We are surrounded by technology. Day in and day out, we deal with businesses based on these technologies. Quite often, you must have noticed that technologies or the business surrounding those technologies haven’t taken people into consideration. Be it the customers or the ones producing it, there appears to be a huge gap in between.
This is exactly where Human-Centered Designs come into the picture. These designs are made with a focus on their primary interacting user; humans.
This article will help you under the nuances of human-centered design in business.
Table of Contents
What is human-centered design?
Human-centered designs are those designs that are made by keeping people on the central pedestal. These designs focus on people’s feelings, emotions, and behaviors. It is not something truly deep, but it surrounds the day-to-day patterns of people.
(Source : Google Images)
This is a very innovative and creative way of approaching a problem from the end-user point of view. The designs that are centered around this concept have a deeper impact on the users, and they build a strong connection with the brand and the product.
By creating a human-centered design, you are, basically, creating something that not just solves a particular problem but also makes lives easier and more productive.
The process of Human-centered designs
For a human-centered design to work the way it is intended, it should be able to offer a strong customer experience. The entire process of human-centered design is quite iterative and takes place in six phases.
Learn more about how good designs can complement marketing.
1. Observation
What better way to create a design for people than observing people? Observation is the key to everything. To determine the patterns of human behavior and to know how something might affect someone, it is always better to observe the impact of that thing.
Research as much as you can about that particular business design. For instance, if you wish to make a mobile phone for older adults, think about their requirements. Observe the difficulties they face with the existing models. What change can you bring in the design that can make their life easier?
Make assumptions and hypotheses as per your research result, which you can later test on your design.
2. Ideation
Ideation is the fun part of the journey. This is where you actually step into your customer’s shoes and then try to figure out the problem. Considering the earlier situation, think like an older adult using a phone. Are you comfortable with the screen size? Is it easy to use the keypad? Is the language easy to comprehend?
(Source : Google Images)
For the process of ideation, you need to know the type of demographics you wish to target. What type of people you think would be most interested in using the product. Figure out your customer’s journey with the product. This will help you get a better understanding of what type of design you are required to work on.
3. Prototyping
What is the benefit of a design that was never made to the market? Unless you do test runs with your design, you will never be able to figure out if you have achieved the desired goal. Therefore, perform rapid prototyping to understand your design better.
4. Feedback
You might be in love with what you have created. But who really needs to be happy is the end-user. Analyzing customer feedback through specialized customer feedback AI software is an essential tool in understanding a business. Especially when your focus is human-centered design, it is beneficial to run the designs by actual humans.
(Source : Google Images)
Put your design through user testing. Question them regarding the usefulness of the product. Whether it is solving any problem, or is it making productivity better, and so on. Seeking validation for your design is no harm. You get to know about the shortcomings of the product from your actual audience.
This provides a deeper insight into the flaws, if any, and lets you fix them more efficiently.
5. Iteration
You cannot be 100% of your design in the very first user test. Get the feedback and validation and make the necessary changes. Once those changes are achieved, run it by the end users again. Keep doing this process till you have tackled every minor issue that could have resulted in customer dissatisfaction.
6. Implementation
Once you are sure about the product, and you know that your design keeps the needs of the people in the center, you are ready to implement it. Bring out the product in the market and let your creativity shine.
Why are human-centered designs needed?
For every product or business in the market, there are thousands of competitors lined up. Making your business unique is the only key to shining in the crowd. This can be done if you know how to put your customer in the limelight.
The more connected your customer feels to your product and your business, the more likely they will tag you as their favorite. This inclination can only be achieved if you can provide everything that your customer needs with your product.
If you are well versed with the concept of human-centered design, you will be able to drive more traffic towards your business. This traffic won’t be just large in numbers, but it will also be loyal to your company. Human-centered Design is your way to beat the competition and become a market favorite.
To sum it up
The market, be it virtual or real, is saturated with millions of businesses offering the same type of things. The competition keeps getting tough. Gone are the days when you could kill competition by providing things at a lower price. Now, the customers demand way more than just reduced prices.
Human-centered design is what helps you fulfill the demands of the customers. This is the process that helps to bring reliable and trustworthy products that the customer feels more connected to.
Even before profits, the priority of any business should be customer satisfaction. The customers are the ones who drive the profit. And the best way to cater the same is by bringing their needs under the spotlight of human-centered designs.
Make sure you check out our design portfolio to see some of these ideas in action.
