“The foundation of empathic design is observation and the goal to identify latent customer needs in order to create products that the customers don't even know they desire.”
-Wikipedia
Empathic design is not a new concept; The term appears on Wikipedia referencing materials from the early 2000s. And yet we continue to deliver solutions that nobody uses. Worse, we frequently blame the user for not understanding our brilliant designs. The design thinking process is clear: observe, capture data, reflect and analyze, brainstorm solutions, prototype. But empathy is not about process. It’s about connecting to people.
Users are People
Personas, users, subjects. These are all labels that obfuscate, depersonalize, and potentially devalue real people who have real history, lives, needs, and feelings. We perceive them through the labels we assign. That’s why it’s important to approach people’s needs with no judgments or preconceptions.
Go Where the People Are
Observation is best done from the place of the people your product is affecting. While data is interesting and can show us valuable usage patterns, it doesn’t speak to the motivation behind the patterns. Go behind the data and take time to go where your customers are. Listen to what they’re saying and doing. Rather than deciding how you want them to act, note their patterns and problems from their perspective.
Deliver Solutions for People
People-centered design is frequently forgotten once development efforts begin. In the technology sector, we often pivot and develop solutions for systems and management, then wonder why our solution didn’t hit the mark. Always remember the people who use your solution. Keep them front and center during the entire process. Doing this from a place of humility, openness, and empathy will help you deliver solutions they don’t want to live without.
