Marketing

Applied Empathy: A Design Framework for Meeting Human Needs and Desires

By Dirk Knemeyer

Published: December 4, 2006



Part Two: Dimensions, Needs, and Desires



Part One of this series introduced a design framework for meeting human needs and desires and defined five States of Being that represent the different degrees to which products and experiences affect and motivate peoplein their lives. This second part explains three Dimensions of Human Behavior, as well as specific needs and desires for which we can intentionally design products. The third and final part of this series will explore the relationships between different human needs and desires, talk about how designers can put this framework to use, and share some examples that will hopefully help make thisapproach of practical value to you.



The Three Dimensions of Human Behavior

“Typically, we design products for a specific end state. … The focus is on things other than the essence of the actual people who will use the products.”

Typically, we design products for a specific end state. For example, someone has an idea that a large beanbag can function as a chair. Or someone imagines howimproving a paperless payment system can work more effectively than a manual system that is currently in use. Or customer feedback leads to the optimization of a Web site workflow that helps people complete their tasks more quickly. But in each of these examples, the focus is on things other than the essence of the actual people who will use the products—whether that focus is on the application of aparticular material, on using technology to make a process easier, or responding to customers’ feedback to keep them satisfied. As I previously described in Part One of this series, the intentional attempt to satisfy people’s internal needs and desires simply isn’t there.



While the five States of Being are vital to understanding the depth and potential of customer engagement, at an even morebasic level, we must attune ourselves to the three Dimensions of Human Behavior:



Analytical—related to the mind

Emotional—related to feelings and/or spirituality

Physical—related to the body

Everyone has needs and desires in all three of these dimensions, but each of us differs in our experience, preference, and proportion of these dimensions. For example, hard-core gamers are oftenmore comfortable with and drawn to meeting their analytical needs and desires, whereas people who enjoy extreme sports typically prefer taking care of their physical needs and desires. Meanwhile, people who are involved in a lot of community groups and organizations are usually more attuned to their emotional needs and desires. In any case, all of us have needs and desires in all three of thesedimensions.



While, in our personal lives, we might have the luxury of planning and making decisions that we target very carefully to the idiosyncratic preferences of people that we know—for example, planning more physical activities for one person while crafting a more emotional gift for another—business and design contexts rarely afford us this luxury. We need to stay true to the core ofwhat it is we are designing and/or its possible contexts of use, while at the same time being mindful of all three dimensions of human behavior.



Consider that, in a vast majority of cases, there already exists a vision of what we need to design. This means there are relatively limited opportunities for us to affect the overall constitution of what we are creating or to stretch in differentdirections. For example, if you were designing a mountain bike for extremely physical use and contexts, while you might find creative and innovate ways of expanding the vision—such as incorporating compatibility with a portable digital device that lets riders access the Internet, thereby stimulating customers’ analytical needs and desires—business and marketing constraints like manufacturing costs...