Emphatic design
Observation is the basis of empathic design, and the paramount aim is for the identification of the concealed customer needs to provide solutions that clients find difficult envisioning, or offer products that they don’t even know they need because of the lack the knowledge of the possibilities the new technology offers or because they still believe in using the old method. Empathic design depends on consumer’s observation as opposed to the research of the traditional market which depends on the inquiry of the customer which is intended to prevent all likely biases in questions, surveys and reduces the notion that consumers will give wrong information.
The observations of emphatic design are conducted by a small team of specialists, such as a designer, a human-factors expert, and an engineer. The observation is then documented by the individual specialist and to apprehend subtle interactions such as facial expressions and body language, the session is videoed.
Through the process of observation, the learning users’ unintended needs interpretation mostly results to innovative designs. It was argued that the competitive pressures and forces of the market in today’s advancing world are increasing the benefit of innovation of product as a basis for competitive advantage. It was contend that users, techniques in empathic design are practically as involved in the design of the product as engineers and designers. Consequently, when such technique is used efficiently, it can attain innovation designs in quite a shorter product growth cycle.