Demystifying Design Thinking - A Guide For Parents & Teachers

Demystifying Design Thinking

The UNBOX Way — PAANCH SA

Design Thinking often sounds like a complicated, elite skill. Something only designers or innovators can use.

But the truth is simpler.

Design Thinking is just a structured way to think clearly, solve problems smartly, and create meaningful solutions.

At UNBOX, we have converted this entire process into a five-step PAANCH SA framework that any child, teacher, or parent can use.

And yes, it works beautifully.

Why Design Thinking Needs Demystification

People often assume Design Thinking is about:

• fancy workshops

• post-it notes

• complicated tools

• long lectures

But as Abhimanyu Bhardwaj, Product & Design Leader, BCG X, says,

“If a method doesn’t simplify life, it’s not Design Thinking. It’s just decoration.”

Design Thinking is valuable only when it becomes easy to use in daily thinking.

That is exactly why UNBOX created the Paanch SA model.

THE PAANCH SA FRAMEWORK

A simple Indianised method to make Design Thinking usable by everyone.

1. SUNO

Listen deeply. Observe quietly.

Every problem begins as a whisper.

Most people rush to solve without understanding.

In SUNO, we listen with patience, observe without judgement, and collect real insights.

Amitoj Singh, Managing Director Partner, BCG X, puts it perfectly:

“Solutions fail not because people can’t solve, but because they don’t listen long enough.”

2. SOCHO

Think wide. Think wild. Think new.

This is where ideas stretch.

Where imagination runs free.

SOCHO encourages children and adults to generate many possibilities instead of one rushed answer.

Because creativity is not talent.

It is simply the courage to think differently.

3. SAMJHO

Make meaning. Make sense.

Ideas alone are not enough.

SAMJHO is about filtering, understanding patterns, and connecting the dots.

This step helps identify what matters most and why.

Good decisions come from clear thinking, not fast thinking.

4. SULJHAO

Solve it. Build it. Try it.

This is where innovative ideas turn into prototypes — small, low-cost, fast attempts to make ideas real.

Students learn to test, refine, fail fast, and improve faster.

Suljhao teaches one important lesson:

Nothing is perfect on Day 1.

Everything improves with iteration.

5. SAMJHAO

Explain. Share. Convince.

The best ideas die when they are not communicated well.

Samjhao builds articulation, confidence, storytelling, and presentation skills.

If you can explain it simply, you truly understand it.

Why PAANCH SA Works

Because it is:

• Indian in its vocabulary

• simple in structure

• practical in classrooms

• intuitive for children

• powerful for teachers

• usable by families at home

Design Thinking finally becomes what it was always meant to be — a way of life.

Abhimanyu Bhardwaj summarises it beautifully:

“Design Thinking isn’t about products. It’s about shaping the mind that shapes the product.”

UNBOX Is Making Design Thinking Accessible

Through games, ideation kits, workshops, and storytelling, UNBOX is helping students develop 21st-century skills like imagination, analysis, decision-making, collaboration, and problem-solving — all through PAANCH SA.

You can see the Design Thinking Kits for schools and homes at:

https://www.unboxgames.in/collections/design-thinking-ideation-kits

Because India doesn’t just need more labour.

India needs more thinkers, creators, and innovators.

Food for Thought

Design Thinking is not a subject.

It is not a chapter.

It is not a workshop.

It is a habit of thinking.

And with PAANCH SA, that habit finally becomes easy, structured, and joyful.

Let us help every Indian child learn the UNBOX way.