Finish Faster without Starting from Scratch
Our AI Design Thinking Template helps you finish faster without starting from scratch:
Kickstart your design thinking process instantly with an AI-powered structure.
Map empathy and ideation sessions in minutes.
Share live links for real-time team feedback.
Export polished diagrams to PDF, PNG, or SVG for presentations.
Leverage AI to accelerate workshops and visualization seamlessly.
How to Create and Customize Your AI Design Thinking Template in Creately
With Creately’s AI-powered templates, you can fast-track every stage of your design thinking process. Whether you're facilitating a design sprint or mapping user needs, follow the steps below to get started:
Step 1. Click the "Create with AI" Button on This Page
To begin, click the Create with AI button located at the top of this template page. This activates Creately’s intelligent diagram generation engine tailored for design thinking workflows.
Step 2. **Enter Your Design Challenge, User Problem, or Key Insight into
the Text Box and Click "Generate"**
Input a short description of your design thinking use case—such as a user pain point, research summary, or product idea. Then click Generate. Creately’s AI will process your input and automatically generate a structured design thinking board with content mapped to relevant phases.
Step 3. **Jump into the Creately Editor with a Pre-Built Design Thinking
Diagram**
You’ll be taken directly into the Creately visual canvas, where a design thinking diagram has been created for you. It will include predefined sections like Empathize , Define , Ideate , Prototype , and Test —populated with content based on your input.
Step 4. Edit the Diagram to Fit Your Team’s Process and Objectives
Tailor every aspect of the diagram to match your specific needs. Add or remove shapes, reorganize phases, rename sections, or update example content. The editor is fully flexible and supports drag-and-drop editing for a fast and intuitive experience.
Step 5. Use Built-in AI Features to Expand Ideas and Organize Content
Speed up iteration with built-in AI tools—auto-generate similar ideas, group sticky notes into categories, or prompt AI to suggest next steps or improvements. You can even highlight gaps in your problem framing or solution logic.
Step 6. Add Detailed Notes, Context, and References
Add annotations, links, user quotes, and contextual notes to each phase or item. This helps your team retain key insights, align on assumptions, and keep everything in one place.
Step 7. Collaborate Seamlessly with Your Team
Invite your team to co-create in real time. Share a secure link to the diagram and collaborate using inline comments, discussion threads, and voting features. This ensures alignment across product, design, and development teams.
Step 8. Export in PDF, PNG, Excel, and More
Once your design thinking board is complete or ready for presentation, export it in various formats like PDF , PNG , SVG , or Excel to include in reports, stakeholder decks, or project documentation.
Step 9. Create a Visual Presentation Using the Slides Feature
Use Creately’s Slides feature to turn your diagram into an engaging presentation. Highlight each phase of the process, walk through insights and solutions, and tell the full story visually—perfect for pitching ideas or sharing with stakeholders.
Collaborative Editing & Real-Time Feedback
Collaborative editing and real-time feedback make remote design thinking workflows seamless with the AI Design Thinking Template. Secure permission controls ensure data privacy and compliance.
Co-edit templates simultaneously across distributed teams with integrated chat and audio calls.
Annotate and comment directly on design artifacts, tagging colleagues for faster resolution.
Track changes in real time and resolve feedback seamlessly.
Integrate user feedback loops without leaving the canvas using AI sentiment.
Receive instant notifications, AI-generated comment summaries, and keep stakeholders in sync across time zones.
Maintain version history, assign tasks, and ensure alignment while harnessing Creately’s AI-Powered Visual Intelligence for every update.
Export & Share in Multiple Formats
Export and share deliverables effortlessly using the AI Design Thinking Template’s flexible format support.
Export templates as high-quality JPEG, PNG, SVG, or PDF with customizable resolution.
Embed diagrams in documents or presentations seamlessly and update changes live.
Generate shareable live links for stakeholders with access controls.
Ensure secure sharing with permission settings and audit logs.
Publish boards online or download assets for offline review, while maintaining version control and GDPR compliance across every export.
Use built-in Confluence, Jira, or GitHub integrations to sync illustrations directly into workflows.
Optimize file size automatically and choose color profiles for print or web publishing.
Iterate & Adapt Through the Design Cycle
Iterate and adapt through the design cycle seamlessly with the AI Design Thinking Template’s version control and data linkage.
Use version control to track design iterations and restore snapshots of your AI design thinking template.
Use insights to refine prototypes continuously.
Link research data and test results directly to design elements.
Adapt workflows on-the-fly with drag-and-drop ease.
Maintain a clear audit trail, compare versions side by side, and leverage integrated analytics dashboards to measure progress.
Customize custom tags, labels, and metadata to filter iterations and share tailored views with stakeholders.
Receive AI alerts when test results diverge from benchmarks and auto-generate action items for your team.
When to Use the AI Design Thinking Template
Use the AI Design Thinking Template in scenarios where collaboration, speed, and data-driven creativity matter most:
Project Kickoff – Align stakeholders quickly with AI-generated empathy maps.
Ideation Workshops – Supercharge brainstorming sessions with AI prompts.
Rapid Prototyping – Quickly craft and test designs with AI-generated wireframes.
User Testing Phases – Integrate real-time feedback and data insights seamlessly.
Process Reviews – Evaluate and iterate design decisions based on AI analytics.
Ideal for designers, innovation teams, and UX managers adopting AI-enhanced workflows.
Best Practices for AI Design Thinking
Follow these best practices when using the AI Design Thinking Template:
Do treat AI as a collaborative teammate, not an oracle.
Do integrate user research data before generating recommendations.
Don’t overcrowd your canvas with too many elements.
Don’t skip manual validation of AI-suggested designs.
Do iterate designs based on both AI insights and human feedback.
Maintain compliance with GDPR, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 standards by managing permissions and data residency.
Always split complex challenges into separate templates for clarity.
Sources & Data to Kickstart Your Process
Pull in these sources and datasets at project start:
User interview transcripts and survey results.
Existing customer journey maps and personas.
Usage analytics dashboards and clickstream data.
Market research reports and competitive analysis.
Import your spreadsheet data, CRM records, and support tickets to enrich AI suggestions.
Link qualitative notes with quantitative metrics for a holistic view.
Sync stakeholder feedback automatically.
Template Variants & Examples
Explore template variants designed for specific industry challenges.
Each variant is fully customizable and leverages AI for rapid setup and continuous iteration seamlessly.
Templates you may like
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Transform Your Design Process?
Empathize, ideate, prototype, and test faster with AI-driven insights in Creately’s AI Design Thinking Template. Collaborate in real time and export polished deliverables with ease. Start using the template now to transform your design process.