There was a time when designers were considered by many to be more like artists rather than problem solvers.  And because of this, design challenges would often be approached with the mindset of producing an artistic masterpiece rather than a solution to a human need.  To a person, an app or website designed in this fashion could look great at first, but later lead to confusion, frustration, or even distrust because of a poor experience in trying to reach their objective.  To a business, it could mean lower conversion rates, increased drop-offs, and higher bounce rates.  Human-centered design challenges this notion of design as self-expression, and reprioritizes for people.

When the focus shifts to people, there becomes a greater urgency to understand their wants and needs, which clarifies the importance of empathetic design thinking.  What does empathy mean?  Merriam-Webster defines it as follows:

The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another…

So in essence, it means not only being aware of, but also experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.  This term suddenly becomes significant to design.  Explicitly, it means to design with an understanding of a person, having an awareness of their experience and optimizing for it.

One of the keys to designing for humans is to know who you’re designing for.  Learn about their life, their preferences, their likes and dislikes.  Immerse yourself in their world and see things from their perspective.  Develop an emotional connection with them.  When you do this, you naturally start to identify opportunities for designing something that is truly impactful, and truly useful to them, creating a bridge between human and technology.