What Is Human-Centered Design?
Emotions and feelings influence your behaviors. When those behaviors are less than ideal, they have a negative impact on your health and wellbeing. Fortunately, with the help of human-centered design, you have the tools to tackle behavior change.
What is human-centered design?
Human-centered design is a problem-solving methodology. As the name suggests, people are at the heart of the design process. The process consists of three main phases which are described below.
INSPIRATION
Designers start to investigate problems by assuming a beginner’s mindset. The idea is to look at problems with a fresh set of eyes: defer judgement, be curious, and question everything. This helps designers build empathy and understand the needs of the people for whom they are designing.
IDEATION
Once they understand the needs of the people, designers extract insights from their research and identify areas of opportunity. Creativity kicks into high gear as they brainstorm potential solutions. Ideas that seem promising are tested out as prototypes.
IMPLEMENTATION
Inherent in the design process is a bias towards action. Designers learn by doing, and more importantly, they give themselves the freedom to fail early and often. Continuously iterating on solutions leads designers to achieve results that ultimately meet the needs of the people.
How does human-centered design apply to behavior change?
Like human-centered design, behavior change is a process: you must understand why you want to change, discover what you want to change, and experiment with how you want to change. By applying the principles and practices of design to behavior change, you can be the designer of your own healthy lifestyle and improve your overall wellbeing.
UNDERSTAND YOUR WHY: BUILD EMPATHY
Empathy is essential for behavior change. By having empathy for yourself, you can understand the why that drives your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Cultivating the courage to embrace this vulnerability early on leads to behavior change with lasting results.
DISCOVER YOUR WHAT: GET CREATIVE
Creativity is not reserved for designers. Everyone holds the gift of creativity, it is just a matter of nurturing this potential. Unleashing your creativity will help you discover what you want to change. You may be surprised by the ideas you generate, but they will inspire you to take action.
TRY on YOUR HOW: EXPERIMENT
When you give yourself the freedom to fail, behavior change is no longer about success or defeat. Instead, each attempt is an experiment and each setback an opportunity to pivot and try again. Through these explorations comes the motivation and empowerment to embrace how you will ultimately change.