EMPATHIZE

Step 1
Design Thinking Model
2
• Identify
• The specific problem
your design is
intended to solve
• Important usability
aspects from those
who will use your
design.

Discovery can be performed through a variety of different research methods which

you will learn in this module.
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Empathize
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• Empathy is a skill
• To understand and share the same feelings that others feel
• Through empathy, we are able to put ourselves in other people's shoes and
connect with how they might be feeling about their problem, circumstance, or
situation.
• Some questions to consider:
• What is the person feeling?
• What actions or words indicate this feeling?
• Can you identify their feelings through words?
• What words would you use to describe their feelings?
• These are just some of the guided questions that students can reflect on
to identify the problem and how others are feeling about it.

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Empathize
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• Design Thinking cannot begin without a deeper understanding of the people
you are designing for.
• In order to gain those insights, it is important for you as a design thinker
to empathize with the people you’re designing for so that you can
understand their needs, thoughts, emotions and motivations.
• The good news is that you have a wide range of methods at your command
for learning more about people.
• The even better news is this: with enough mindfulness and experience,
anyone can become a master at empathizing with people.

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Empathize
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• In the empathize stage, your goal, as a designer, is to gain an empathic
understanding of the people you’re designing for and the problem you are
trying to solve.
• This process involves observing, engaging, and empathizing with the people
you are designing for in order to understand their experiences and
motivations, as well as immersing yourself in their physical environment in
order to have a deeper personal understanding of the issues, needs and
challenges involved.

“People ignore design that

ignores people”.
– Frank Chimero

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Empathise
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Empathize methods
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The following are our favorite Empathize methods:
• Assume a beginner’s mindset
• Ask What-How-Why
• Ask the 5 whys
• Conduct interviews with empathy
• Build empathy with analogies
• Use photo and video user-based studies
• Use personal photo and video journals
• Engage with extreme users
• Story share-and-capture
• Create journey maps

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Empathize methods
Assume a beginner’s mindset (Listen, don’t judge!)
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• Set aside assumptions is absolutely critical when it comes to building
empathy.
• As human beings, we all come with our own preconceptions, experiences,
and misconceptions; this is how we make sense of the world around us.
• However, these can hinder our ability to build empathy. When listening to
and engaging with people, get into the habit of suspending your own
judgements and assumptions.
• You can think of it as a mental reset; assume a “blank” mindset, free of
any preconceived ideas and beliefs. Really listen attentively to what other
people are saying, and you’ll uncover much deeper insights about how
they tick as a person.

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Empathize methods
9
Ask What-How-Why
• Throughout the empathize phase, you should constantly be considering the what,
how, and why of your users’ behavior.
• The what-how-why framework can help you translate your (assumption-free)
observations into more abstract user motivations.
• Divide your page into three sections and break down what you’ve observed as
follows:
• What? Refers to the details of what has happened: for example, the user took the following
actions when entering their payment details on an ecommerce website.
• How? Here you will consider how the user has completed these actions. What were their facial
expressions? Were they exerting a lot of effort? Did they seem at ease, frustrated, or confused?
• Why? Now it’s time to make some educated guesses about the user’s motivations and emotions as
they complete these tasks.
• The more you reflect on how and why your users might behave in a certain way, the
more you can empathize with (and design for!) them.
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Empathize methods
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Conduct interviews with empathy Immersion and observation
• Constantly asking “why?” (even if • It is also extremely useful to observe
you think you already know the your users in action.
answer!), asking non-binary • Observe them while they interact with
questions, encouraging storytelling,
and paying attention to nonverbal the product, or problem, you are trying
cues. to design for.
• One of the most important things to • Video them or record their screen as
bear in mind when conducting an they navigate a website.
empathy interview is that you need • Ask your users to keep their own photo
to be present and attentive. or video journal over a certain time
• Don’t be distracted by taking notes; period, or while completing certain
set up a recorder or have someone tasks in their everyday lives.
there to take notes for you.
• The advantage of this is that your users
aren’t so aware of being watched and
Extreme Users may therefore act more naturally.
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Empathize methods
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Empathy maps
• “a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we
know about a particular type of user. It externalizes
knowledge about users in order to 1) create a shared
understanding of user needs, and 2) aid in decision
making.”
• Says: Contains direct quotes based on what the user has
said, for example during an empathy interview.
• Thinks: Considers what the user might be thinking, but
may not want to explicitly reveal. For example: “Am I
stupid for not being able to navigate this website?”
• Does: Looks at concrete actions the user takes, for
example: refreshing a page, clicking a button,
comparing different options before making a purchase.
• Feels: Considers what emotions the user is experiencing
at certain points. For example: “Frustrated: Can’t find
what they are looking for on the page.”
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Example
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• Since the invention of factories in the industrial revolution opened the
gates to mass-produced goods, mass consumerism has been an ever-growing
part of how the world operates. However, the one-size-fits-all approach to
consumption and solving problems has begun to show signs of inadequacy.
• Using the power of “averages” X.
• In the 1940s, aviation accidents happened very frequently (as many as 17
crashes a day).
• Initially, the air force presumed that the reason for so many accidents was
the air force’s switch to using more complicated and faster planes.
• After some research, however, the air force discovered the real reason
behind the accidents; they had designed the planes’ cockpits and helmets
to conform to the dimensions of the “average” soldier’s body. In a study of
over 4,000 air force pilots, it was found that none of the air force pilots fell
within the dimensions of the supposed “average” man.
• It was no wonder pilots had problems with using the planes! In the end, the
air force created adjustable equipment to fit most soldiers’ bodies, thereby
solving the problem.
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Example
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• If we develop solutions in isolation, without essential insights about our
users, we may create solutions that completely miss the mark and thus be
ignored by the market.
• For example, many MP3 players have come and gone without much creating
much of an impact, whereas the iPod was very successful at not only
providing a technological solution but also providing a completely desirable
and profitable experience, which resulted in Apple’s taking a market lead.

Home 10 Min Malls

Delivery Delivery

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Example
14

Electric Old age Apple mobile Wheels in

vehicles homes suitcase

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lixom5XWNf0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3mXaZZ3O0E
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Foldable MI Band Water park Roti maker
furniture
Assignment
16
• Create an empathy map for the idea of your choice and make a
presentation of the same.

• Time : one week.

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Thank You
?