What is Art Thinking?

Art Thinking" has been a hot topic in the business scene for the past few years. What exactly does Art Thinking mean?
Let us discuss this way of thinking, which is said to be indispensable for creating products with originality, from the perspective of its differences from " critical thinking" and"design thinking, " which are familiar ideas to business people.

CriticalThinking

Critical thinking" is required frequently when performing various tasks as a businessperson. In Japanese, it can be called "critical thinking.
This method requires task analysis andstructural understanding of thingsthrough logical reasoning, and the act of making appropriate decisions by setting goals and then objectively and critically observing what is lacking to achieve those goals. It is a way of thinking that has a high affinity with "logical thinking. It is characterized by setting the correct answer according to the goal to be attained and thinking backwards along the path to reach that goal. Even in the task analysis phase, we are required to make a sharp distinction between facts and opinions in a calm and objective manner.
In other words, we must always ask, "Isn't this our prejudice?" "Are we not expressing our opinions subjectively?" Are we taking actions that will have a realistic impact on our goals? and "Are we taking actions that will have a realistic impact on the goals we are trying to achieve?
The benefits of this way of thinking include the following The ability to structurally understand and apply the organization and structure in the first place, and to propose logical solutions to problems that explicitly exist.
In contrast, although it is not always appropriate to describe them as disadvantages, it is also true that they have points that should be compensated for by design thinking and art thinking. Let us look at that further.

Design Thinking

In Design Thinking, by empathizing deeply with the users, we approach their potential problems and create solutions. Since the second process naturally requires the logical thinking described above, it can be seen as an encompassing relationship. It is characterized by starting problem recognition from the voice of the client (business partner) or customer (service user) as a starting point. When relying solely on critical thinking can only offer a common solution with many precedents, design thinking may be able to change the way of thinking.
It is the most basic approach in the field of UX design.

Art Thinking

Compared to the above two thinking methods, Art Thinking has not been proposed for a long time and has not yet been defined. What various practitioners have in common is that they aim for truly innovative creation and try to reach it by starting from "individual problems. This is the opposite vector of design thinking.

When an artist creates a work of art, he or she does not necessarily go through the process of listening to someone else's opinion and producing a product that meets his or her needs. Rather, the majority of artists often go through a process of discovering "their" problem and then "subjectively" conceiving a work of art to solve it. Such a subjective starting point can be useful for businesses that are struggling to develop truly innovative products, even though they utilize logic and design.

The merit of Art Thinking lies in "creating value that has never existed before. Masamichi Toyama, the representative of Soup Stock Tokyo and a well-known practitioner of Art Thinking, used to create art himself. Using this experience, he has created a lifestyle that no one had ever imagined before, "a life where soup is the staple food," and the company has made such history that it will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2019.

However, many of you who have read this far may be thinking, "Isn't that the exact opposite of critical thinking?" Many of you may be thinking, "Isn't that the exact opposite of critical thinking? While it is not completely the opposite, it is true that the direction is completely different. Rather, it may be more natural to use art thinking in the earliest stages of product creation, and then use a combination of critical thinking and design thinking in the commercialization process. Aiming to create new value by utilizing the various parts of the brain will lead to a truly growing business.