Design Thinking is a structured framework designed to enable teams to collaborate in solving problems and developing user-centered innovations. This article examines how this concept facilitates an instrumental form of user involvement in the creation of products and services. Through two ethnographic studies, it explores Design Thinking as a practice in real-world contexts. More than just a problem-solving methodology, Design Thinking emerges as a framework that creates a specific atmosphere of creativity and collaboration. It reframes social challenges as inherently solvable, particularly through innovative products and services that strive to change the world by adding to it. By cultivating an environment conducive to creative problem solving, Design Thinking and similar approaches become influential in shaping a narrow, business-centric view of innovation. This, in turn, reinforces the pervasive innovation imperative that dominates contemporary society, pushing organizations to continuously seek novel solutions. As such, Design Thinking is not merely a tool for innovation but also a stabilizer of the expectation that societal issues can be resolved primarily through innovative, market-driven solutions.