Use design to build empathy, not likes
I recently became acquainted with a sweet Indian lady who runs a coffee shop next door. We bonded over Indian tea-drinking habits, which would be considered bizarre in our Upper Manhattan neighborhood — things like drinking tea out the saucer or putting whole ginger pieces in. I’m not a big tea/coffee drinker, but have become a “regular” there. It has become a sort of ritual to go to the cafe, and talk weather, politics (or what’s new with Trump) or about the Indian festivals we never get to celebrate in the city. And to have the obligatory tea or coffee.
Why do I spend a sizeable amount of my money on a beverage that I am not even fond of?
It’s for the “regular” experience. An experience that has given me a sense of belonging in this alien neighborhood.
The hospitality industry understood the value of empathy much before any other industry could. They design their services to be around humane interactions and connections. From the quintessential bartender who pours you a drink whilst listening to your rant, to the college canteen uncle who remembers how to make Maggi noodles “your way”, some of these people have managed to make a successful connection with their “user” — stronger than any coupon discount or advertisement. It’s empathy at its core, which design can be instrumental in building.
Empathy building: Humanizing brands and attaching personalities to it
Today, marketers and strategists imagine “brands” as “people” and dress them up, designing the brand’s behaviour based on this imagined personality. If that is true, then in my view, VICE News is like your cool St. Stephen’s College friend who loves to debate about real world issues and also likes to smoke a doob. Spotify is that non-judgemental friend who knows you actually like the new Honey Singh song. And Uber is the miser friend who doesn’t miss an opportunity to save or make a buck.
Most brands cloak themselves to fit an appealing, humane personality but few own it. Maple is a food delivery app like no other. It’s not a crowd-sourced app like Zomato, which would promote a restaurant even though it might be selling bad-tasting food (no!). Run by a celebrity chef, they offer only 4–5 things on the menu. They run like an online restaurant window, with open kitchen hours and small video clips of food being prepared. It lives up to its promise of providing healthy, nourishing food with complete transparency in the way the food is sourced and prepared. The simple intention of honesty, transparency and care permeates into the design and all their communication. From a simple, uncluttered app to a lovely note at the time of delivery. They build small moments of empathetic interaction which leave a lasting impression on its users.
Another great example of empathy-meets-design is the Conflict Kitchen. Conflict Kitchen is a restaurant that serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict. Each Conflict Kitchen iteration is augmented by events, performances, publications, and discussions that seek to expand the engagement the public has with the culture, politics, and issues at stake within the focus region. The restaurant rotates its design in relation to current geopolitical events. It changes a simple dinner into a performance, with a subversion of messages. From table mats to the lunch menu, each item on the table participates in informing you about the issue. While one may escape news bulletins, this act of breaking bread is an approachable and empathetic way of understanding world issues. I hope the United Nations is taking note.
Vandana Shiva may not be a household name in India yet, but she and her brand Navdanya are at the forefront of empathy-building. Navdanya is a movement for Earth Democracy which is working toward preserving India’s biodiversity-based food heritage through Bija Swaraj, Ann Swaraj, Bhu Swaraj and Gyan Swaraj. Chemicals and fertilisers are destroying biodiversity, trapping farmers into debt and spreading disease epidemics in society. Big multinational companies like Monsanto provide fast growing seeds to farmers, which slowly reduce the soil quality of the land. The fertilisers act like a gateway drug for soil and make it completely dependent on a whole set of chemical products, courtesy of Monsanto. This throws the farmer into a vicious chain of struggle and financial debt. Navdanya is helping farmers and consumers through awareness about the benefits of fresh, local and nutritious organic food. Their campaign on Food Smart Cities connects the city to the countryside through healthy and safe food. Navdanya has all the right messaging but it is yet to catch up with an aloof urban Indian audience.
We as consumers, overburdened by glitzy advertising, may not be able to identify these earnest efforts. Empathetic brands such as Navdanya need to understand the power of design. Home-grown products and brands often get overlooked until the West gives them a nod of approval. While there were little takers for small tribal farming community in Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh growing organic coffee in India, it is making big waves in Parisian coffee-shops.
While earnest brands are still catching up, some empathy-building brands have disguised themselves in design. Paperboat drinks are cashing in on empathy. Cloaked in nostalgia, Paperboat re-sells us childhood memories of swinging under mango trees — with high doses of sugar. We are fooled by the brand’s deceptive “environment-friendly” packaging and empathetic storytelling. Empathy is a double-edged sword. We can be fooled by nostalgia but we also need to demand quality and fairness.
In the recent 2016 Empathy Global Index, Indian companies have scored the lowest. “Like” and “follower” counts are not the most efficient measures for popularity and success. Values, transparency and design need to be prioritised; design must be used as a tool to convey values. Design no longer works purely on the surface. It has to bring the inside out. And with a lack of depth, it’s set to fail.
