Human-Centered Design
Also known as Human-Centered Design,
it is based on a philosophy that
empowers an individual or team to
design products, services, systems, and
experiences that address the core needs
of those who experience a problem.
What distinguishes Human-Centered Design from
other problem-solving approaches is its obsessive
focus on understanding the perspective of the
person who experiences a problem, their needs,
and whether the solution that has been designed
for them is truly meeting their needs effectively or
not. At its most effective, the very people who
experience a problem the most are a constant part
of the design process and when possible, become
part of the design team itself.
1. EMPATHIZE:

The foundational principle of Human-Centered Design is that you should truly understand the
people who experience a problem before you design a solution to serve them. Empathy is about
understanding the problem by immersing yourself in the community that will be affected by your
design. Designers spend time talking directly with those who experience a problem, observing how
their environments work, and consulting experts on the issue to fully grasp all the challenges that
need to be overcome in order to create a solution. This stage, and the design process as a whole, is
about asking questions instead of making assumptions about why things are the way they are.
Those who can adopt a “learner’s mindset” when approaching problems that affect other people
will have the greatest success in creating solutions that make an impact.
This is the most important part of the process, focusing on participatory action research — not just
documenting the user, but engaging them in the brainstorming, modeling, and prototyping as well.
2. DEFINE:

This step helps set up the rest of the process. After learning as much as you can about the issue
you’re looking to solve, define the problem by focusing on the key action that you want to
accomplish. Most often people try to define problems as a mix of problem and solution. Some
examples of the statements we’ve heard are “We need more money.” “We need to pass a law.”
“We need to build more jails.”
These statements are bad examples of how to define a problem. As a Human-Centered designer,
you should always be asking why. Why do we need more jails? What are we really trying to
accomplish? The answer might be something like, “We need a way to maintain public safety.” That’s
the real problem you want to focus on. The way you define the problem is important and should be
phrased in a way that allows for creativity in how it could be addressed.
With this statement, designers can come up with a variety of potential solutions. This statement will
serve as the thesis that the team can repeatedly check solutions against throughout the process to
ensure that they’re actually tackling all aspects of the problem.
3. IDEATE:

Now, having come to better understand the perspective of the person who experiences the
problem from your work in the empathy phase and having defined an actionable problem during
the define stage, it’s brainstorm time. Come up with as many solutions to the problem you defined
as possible. This is best done in teams where each team member writes down the ideas they have
one at a time and place them on a board for everyone to see. One key thing to keep in mind here is
that this isn’t the time to judge whether ideas are good or bad, practical or outlandish. The goal is to
come up with as many ideas as possible. When we judge ideas as they come out, it shuts down the
creative process. Often an impractical idea scaled back slightly can become exactly the type of
novel solution that you’re looking for.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to include those who live with a problem in the brainstorming process.
At DC Design we embrace a concept known as co-design where we work right alongside those we
are aiming to design for. By having them involved in the process, you’re likely to get more nuanced
solutions that are bottom-up, not top-down.
4. PROTOTYPE:

Designers put ideas into action by creating low-cost experiments to test them. These experiments
or prototypes can be created for physical products, virtual interfaces, processes, or systems. In any
of these situations, the goal is to create something you can test with those who live with the
problem in order to see if it works. For physical and virtual products, this is often a model of the
designs you have in mind. In the case of services, build out a model with actionable steps and a
workflow that can be simulated either in the real world or through role-play. Given that it’s a
prototype, it’s considered a work in progress, not a final solution. A good practice is for designers
and participants to have multiple prototypes and experiment to see which one is best suited to
meet the needs of the person they are designing for.
5. TEST AND ITERATE:

Put the ideas and prototypes to test. This is where designers identify flaws, weaknesses, and gaps
in the design, improving it along the way. The person who lives with the problem is asked to test
the model or the prototype repeatedly and see if it addresses all aspects of a problem. It is
particularly important when testing that you are not trying to defend your solution. Your goal is to
use your prototype as a way of learning more about the people you are designing for. What do they
like about it? What don’t they like about it? Why is that? If you can look at this as an opportunity to
learn more about what the best solution would look like for those who need it, you’ll be able to
produce a solution that has significantly more uptake than one where you forced your ideas
through.
Push/Pull door

What is the problem here?

The design had interrupted human brain cognitive bias. For
our brain, seeing a handle triggers an action to pull it. In this
case the Push and Pull part of the door are fitted with a
handle, this creates confusion in your brain.

What is the solution?

The push part of the door doesn’t need a handle. Design a
door with handles only in the Pull side of the door. Leave the
push side with a plain pad. We all will push the door
automatically if we don’t see a handle.
 Kids toothbrush

What is the problem here?

Kids’ hands are small and they hold the toothbrush inside
their fist. So small handled toothbrushes that we use will not
be a good fit for their small hands. And they need to be
motivated to brush their teeth.

What is the solution?

Make the handles fat and squishy. So the kids can hold it
easily. Adding rubber grips to the handle gives more grip
when brushing the teeth.
To encourage kids to brush every day the designers included
comic characters and in the toothbrush and brush holder.
 Ketchup bottle

What is the problem here?

Difficulty in getting full ketchup out of the bottle. People feel
difficulty in handling and squeezing the bottle with one hand.

What is the solution?

Heinz purchased the inverted bottle design from an
American designer named Paul Brown. They redesigned the
bottle to have a hand grip and holding space. And because of
its inverted design, the user will get the last drop from the
bottle.
Lay’s Stax packaging

What is the problem here?

Pepsico’s design team analyzed how people are using their
products. And they find out most of the women prefer to eat
neat and clean. They want to have the last chip in that packet
but they are not ready to dump all that small cracked chip
into their mouth.

What is the solution?

They created a vertical and round bottom can with a tray, so
the user can take out the tray whenever they need a snack
and put it back in after use. The package also comes with a
reusable cap. So the user can store it anywhere.