4. Human-centered design is about getting to the people you’re
designing for andhearing from them in their own words.
INTERVIEWShelp unlock all kinds of insights andunderstanding
about the hopes,desires, andaspirations of those you’re
designing for.
Wheneverpossible,conduct your interviews in the interviewee’s
space.Youcanlearn somuchabout aperson’smindset,be-
havior,andlifestyle by talking with themwherethey live or work.
5. STEPS[ to set up interviews &gather userdata]
1 | Nomorethan three researchteam membersshould attend any
single interview soasto notoverwhelmthe participantor crowdthe
location. Eachteammembershould haveaclearrole(i.e.interviewer,
note-taker, photographer).
2 | Comepreparedwith aset of questions you’dlike to ask.Start by
asking broad questions about the person’slife, values,andhabits,
before askingmorespecific questions that relate directly to your
challenge.
3 | Makesureto write downexactlywhatthe personsays,not what
you think they might mean.This processis all about hearing exactly
what peopleare saying.
4 | Whatthe personsaysis only onedata point. Besureto observeyour
interviewee’sbodylanguageandthe context in which you’re talking.
5 | Gatherfindingsandorganize data.
8. APERSONAis arepresentation of anaudience/user,usually basedoff
of userresearchandincorporating usergoals,needs,andinterests.
Personasallow the designer to haveagreater understanding of the
audience/user at the outset of the design processandasatool used
in the design process.
Apersonais awayto model,summarizeandcommunicateresearch
about peoplewhohavebeenobservedor researchedin someway.
Apersonais depicted asaspecific personbut is not areal individual;
rather, it is synthesized from observations of manypeople. Each
personarepresentsasignificant portion of peoplein the real world
andenablesthe designer to focusonamanageableandmemorable
castof characters,instead of focusing onthousandsof individuals.
Personascan:build empathy for the audience/user.,developafocus
for the site/product being developed, assist in making important
design,organizational andfunctional decisions.
9. STEPS[ to define personas]
1 | Interview and/or observe anadequate number of people.
2 | Findpatternsin the interviewees’responsesand
actions, andusethose to groupsimilarpeople together.
3 | Createarchetypicalmodelsof those groups,basedonthe
patterns found.
4 | Drawingfrom that understanding of usersandthe model of
that understanding, createuser-storieszthat will help define
the different tasksof yourproject/platform.
12. USER STORIES are short statements that describe
the role of the user and the activity they wish to
perform. They articulate the future system from the
perspective of those whi will use it.
These stories should be defined by the different types
of users/personas you might find based on your initial
research.
13. FORMAT
As a [type of user],
I want to [perform
some task], so that
I can [achieve
some goal].
16. In researchandplanning, aHUNTSTATEMENTis atool to
narrow downwhat the strategist is researching and why.
Hunt statements should be developed once you’ve established
adirection, but before doing specific researchsothat there is a
purposeto eachpieceof the research.
Themorespecific the hunt statement,the better.
HUNT
STATE
MENT
17. FORMAT
“We think X, therefore we
will research Y, so that we
can do Z. (And Z will
help/fix X.)”
X= the identified need/problem
Y= often anactivity of your keystakeholders
Z= aproject goalor subject area
18. EXAMPLE I
Webelievethat peoplewishto havepersonalizedtravel ex-
periences.Wewill researchhowpeopleusetravel information
andtoolsto conceptualizehowto provideaplatform that
bridgespeople’sinterestswith their travel journeys.
Thisplatformwill helpfacilitate andmanageamoremeaning-
ful andenrichingtravel experience.
X= the identified need/problem
Y= often anactivity of your keystakeholders
Z= aproject goalor subject area
19. EXAMPLE II
I believethat designersandtypographyaficionadoshavea
curiousappealto theAmpersandsign.I will researchwhat
intereststhisnicheaudienceaboutthesymbolto adequatly
conceiveof aplatform that showcasesall thecharacteristics
of theAmpersandsign,andprovideacompellingexperience
to learnmoreaboutthe symbol.
Thiscollectionwill amuseandeducatecreativesthat whatto
expandtheir notionsandcuriosityabouttheAmpersand sign.
