Empathy & Design: A Framework for Successful UX Design
Think. Code. Go. ® (TCG) has a unique approach to its process as a digital design agency. TCG starts first by conducting qualitative research, including user interviews and user testing, to solve complex problems and inform solutions for its clients. This research, called UX research, is completed to advise future design steps of an app’s creation and to ultimately build empathy for the product’s end-user. Empathy in design creates a positive end-user experience for a digital product by enabling comprehension of both viewpoints and feelings of end-users.
To further note empathy’s role in design requires the definition of empathy. According to the American Psychology Association, empathy is defined in part as, “understanding a person from his or her frame of reference rather than one’s own.” It’s a form of emotional intelligence. Empathy is further broken into two forms: affective and cognitive. Affective empathy is explained by the Greater Good Science Center as, “the sensations and feelings we get in response to others’ emotions.” These are actual feelings one may experience while interacting with a person exhibiting heightened emotions. Cognitive empathy is defined as, “our ability to identify and understand other people’s emotions.” While sometimes considered a more distant stance, cognitive empathy allows for an objective but the thoughtful determination of emotions another person may experience.
Cognitive empathy is appropriate for UX design because, while its negative connotations may imply an inability to emotionally feel what another person experiences, it allows designers an unbiased platform to advocate for users’ needs. When user testing, designers can note and acknowledge user pain points without becoming distracted by valid emotional responses to frustrating issues. Empathy is both tucked into the beginning of and is a constant throughout the design process. It is a consistent reminder to not design within a vacuum, a reminder designs aren’t created solely for aesthetic purposes but are conceptualized as solutions to problems users experience while using a product. Nielsen Norman Group has even stated that empathy is the most important skill required for UX professionals. To regularly empathize with the user as a designer is to set up a product for success.
Parent rule configuration. | Child app splash screen to intercept parents if they download the incorrect app. | Child dashboard with approved apps and banner notifications for rule changes to be reviewed.
TCG advocates for both its clients and their users, a balance often difficult to maintain. Dont™, a product developed by TCG, monitors and reports teen phone use while driving to help parents address unsafe behavior. A parent wanted their child to be less distracted by apps while driving, while a child wanted trust from their parent. While it was understood parents worried for their child’s safety and wanted to know exactly what their child was doing wrong or right, TCG knew both the parent and the child needed to use dont™ for its safety features to be effective. This meant features like app restrictions needed to be reasonable for the child. Empathizing with both the parent and the child, dont™ encourages open communication between the two parties when driving violations occur and leaves the parenting to the parent. Parents are empowered to monitor and act on unsafe driving behavior via activity reports and real-time notifications. Children are encouraged to keep hands off phones while driving, while still providing avenues for permission-based maps and music apps. The full dont™ case study can be found here.
For thoughtful and effective UX design, empathy is key. Empathy begins with identifying the user’s problems and continues throughout the design process and beyond. While empathy in design may seem like a general practice of handwavium, the practice of empathizing with users connects designers to the users (and their feelings) they’re designed for. This means a better product and happier users.
End Note
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Megan Thompson is a UX designer at Think. Code. Go. ® who believes good design is intuitive and uncomplicated.
She is a lifelong learner constantly striving to better her design practice and workflow, and won’t hesitate to integrate new processes as they become available.