There are 360,000 google entries for the phrase “Design Thinking”, many of them neither about design, nor about thinking. BusinessWeek design editor Bruce Nussbaum argues that design thinking may be better left to corporate CEOs and former White House speech writer Daniel Pink hovers over the topic as a fundamental skill in the twenty-first century in his book, A Whole New Mind. What are the origins of this concept and what does it mean to the challenges facing design practice? How is the contemporary practice of design different from the past and are we ready as a profession to face new responsibilities?