HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN (HCD)

What is human-centered design (HCD)?

Human-centered design puts people at its center of the entire problem-solving and product or service design process. It focuses on identifying problems, pain-points, and challenges people face, designing solutions for those problems, and validating and refining solutions with their intended end users. HCD is empathy-driven in that it considers the real needs, desires, and feedback of end-users throughout the entire design process.

What are the four phases of human-centered design?

Human-centered design has four phases: inspiration, ideation, implementation, and validation.

What are some examples of human-centered design?

  • Children’s toothbrush
  • Television remote
  • Bluetooth headphones
  • Warby Parker
  • Oxo Good Grips
  • Spotify
  • Venmo
  • Airbnb
  • Uber
  • Pinterest

Why is human-centered design needed?

HCD is needed to create products and services that solve real problems and resonate deeply with end-users.

What are the advantages of human-centered design as a problem-solving technique?

The main advantages of human-centered design as a problem-solving technique include:

  • Understanding your end user well
  • Designing solutions to real customer problems
  • Building solutions with more confidence, given that your customer is deeply embedded in the design process
  • Improving the lives of your customers while growing your business

What are the disadvantages of human-centered design as a problem-solving technique?

The main disadvantages of human-centered design as a problem-solving technique include:

  • Fast paced process that can be difficult for slow-moving organizations
  • Requires quick design and product iteration
  • People cannot always articulate what they want and what their problems, making it difficult to identify real customer pain-points and needs