Week 3 Guide: Research & Empathy

Learning goal: gather honest evidence about the people you are designing for, then turn that evidence into insights that will steer your design.
Estimated study time: 2 to 3 hours across the week (roughly 45 minutes of teaching, 60 to 90 minutes of interviews, 30 minutes to map and write insights).
Evidence to upload: your interview notes, a completed empathy map, and 3 written insight statements.

The Real Problem This Solves

Most weak designs fail for one reason: the designer solved a problem they imagined instead of the problem people actually have. This week you replace guessing with evidence. You will talk to real people, watch how they behave, and record what you find. By Friday you will know things about your users that you could not have invented at your desk.

Running project this week. You keep working on your chosen track from Week 1.

Design track: redesigning a desk organiser or creative learner toolkit.
Architecture and spatial track: designing a compact creative learning pod for a small community or learning site.

Whichever track you are on, the method below is the same. Only the questions change.

Key Ideas You Need First

1. Primary research versus secondary research

Type	What it is	When to use it
Primary	Evidence you collect yourself: interviews, watching people, photos of the real situation.	To learn how your specific users actually behave and feel.
Secondary	Evidence others have already published: articles, existing products, standard measurements.	To learn context fast and avoid repeating known mistakes.

This week is mostly primary research, backed by a little secondary research so you understand the field.

2. Ask about experiences, not opinions

Opinions are cheap and often wrong. Experiences are gold. Do not ask "Would you like a better desk organiser?" Everyone says yes, and it tells you nothing. Ask "Walk me through the last time your desk got in the way of your work." A real story reveals real needs.

3. Empathy is evidence, not sympathy

Empathy in design means understanding what a person does, says, thinks, and feels well enough to design for them accurately. It is a working tool, not a mood. You will capture it in an empathy map.

Tools And Materials Needed

2 or 3 people you can interview for about 10 minutes each (a friend, family member, classmate, or anyone who fits your user).
A notebook or a notes app to record what people say.
Your phone camera to photograph the real situation (a cluttered desk, the space where a learning pod might go).
The Interview Question Starter Pack for your track.
The Empathy Map Template.

Step-By-Step Walkthrough

Confirm your user. Write one sentence naming who you are designing for. Example: "A design student who works from a small bedroom desk." If you cannot name them, you cannot research them.
Do 15 minutes of secondary research. Search for how the problem is usually handled. Save 2 or 3 reference photos or notes. This stops you reinventing basics.
Pick your questions. Open the Interview Question Starter Pack and choose 5 or 6 questions for your track. Favour "tell me about a time" questions over yes or no questions.
Invite your interviewees. Keep it simple and honest. Say: "I am studying design and I am researching how people use their desk. Could I ask you a few questions for about 10 minutes? There are no right answers, I just want your real experience."
Ask for consent. Before you start, say you will take written notes, that you will not share their name, and that they can skip any question. If you want to record audio, ask first and only record if they agree.
Run the interview. Ask your question, then stay quiet and let them talk. When they mention a problem, ask "why?" or "what happened next?" Write down the exact words they use, not your summary of them.
Watch as well as listen. If you can, ask them to show you. Photograph the real situation. What people do often differs from what they say.
Fill in the Empathy Map. Straight after each interview, sort what you heard into four boxes: Says, Does, Thinks, Feels. Do this while it is fresh.
Write 3 insight statements. Look across all your notes and complete these sentences: "I noticed that…", "I was surprised that…", "I wonder if…" These carry into Week 4 where you define the problem.

Demonstrated Example

Project: redesign a desk organiser for a creative learner (design track).

User named: a design student who works from a small, shared bedroom desk.

Interview extract (real words captured):

Says: "I lose twenty minutes clearing space before I can even start."
Does: stacks sketchbooks on the floor, keeps pens in a mug that tips over.
Thinks: "If it is not in front of me, I forget I own it."
Feels: frustrated at the start of every session, embarrassed when friends visit.

Three insight statements written from this:

I noticed that the biggest cost is not mess, it is the setup time before work can begin.
I was surprised that visibility matters more than storage. Hidden tools get forgotten.
I wonder if a design that keeps the most used tools in sight would beat one that hides everything away.

Why this is strong: it uses the person's own words, separates behaviour from opinion, and produces insights that point somewhere without jumping to a solution.

Architecture and spatial track version. Named user: a community group that runs weekend creative sessions in a small hall. Instead of a desk photo, photograph the real space and its problems (poor light, no quiet corner, nowhere to store materials). Interview a group organiser about a specific recent session: what slowed it down, what people asked for, where they naturally gathered. Your empathy map records what organisers and attendees say, do, think, and feel about the space.

Your Task This Week

Name your user in one sentence.
Complete at least 2 interviews of about 10 minutes each.
Fill in one empathy map that combines what you heard.
Write your 3 insight statements.
Include at least 1 photo of the real situation.

Submission Checklist

Upload item	Pass standard
Interview notes	Notes from 2 or more people, using their real words, not just your summary.
Empathy map	All four boxes filled (Says, Does, Thinks, Feels) with evidence, not guesses.
3 insight statements	One each for "I noticed", "I was surprised", "I wonder if", drawn from the research.
Situation photo	At least one photo of the real desk, toolkit, or space.

Assessment And Pass Criteria

Your Week 3 evidence passes when a reviewer can answer yes to all of these:

The user is clearly named and realistic.
The research is primary: you actually spoke to or observed real people.
Notes capture experiences and behaviour, not just opinions.
The empathy map separates what people do from what they say.
The insight statements come from the evidence and do not jump straight to a finished solution.

Common Mistakes

Interviewing no one and inventing the answers. Even one real conversation beats a page of assumptions.
Asking leading questions. "Don't you hate a messy desk?" pushes the answer. Ask an open question instead.
Pitching your idea in the interview. This week you listen, you do not sell. Save your idea for later weeks.
Recording opinions as facts. "It should be blue" is a preference, not a need. Dig for the reason behind it.
Writing your summary instead of their words. Their exact phrasing is the evidence. Keep it.

Extension Challenge

Do one extra interview with someone who is not your obvious user, an edge case. For the desk project, that could be someone with very little space or a physical limitation. For the learning pod, that could be a wheelchair user or a parent with a small child. Edge cases expose needs the average user hides, and designing for them usually improves the design for everyone.

When To Ask For Tutor Help

Book a tutor check-in this week if:

You cannot find anyone to interview and are stuck on who your user is.
Your interviews all gave opinions and you are not sure how to reach real experiences.
Your empathy map feels empty or every box says the same thing.
You are unsure whether your insight statements are insights or just restated problems.

Bring your raw notes to the session. A tutor can help you find the insight hiding inside them.

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