How can you better empathize with your design thinking users?

Our relationship with clients often deepens beyond mere transactions. Through the design journey, with its unique blend of aspirations, challenges, and unforeseen hurdles, we stand as both advocates and confidantes for our clients. Embracing empathy is pivotal. Clients naturally carry concerns and anxieties. By genuinely understanding their feelings, we not only address their immediate worries but also provide them a sense of ease and assurance. True design partnership is grounded in trust, empathy, and the shared goal of realizing a vision, despite the bumps along the way.

Observing users in their natural environment is crucial because it reveals habitual actions and unnoticed problems. People often overlook issues they've adapted to. By watching users in their real-life settings, designers can uncover hidden pain points and truly understand user behavior. This insight bridges the gap between user claims and actions, ensuring designs cater to real needs. It's a potent approach that leads to more effective and empathetic UX solutions.

I believe this is the best way to empathise with the users. I apply this method in all my design thinking projects. When you put yourself in the user’s shoes, you get a whole new perspective about the problem and its possible solutions. Being in the environment helps you understand the smallest nuances of the challenge and helps you come up with more effective solutions.

I help my teams utilize this method. I enjoy collaborating with my extremely talented teammates and helping us all pause and ask the right questions to recenter our perspective to one that aligns with the end-user. It's a moment of playing pretend, and it opens our minds to questions and opportunities. People have an amazing capacity for empathy but need some help every once in and while to make sure they are creating for others, not themselves.

Collaboration is a very powerful tool. Not only between creators and end-users but also between departments, agency/client relationships, and interpersonal team dynamics. In the world of Advertising, Marketing, and Creative there has been a long history of creating behind a curtain and then popping out to "surprise and delight" the client. But I think those days are over. People are expecting a new level of authentic connection in this process. And from personal experience professionally and personally, only good things happen when you increase the transparency and understanding between groups of people.

Fellow designers, stress is an inevitable part of the design journey, and it can test our empathy. At RavenThorn Interior Design, during these tense moments, we pause and view challenges through our clients' eyes. Often, this shift in perspective reveals the root of their anxieties. By upholding empathy, especially during trying times, we not only navigate design hurdles but also signal our deeper commitment. For us, ethical design isn't just about business; it's about ensuring our clients feel understood and valued every step of the way.

I don't think we talk enough about how intertwined curiosity and empathy are. Curiosity is the door that leads to authentic empathy. Because if you are truly curious, you have dropped any preconceived notions or biases (the best you can, and always striving to be better). I think we can all agree we can tell when someone is actually practicing empathy or just "going through the motions." If empathy isn't one of your natural strengths, maybe start with curiosity and see what happens.