4 reasons why you need to be doing design research

Hint: it’s totally worth it

Computers. Just one of many research tools.

For those who don’t know — which may well be you, as you’re reading this article — Design Research is a field of research focussed on learning about the people we’re designing for. It aims to expose patterns of behaviour, through iterative hypothesis and experimentation. If you’re a product designer, UX designer, Unicorn, Screen Jedi, or really any type of designer, here’s why it should be part of your process.

You are not your guest.

If you’re a designer, you probably want to solve problems. Sometimes for yourself. But mostly for the users of some other businesses. Whoever happens to be paying you this month. Right? Hmm.

When did customers become “users”?

This language degrades people to lifeless statistics. When you walk into Disneyland, do they think of you as a user? Absolutely not. You are their esteemed guest.

When you walk into your favourite clothing store, are you a user? No, you are a treasured customer.

Once you realise the people engaging with your product are just that — people — you’ll also realise they are individuals. They think, act, and feel in unique ways.

To design for someone else, you should aspire to get inside their head.

Understand their deepest (darkest) desires.

You’re won’t get far sitting behind your [insert design tool of choice] artboard adjusting drop shadow opacities.

Be our guest?

Assumption is the mother of all f*** ups

You know this old saying. It’s true. Yet every day you make wild guesses at what people want and need. It’s time you started replacing assumption with insight.

Meg Ryan was able to hear the thoughts of women in the mediocre-hit comedy What Women Want. You can’t do that*. So, instead, you’re going to have to do some research.

[*Can you?]