Design as Empathy

How thinking about others makes us better designers and builders.

Design as Empathy

Great design isn't about making things look pretty — it's about understanding people.

The empathy gap

When we build software, we often forget that we're not building for ourselves. We're building for people with different contexts, abilities, and mental models.

Practical empathy

  • Watch someone use your product without guiding them
  • Read support tickets — they're a goldmine of insight
  • Question every assumption you have about "obvious" interactions

    • The best interfaces feel invisible. That's not an accident — it's the result of deeply caring about the person on the other side of the screen.

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