Human-centered design is a problem-solving technique that places real people at the centre of the development process, allowing you to create products and services that resonate and are tailored to the needs of your target audience.
The goal is to keep users' wants, pain points, and preferences in mind throughout the process. As a result, you'll be able to create more intuitive, accessible products that are more likely to turn a profit because your customers have already tested the solution and are more invested in using it.
This first stage is all about learning from your customers. Rather than developing products based on assumptions about what they want, you take the time to learn what they actually want.
Empathy—the ability to understand another person's experiences and emotions—is required during the inspiration phase. Put yourself in your users' shoes and ask questions to learn what products they're currently using, why and how they're using them, and what problems they're attempting to solve.
Observe how people use your product or service and conduct user interviews to determine the job your customers hire it for. Inquire about things like:
What problem were you attempting to solve when you purchased this product?
What other alternatives did you consider before making your decision?
What factors influenced your decision to select this product over others?
With each response, you will begin to generate bold, new ideas. Your goal is to collect as much feedback as possible so that you can begin to identify patterns, behaviours, and pain points that will help you develop your ideal end product or service.
The first phase's inspiration will lead you to the second: ideation. During this step, you should generate as many ideas as possible based on the feedback you received. Remember that there are no bad ideas when brainstorming. The only way to sabotage the process is to disregard the needs of your users.
Build a prototype that you can put in people's hands and get feedback on as you start to narrow down your ideas to what's most feasible and viable. A paper wireframe or PowerPoint presentation could suffice. The goal is to test your ideas, gather feedback, iterate on those ideas, and then test them again until you've found the perfect solution.
The process culminates in bringing that ideal solution to market. You should start by thinking about where your users are and how they prefer to be marketed to. However, as you expand the reach of your product or service, continue to solicit and analyse feedback.
Because your customers' wants and needs will continue to evolve, the iteration process should never end. Your goal is to adapt in order to meet them. Putting people at the centre of the development process will keep you innovating and achieving product-market fit.
A children's toothbrush that is still in use today is an excellent example of human-centered design. Oral-B commissioned IDEO to create a new kid's toothbrush in the mid-1990s. Rather than imitate what was already on the market—a slimmer, shorter version of an adult-sized toothbrush—IDEO went straight to the source and observed children brushing their teeth.
They discovered during the process that children had difficulty holding the skinnier toothbrushes that their parents used because they lacked the same dexterity or motor skills. Children required toothbrushes with a large, fat, squishy grip that was easier for them to grasp.
By incorporating human-centered design into your business, you can avoid becoming another startup statistic and instead gain a competitive advantage by developing products and services that your customers will enjoy.
