EMPATHY
Empathy experiences are important because they help us get beyond our assumptions by putting ourselves in the shoes of the people we are designing for. Emotional triggers are motivating for both individuals and teams. And sharing these emotional experiences helps bond and align colleagues and clients around a common goal. Immersive empathy is one of the most powerful tools we use in design thinking.
Of course, aspects of empathy are embedded in all of the previous stages, but the difference here is that you are immersing yourself directly into an experience to evoke empathy.
How does empathy influence design?
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Assumptions are limiting – it helps designers get beyond assumptions they didn’t even know they had.
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Emotion is motivating – understanding emotions and empathizing with visceral experiences is a meaningful way to motivate people towards action.
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Common ground is unifying – direct personal involvement, particularly when several team members engage together is a good way to bond and create common ground – we do this not just to know, but to feel.
4 tips for empathy immersion...
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Change your perspective – Try to get into context, see the world from the perspective of others. Example: When designing a shopping experience for an eight year old, try viewing the store from their eye level to see how they experience the environment.
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Limit yourself – Taking something away, limiting your senses or restricting access to something you rely on every day can also help you understand someone else's viewpoint.
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Doing it yourself – Walk a mile, by taking the time to experience how others see and interact with the world.
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Engage in an analogous experience – There will be times when you just can’t immerse yourself in an experience, so you need to get creative and look for analogous ways to understand more.
– Source: Workshop to generate ideas for an empathy experiment ALStarr75
Design your empathy experiment...
Plan for what you want to learn
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Think about people you want to better understand for your project challenge. If you could walk in their shoes, what would you want to know? Come up with five different answers to this question:
What’s it feel like to ...?
Consider common challenges, demographics, behaviours, motivations, lifestyles, and needs.
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Conduct your empathy experience
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As you carry out your empathy experience, make note of how you feel, what you are learning, and what you find surprising.
Now get out there and experience something new...
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Why not read Design Thinking - Insights >