Empathic Habits

Improving conscious use of professional empathy within design education

Master thesis (2021)

Authors

R.E. Strikkers Industrial Design Engineering

Contributors

F. Sleeswijk Visser Design Conceptualization and Communication - IDE (mentor)
P. van Waart (mentor)
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering
Copyright: © 2021 Ronja Strikkers
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Published Date

24-11-2021

Language

English

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Abstract

Empathy is one of the 8 design competences of the study Communication & Multimedia Design at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. However, there is a gap within the curriculum regarding actively teaching students what it means to be an empathic designer, and it has not been completely clear what it actually means to be an empathic designer. Based on my research, I came up with the following design goal: to help students use empathy consciously throughout their design projects. Within this context, I came up with the following design focus: Offering structure and clarity within the development of empathic abilities.Based on literary research, field research and designing by doing, I came up with my final concept: the Empathic Habits program.

The Empathic Habits program clarifies the meaning of professional empathy in design, helps students reflect upon their own abilities, and helps them increase their abilities in an easy way

At the start of the second year, CMD-students who join the program participate in their first Empathic Habits workshop. At this point, most students are not aware of what they have yet to learn; they are unconsciously incompetent.
Before the workshop, students do an empathic abilities-test in which they are rated on 5 empathic sub-abilities. Together, these abilities make up what it means to be an empathic designer. At the start of the workshop they analyse their results: what are their strengths and weaknesses? In this introspection process, students move from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence.

During the next part of the workshop, students get to practise their weakest empathic ability by interviewing each other. They are to use at least 3 mini-activity-cards corresponding with the empathic ability they are going to practise. These cards contain short, simple assignments which students can use in any user research setting.

At the end of the first workshop, the students reflect upon what they have learned and how they want to further develop their empathic abilities. For students who join the follow-up program, it continues over the next 6-8 weeks with weekly or bi-weekly reflection sessions with fellow students and a teacher. Every week, they are to try new activities and reflect upon what works for them and why. By adding mini-activities to their repertoire one by one, they develop empathic habits, making them more empathic designers. They move from being consciously incompetent to consciously competent.

Assuming students keep using the mini-activities, through the years that follow, the mini-activities will become second nature: they will become unconscious habits. In this process, students and/or graduates move from being consciously competent to unconsciously competent.