Section 1 · Design Thinking

Empathize

Definition

Building a firsthand understanding of the people you are designing for — their needs, behaviors, motivations, and context — through observation and conversation rather than assumption.

Why it matters

You cannot solve a problem you do not understand, and you cannot understand a person by imagining them. Empathy work is what separates a design grounded in evidence from one grounded in the designer’s guesses.

Example

Interviewing five first-year students about how they actually find rooms on campus, and watching where they hesitate, instead of assuming the current signs are clear enough.

Teaching note

Beginners ask leading questions — “Wouldn’t a bigger sign help?” — that only confirm the idea they already had. The skill is asking open questions about experience — “Tell me about the last time you got lost” — and staying quiet long enough to hear the whole answer.