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Empathy in practice: a grounded theory in industrial design
Author(s)
Barnes, Veronica
Date Issued
2019
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
The field of industrial design developed as a result of the Industrial Revolution, when
mass manufacturing became a reality in the 18th and 19th centuries. Industrial designers
embraced mass production and the specialisation in the design of objects and products
that would appeal to a large consumer market, but users played no role in the design
process. There has been a monumental shift in the perception of the role and value of
users in the design process. This project is grounded in the complexities of the changing
nature of design – from designer-focussed to human-centred.
Many different approaches suggest methods to understand the needs and context of the
users, and many of them include empathy as part of the process. The World Design
Organisation (WDO) defines industrial designers as follows (excerpt):
Industrial Designers place the human in the centre of the process. They
acquire a deep understanding of user needs through empathy and apply a
pragmatic, user-centric problem-solving process to design products,
systems, services, and experiences (WDO, 2015, italics inserted).
So, while there is much theorising about the importance of empathy in product design
process, the practice of designers is under-researched in this regard: it is unclear whether
empathy plays a role in the engagement in the product design process between
professional designers and the users for whom products/ solutions are being designed.
In addition, empathy lacks a clear, consistent definition in the design process. The main
objective of the research was to bring clarity in the area where empathy and industrial
design professional practice intersect - by exploring the designer’s engagement and the
role and understanding of empathy in the process of co-design, in order to provide
theoretical substance to the lack of definition in the literature – as to what counts as
empathy.
Using a constructivist Grounded Theory methodology, a substantive Theory of Being,
Doing and Betweenness of Empathy in Design (BDBED) was developed, in order to
contribute real understanding in the field of industrial design, and provide clarity on use
of the term empathy in the WHO 2015 definition. In addition, the study contributes a
detailed analysis of the designers’ perceptions of empathy in their professional practice,
as well as the key factors determining the empathic nature of the user-designer
interaction/s. A methodological contribution to the field is the further exploration of the
use of a Constructed Grounded Theory methodology in the field of design. The rigour of
Grounded Theory coding methods ensured a thorough analysis in the qualitative
research field, thus contributing theory to the design field.
mass manufacturing became a reality in the 18th and 19th centuries. Industrial designers
embraced mass production and the specialisation in the design of objects and products
that would appeal to a large consumer market, but users played no role in the design
process. There has been a monumental shift in the perception of the role and value of
users in the design process. This project is grounded in the complexities of the changing
nature of design – from designer-focussed to human-centred.
Many different approaches suggest methods to understand the needs and context of the
users, and many of them include empathy as part of the process. The World Design
Organisation (WDO) defines industrial designers as follows (excerpt):
Industrial Designers place the human in the centre of the process. They
acquire a deep understanding of user needs through empathy and apply a
pragmatic, user-centric problem-solving process to design products,
systems, services, and experiences (WDO, 2015, italics inserted).
So, while there is much theorising about the importance of empathy in product design
process, the practice of designers is under-researched in this regard: it is unclear whether
empathy plays a role in the engagement in the product design process between
professional designers and the users for whom products/ solutions are being designed.
In addition, empathy lacks a clear, consistent definition in the design process. The main
objective of the research was to bring clarity in the area where empathy and industrial
design professional practice intersect - by exploring the designer’s engagement and the
role and understanding of empathy in the process of co-design, in order to provide
theoretical substance to the lack of definition in the literature – as to what counts as
empathy.
Using a constructivist Grounded Theory methodology, a substantive Theory of Being,
Doing and Betweenness of Empathy in Design (BDBED) was developed, in order to
contribute real understanding in the field of industrial design, and provide clarity on use
of the term empathy in the WHO 2015 definition. In addition, the study contributes a
detailed analysis of the designers’ perceptions of empathy in their professional practice,
as well as the key factors determining the empathic nature of the user-designer
interaction/s. A methodological contribution to the field is the further exploration of the
use of a Constructed Grounded Theory methodology in the field of design. The rigour of
Grounded Theory coding methods ensured a thorough analysis in the qualitative
research field, thus contributing theory to the design field.
Additional information
Thesis (DTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019
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