.
Inspire
Keynotes
From spotlight to floodlight, bounce forward, four futures, learning from nature.
KeynotesApplyWorkshops
Leadership futures session, lens lab, Resilience Blueprint sprint.
WorkshopsBuildCapability programmes
End to end across all five lenses or deep dives into Futures or Exponential Thinking.
ProgrammesThe series
More books from the series.
The Wiley design thinking series: more than 3 million readers in over 25 languages.
New
The Design Thinking Library
Five books in one box: mindset, methods, metrics, growth and purpose. The complete methodology for the full innovation lifecycle.
The Design Thinking Toolbox
Lewrick · Link · Leifer
A guide to mastering the most popular and valuable innovation methods.
Design Thinking for Business Growth
Lewrick
How to design and scale business models and business ecosystems.
Design Thinking and Innovation Metrics
Lewrick
Powerful tools to manage creativity, OKRs, product and business success.
The Design Thinking Life Playbook
Lewrick · Thommen · Leifer
Empower yourself, embrace change and visualize a joyful life.
Questions
Frequently asked.
What is Design Thinking for Humanity?
An extension of human-centred design. It combines five lenses, Futures, Design, Ecological, Systems and Exponential Thinking, around human- and life-centred values, so that solutions create value for people, the planet and society at the same time.
Where can I download the templates from the book?
All templates are listed on the templates page. The short links printed in the book, such as design-humanity.com/en/horizon, lead directly to the right template. The premium set of 48 workshop-ready templates is available in the dt-toolbook shop.
In which languages is the book available?
The book is currently published in English by Wiley.
Can we bring the five lenses into our organisation?
Yes. Keynotes, workshops and capability programmes, end to end or as deep dives into one lens, are described on lewrick.ch. Or write directly to info@lewrick.ch.