I love this quote from the guys at IDEO,
“It is difficult to design something compelling without picturing a face or feeling empathy for a person’s wants, needs, and behaviors.”
How often do we actually factor in ‘empathy’ when we are designing a new product or process? Empathy is too soft. We tend to subjugate squishy factors like empathy in our drive towards fit, function, and affordability. We do this at our own risk. Behavioral scientists are discovering that emotional drivers are not only real; they may be influencing our decisions to an even greater degree than our analytical drivers.
For example, barring the fitness fanatics among us, why would anyone choose to walk up stairs if they could ride up an escalator? What if you were the person challenged to come up with a stair design that actually made people want to climb instead of ride. Think about how you would tackle that challenge. Then take a look at how participants in the Volkswagen sponsored Fun Theory have approached it.