Empathizing in Design Thinking: From Interviews to Safaris and Shadowing

A few weeks ago, entering the Madrid metro after a flight, I came across a surprisingly common scene: travelers struggling with machines to get a ticket. The expressions of frustration were evident, and without realizing it at that moment, I became an unintentional practitioner of one of the most valuable empathizing methods in Design Thinking: Shadowing. But let’s go step by step.

Empathizing in Design Thinking

Empathy is the pillar that underpins the entire Design Thinking process. It seeks to understand the needs, desires, and challenges of those for whom we are creating solutions. The methods we will explore here offer a window into the world of our users, allowing us to feel and understand their challenges firsthand.

Interviews

Face-to-face conversations are invaluable. Imagine you’re designing an app for runners. You meet Maria, a running enthusiast, and find that her main challenge isn’t finding the perfect route, but monitoring her progress. This conversation reveals that what Maria needs isn’t just a simple map, but an in-depth analysis of her progress.

In interviews, it’s essential to be specific, seek answers about current or past facts, and delve into motivations.

Safaris

The Empathy Safari doesn’t involve traveling to the African savannah: hit the streets or surf the internet. It immerses you in real experiences, revealing your potential audience’s Customer Journey. It’s a great way to discover behavioral patterns and potential areas for improvement.

It’s important to set a starting point, decide where and whom to visit, and gather as much information as possible to later analyze and structure it.

Shadowing

It’s literally shadowing someone, and there are three ways to do it:

• Natural (without interfering)
• Controlled (designing a task)
• Participative (the researcher asks and interacts as the user progresses).

The beauty of shadowing lies in its immediacy. You’re directly confronted with the realities and challenges your users face, allowing you to identify opportunities.

By diving into our users’ world through empathy, we uncover opportunities to create products or services that address their real needs. At the core of Design Thinking is the human being and their daily experiences. Centering them in product creation ensures that we build something, at the very least, humanly desirable.

Do you have any comments, experiences, or concerns about these empathy methods? I appreciate your comment, and if you wish, you can write to me directly :)

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