Empathize

Design thinking Phase 1

The first step when embarking on a design challenge is to first take the time to understand who you are designing for. Empathising is crucial to the design thinking process because it helps us to walk in the shoes of another and uncover new information that we can use to build better solutions.

Empathy is a powerful tool, not only to understand the experience of others but to uncover what their needs are. When you take the time to actively listen, observe, ask questions and immerse yourself in the experience of those around you, you will often encounter surprising information that can radically change your perception and assumptions of how things “are”.

In this phase, it is important to refrain from jumping to solutions, but rather slow down and use observation, listening and curiosity to uncover new information.