Web designers are the artists in this technology world, who don’t work to display their creativity but to solve a customer problem. It is the root of all the design work which help users achieve their business goals.
While starting with the designing it is necessary to find out client’s potential users, their desires & pains. This is where User Research comes into the picture. If you would be able to get the exact points that your client’s potential users are searching for then you are done with 55% of your work. After that, designers can envision the best colours, styling based on emotions & experiences of the targeted audience. It forms the basis of designing websites with empathy. This is nothing but the research by stepping into the user’s shoes which helps in finding how they will interact with our product/services. With this, you can not only create products that work well but also make the things happen that users want them too.
Let’s talk more about Empathetic Design:
Isolation between designers & users during projects can disturb user experience & it happens more often. Do you know why? Think about the last time you witnessed a knock-down, fight on social media network. Each party is so engrossed in getting their own opinions that they don’t even bother to listen what the other person is saying. Sounds familiar? While designing also, designers are so involved in applying their design knowledge & best practices that they forget what user research is telling them. You can design attractive end-product but it won’t be able to create its place unless your target market get intended experience.
Research shows that males tend to have lower levels of empathy & those working in technological fields values logic more than empathy. So it’s not at all easier task to do. Most of the time, it is being assumed that users will follow the same methodology, thinking, & learning curves as that of developers & designers.
Which steps empathetic web designers follow?
Empathy is nothing but the ability to understand & connect with the other’s emotions, motivations & goals. In the context of web design, it is a process by with you apply user research to your own thinking & execution in your project. Following are the steps that they follow:
Decide who must be observed & which behaviors we must observe to create a better product.
User Research- It gives insights about actions, approaches, behaviors & methods that targeted population uses to find out the solution for their problems.
Data Analysis. All team members get together & what they learned from user research. This is where designers try to find & understand customer’s needs & wants.
By using data, team-mates brainstorm for innovative solutions that address & solves the problems of users.
Prototyping- It is the last step where designers bring solutions from brainstorming session to life & you put your empathetic design to the test.
Apart from this you can just listen consciously, get rid of distractions, avoid assumptions that help you reduce bias & increase your vision from a broader point of view. Undoubtedly, it will make your design process better with end product too. I am eager to answer your queries if you have any. Put them into comments.
Responsible for developing and managing web presence, Sarah has been associated with eLuminous Technologies for 7+ years. Strategic and innovative with a passion for Content Marketing and enhancing brand awareness. Administered all business marketing operations and advertisement campaigns that eventually increased web traffic. She works under the motto “Think like a Publisher, not a Marketer.”
