Design Thinking by Lal Devyani M.;

Author:Lal, Devyani M.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2021-08-02T10:05:53.046648+00:00

DESIGN BY EMPATHY

In organizations, empathy can be seen from a very different lens. There are many organizational setups that are already familiar with the DT approach and are open to agents of change. Agents of change are essentially drivers of change in the garb of designers, management, strategists or other business drivers. Leadership within such setups is gravitating towards a change in hierarchical and departmental silos. This is being realized when leaders are assuming the role of agents of change (or change agents) to make a difference within their organizations. Their thought leadership revolves around active building of renewed collective intelligence, which is nothing but a confluence of multigenerational business practices, cultural intelligence, co-creation opportunities and shift in long-term thinking processes beyond revenue generation. Today, different businesses often view empathy focused on user-led design. Human-centric design could be good and effective for the user at this point of time, but can designers and thinkers empathize beyond the immediate need of the users and also think about the future implications of their solution, product or services on its users—something to think about.

Empathy is not a gooey thing. It is definitely not an act of pity. One does not hear violins playing in the background either. As a designer or Design thinker one has to let go of their sense of entitlement when it comes to empathy. One has to practice the hygiene of being respectful and view any lived experience without judgement, which can be difficult for many. I was part of an ethnographic study in a socially dynamic space, where we did our best to not stand out as privileged in the surroundings, which is one of the important markers in ethnography. You can't always help it though, you will at times stand out. I didn't know how to approach the vegetable vendors seeing I would not want to be disturbed at my workplace, it was their workplace and you have to be respectful of that… I would just go and sit there during their working hours and wait patiently until when they were ready to talk.

—Devyani M. Lal in interview with

Mayukhini Pande, Co-founder at Greenopia

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