Overview
On 12 September, the Design Thinker community gathered in Hong Kong for the second Design Thinker Meetup in China. The day focused on how DT 3.0 is reshaping design thinking—transitioning from traditional paper-based methods to AI-driven innovation spaces that empower real-world application at scale.
With sessions ranging from strategic updates to practical case studies and co-creation workshops, participants experienced the next frontier of design thinking in action. The event was facilitated by Ms. Tiffany Liu and Mr. Paul Lee, both esteemed Program Leads at DTA China.
Key Highlights
1. DTA China Updates – David Chung, Dean of DTA China
David Chung opened with updates on how Innovation Spaces now provide a bridge from learning design thinking methods to applying them in practice, empowered by AI technologies. Each stage of the process—empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing—can now be supported by a complete set of AI tools, enabling faster, deeper, and more scalable innovation in the real world.
2. AI Design Thinking Case Sharing – Batik, Paul Lee
Paul Lee shared an inspiring case on Batik. The session explored how a country can strategically grow its international market for Batik, a product with rising global demand. Through AI-driven design thinking tools, participants saw how market analysis, user insights, and cultural storytelling can be synthesized to uncover opportunities and define pathways for Batik to reach broader audiences worldwide—blending tradition with technology to fuel global innovation.
3. From DT 1.0 to DT 3.0 – Warm-up & Exercise by Paul Lee
In a lively warm-up, Paul revisited DT 1.0’s paper-based roots before guiding participants through an exercise that showcased how DT 3.0 digitizes and amplifies the process with AI. Participants experienced firsthand how ideation, clustering, and prototyping can be made more efficient and insightful in AI-powered environments.
4. Co-create & Experience DT 3.0 – Tiffany Liu
Tiffany Liu then facilitated a co-creation session centered on a meaningful theme: creating a better world for the elderly. Using AI-enabled design thinking platforms within the Innovation Space, teams explored challenges related to eldercare, accessibility, and social participation, and rapidly generated ideas for solutions. This illustrates how AI and human empathy can work together to tackle urgent societal needs.
5. Closing Reflection – One Word
The day concluded with participants sharing one word that summarized their learnings and experiences. Words like connected, empowered, and future-ready reflected the community’s enthusiasm and optimism for DT 3.0.
Takeaways
The second Design Thinker Meetup in China highlighted a turning point: DT 3.0 is here, powered by AI technologies that make design thinking more dynamic, actionable, and scalable.
From market development strategies for Batik to rethinking solutions for the elderly, the sessions demonstrated that when AI intelligence meets human creativity, design thinking becomes a powerful force for shaping industries and society.
Hong Kong’s gathering not only advanced knowledge, but also strengthened the community’s commitment to building an inclusive and innovation-driven future.
