User:Gardenjoy/Design thinking

Empathy[edit]

See also: Empathic design

In their book Creative Confidence, Tom and David Kelley note the importance of empathy with clients, users, and customers as a basis for innovative design. Designers approach user research with the goal of understanding their wants and needs, what might make their life easier and more enjoyable and how technology can be useful for them. Empathic design transcends physical ergonomics to include understanding the psychological and emotional needs of people—the way they do things, why and how they think and feel about the world, and what is meaningful to them. One way to capture a target audience's wants and needs is by creating and disseminating empathy maps as part of the design process. In her article "Empathy Mapping: A Guide to Getting Inside a User’s Head," empathy maps can guide participants into the user's attitudes and behaviors but in and of itself will not yield a solution to a problem. Instead, participants using empathy maps can gleen insights into their clients, customers, or stakeholders by placing them at the center of their research.

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