Now imagine you’re designing a product to try to help Mary ease her anxieties. Based on this fairly typical profile of a college student, you can start to intellectually analyze Mary and her situation. But what you really need to create a good product is empathy, and empathy isn’t about intellectually knowing – it’s about feeling. To feel what Mary feels, you need to spend time with her, learn about her specific wants, needs, and desires, and get to experience her emotions.
In the world of design-led product innovation, pursuit of empathy is the key to success.
To reap the benefits of the other ‘e’ words that we hear so much about when it comes to creating products (experience, engagement, and emotion), you need to have empathy with the people who will buy, use, and experience your products or services.
by Jon Kolko
