When
people think of design, they often think about the design of an object; how
does the object look? Yet, as a designer, I feel that this definition is way
too narrow.
While
there are many definitions dealing with the concept of design, I feel that
design starts with a very fundamental concept: empathy. Empathy is needed to
understand the user, and you need to understand the user in order to design a
solution for a problem the user might be experiencing. Empathy is the first,
and arguably, most essential element in a method of designing solutions called
Design Thinking.
Without
empathy your design serves no function. And while the traditional notion of
design might place great emphasis on form, in the end form still has to serve
function, and function has to serve the user. Therefore, I feel that when
designing anything, whether it is a lamp, a piece of clothing or a method to
improve patient-nursing staff communication, empathy is essential in designing
a good solution to a problem.
Continuing
this train of thought, when employing new technologies in healthcare, as well
as new technology in general, I sometimes wonder how much designers have really
empathized with the target audience of their product. What do the patients
want? Why do they want it? Why would the nursing staff be better of with this
new product of way of doing things versus the old method? Just introducing new
products for the sake of introducing something new isn’t very useful. Maybe
some older products can be utilized in a new way?
While
new technology is exciting, it might not always be the best solution in a real
life use case. For example: some older patients might not want to engage with
mobile based applications because they find mobile technology intimidating, or
using a fancy new app for nursing staff might interrupt established workflows.
Friction caused by implementing new technologies might therefore be smoothed by
simply empathizing with the user and its context on many different levels.
A good designer will help reveal the many
different elements of a use case, its context and how they connect, as usually
there will be many different and complex interactions at play in the situation
for which a solution is being sought. Consequently, an independent designer
employing the design thinking method, one who doesn’t necessarily work for a
company that absolutely wants to push a new product, can be a valuable asset in
analyzing problems in any given situation. Therefore, when a healthcare organization,
such as a hospital, is experiencing some problems, it might be useful to use a
method such as Design Thinking, which places a large emphasis on empathy, to analyze
the situation and identify core issues, and then also use empathy to define a
viable solution.
-Jeremy
Falger-
***************
Jeremy
Falger is MSc (game design) and works as a project researcher in University of
Turku, Department of Nursing Science in TEPE-project (Research group on Health
games).
To learn
more about design thinking: you’re welcome to join the workshop on design
thinking I’ll be giving on November 25th where we explore the many different facets of
empathy in designing solutions for problems encountered in a nursing context.
25.11.2016 Studia Generalia:Terveysteknologian
teemapäivä klo 9-15, B2033
