What is Human-centered design is a creative approach to problem-solving and the backbone of our work. It’s a process that starts with the people you’re designing for and ends with new solutions that are tailor-made to suit their needs.Human-centered design is about:

• generating empathy with the people you’re designing for through research
• coming up with lots of ideas during ideation
• building prototypes
• sharing what you’ve made with the people you’re designing for and getting feedback through testing
• making changes through iteration on your original ideas.
• and eventually putting your innovative new solution out in the world.

In its simplest definition, human centered design is ‘a creative approach to problem solving’ (IDEO). It’s a process that takes into account the needs of real people, then through intense periods of research, ideation, prototyping and iteration, aims to develop an innovative solution to a problem. Human centered design was pioneered by international design and consulting firm IDEO in the 1990’s, and it is predominantly IDEO’s design methodology, and an adapted version of their tool to frame design challenges, that will be explored in this post. What is Human-centered design challenges, What is Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design? and How to develop a human-centered design mindset .

Despite popularising the approach, the use of the human centred design process is by no means limited to IDEO. According to Joseph Giacomin of the Human Centred Design Institute at Brunel University, human centred design is ‘based on the use of techniques which communicate, interact, empathise and stimulate the people involved, obtaining an understanding of their needs, desires and experiences’. Giacomin also states that the outcome of the process should be ‘products, systems and services which are physically, perceptually, cognitively and emotionally intuitive’.

Another great example of the human centred design process as used outside, and before the existence of, IDEO, is provided by Dave Thomsen CEO of Wonderful Media. He cites the product development of the breakfast cereal Cornflakes by inventor W.K. Kellogg as an example of human centred design. He says ‘Kellogg’s genius came not just in his flair for food product invention, but also in his customer-centric approach, iterative prototyping process and careful consideration of the entire product experience — from the cereal itself to its packaging, marketing and distribution. Kellogg was more than a brilliant food scientist and marketer. He was also a brilliant designer.’

Human-Centered Design (HCD) provides a platform for organizations and communities to bring a creative and agile approach to helping people understand which problems to solve. Together, designers and stakeholders, we co-create the solutions that matter and empower the people affected by bringing them into the creation and innovation process. A successful HCD process relies on the authenticity and the commitment of those running the process to really listen to people and engage them in a safe space that allows them to participate and contribute freely and equally to the conversation.

Human-Centered-Design-Challenges

Human-Centered-Design-Challenges , as Human-Centered Design practitioners we find ourselves designing for people who are different from us, who have needs and pains that are quite different from ours. Their value systems may be also different. It is only by including “the others” in the design process that we manage to overcome our bias in order to co-create solutions that are relevant. We leverage the “Genius” of all stakeholders and we acknowledge that the users are the only experts in their own experience.

For this work of the future to thrive, it is essential that the forces driving change, like tech companies, governments and other institutions, partner with communities at all levels to co-create the future using a well-intendended participatory and democratic process that allows access and empowers its citizens. Nothing about us, without us.

What is Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design?

Design thinking is a process and a mindset to understand people and their problems before developing the solutions. Human-centered design prioritizes empathy as a tool to better identify, understand and solve problems. This framework involves fast-paced data collection through interviews and observation, synthesis of information and iterative prototyping of creative solutions.

How to develop a human-centered design mindset

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Rena Greifinger, Population Services International’s technical adviser for youth and girls, stood before a nyakanga, who leads girls through ceremonies that marks their transition from girlhood to womanhood. Draped in fabric, she acted out a scene in which a teenager asked questions about her health. Afterward, Greifinger sat at the table with the nyakanga and, with the help of a translator, got her feedback about an early stage idea the PSI team had developed in partnership with medical providers, teenagers, and the nyakangas so often left out of conversations on how to reduce teenage pregnancy in Tanzania.

When we design for people, we design with empathy,” Greifinger told Devex. “We immerse ourselves in their worlds, engage them in developing solutions, and ultimately seek to delight and inspire them.”

When done well, human-centered design leads people into projects with questions rather than solutions, pushes them to be constantly curious, and forces them to check their assumptions, she said. While the most effective approaches to address global poverty are designed in partnership with the people they are intended to serve, sometimes professionals needs to be reminded of that reality.

How can you learn to incorporate human-centered design into your work? Devex spoke with a range of human-centered design experts and global development practitioners about the educational resources available to a sector that would benefit from learning how to work with beneficiaries as partners.

What Is Human-centered Design (HCD)?

What is Human-centered design? Human-centered design is an approach that enables designers to focus on the needs of their end users. It promotes designing easy user interfaces that are unobtrusive and accessible to everyone. With this approach there are no standard design rules, but rather a total dedication to research, usability studies, interviews with end users, test observations, prototyping, and continuous refinement until success is achieved. The goal is to produce a sustainable, long-lasting relationship between user and product.”

puts people and their work and needs at the center of decision-making. It’s a way of designing and engineering that moves away from the notion of designing for technology’s sake, to designing for people’s sake. When you make decisions based on how people behave, you build digital products that are more useful, usable, desirable, and valuable to everyone.

Human-centered design brings together experts from different fields (design, engineering, marketing, and others) with the end-user (patient, caregiver, family member) in order to develop empathy and understanding. By creating a shared understanding of intended users’ needs and values, all team members will be able to more effectively collaborate on the solution that is ultimately created.