Let’s Talk About Care in Design

My colleagues and I conducting User Interviews with kids who play ‘street’ sports such as gully cricket. With the help of Empathy and Care, we were able to adapt to our surroundings, relate to our users, and in turn have a fun and effective interview session!

One of the first things we are taught in Design School is the importance of Empathy. However, in this article, I would like to focus more on Care, also equally important in Design and Life. Though they both are quite similar, they have some basic differences.

Empathy is passive, Care is active.

Empathy helps us understand the problem better, and Care drives us towards the solution.

So how can both help us as designers?

Let’s take the example of homelessness. It is a major problem worldwide, and though on paper the solution seems obvious, it is indeed quite a challenging problem to solve.

Many of us may think that the way to solve the problem of homelessness is by designing a house. Obvious right? But no.

Homelessness is a way more complex issue and housing is just a small part of it. There are so many factors that one must take into consideration while solving this problem.

And since this problem is so human and society centric, how can Empathy and Care help us?

Empathy tells us: Oh no! It really must be very hard being homeless and struggling so much.

Care tells us: What can we do to solve this problem? Can we guide the homeless person to develop better life skills, can we help the homeless person with personal grooming, etc.

Though this example is very specific, it can be applied to various types of design projects and different aspects of life. The more we practice Empathy and Care, the more ingrained it becomes in our subconscious.

Which leads us to the next question, “How can we as designers practice Care and in turn create more effective and thoughtful solutions?’’ Here are some methods:

1. Don’t Assume.

Quite often while working on projects, we as designers tend to make assumptions about our users. By doing so we end up stigmatizing the user’s experience and end up with unhealthy biases that hinder the project. The solution ends up becoming lazy and thoughtless.

2. Establish a comfortable channel of communication.

Humans (users) are complicated and multi-faceted. And not everyone is adept at communicating problems so effortlessly. Hence, it is very important, as designers, to ensure that the users feel comfortable and safe while communicating their problems to you.

3. Pay attention to the cultural context.

Care is cultural. And culture is integral to any user’s life. Hence it is very important for designers to pay attention to the cultural context a user is set up in, be it the language they feel comfortable speaking in, the setup they are living in, etc. By assimilating ourselves with the cultural context we are able to create a comfortable channel of communication, and in turn, create a solution that is culturally sensitive and thoughtful.

I was researching Sikhism to understand the correlation between Religion and Design. In order to understand Sikhism better, I assimilated myself into the Gurudwara by adopting a suitable attire, being thoughtful of my gestures and spoken language, as well as volunteering and participating in various activities. This helped me develop a better connection with the participants and have honest and thoughtful conversations.

4. Collaboration is Care.

Don’t look at users as helpless victims facing a problem, look at them as treasure troves of experiences and insights. The users are the ones who have been living with the problem the longest, hence their pieces of knowledge surpass everything that we as designers know. Care in design is all about working together to create a better tomorrow. The users are not a ‘them’ they are extended versions of ‘us.’

5. Care is not about perfection.

Ok, hear me out. Being perfect is great. We may create a solution that is logical and perfect. But at the same time, it sets up unrealistic expectations and standards for our users. This may make them feel especially inadequate if they are unable to use the solution perfectly. But the truth is, nobody is perfect. Care helps us look at users beyond their flaws and imperfections, and helps us create solutions around them, instead of undermining them.

So whether you are designing an app that fulfills your lifelong dream of talking to dolphins, or you just want to be a better friend, Empathy and Care is the way to go.