Human-Centred Design

Much like our approach to immersive research, human-centered design or Co-Design revolves around the concept of putting people at the center of ideas, services and products, ensuring that these solutions speak to the needs, priorities and circumstances of the intended end user.
Our approach links insights from immersion and other qualitative research to HCD processes, providing a strong basis for developing highly contextualised, practical solutions. These approaches can improve the quality of designing policy and programming and help ensure they are not only 'evidence-based,' but also 'people-based.’
Our approach links insights from immersion and other qualitative research to HCD processes, providing a strong basis for developing highly contextualised, practical solutions. These approaches can improve the quality of designing policy and programming and help ensure they are not only 'evidence-based,' but also 'people-based.’

In 2019, Empatika used this approach to develop Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategies for supplemental feeding programs and other nutrition initiatives in Indonesia. Following immersion research across six districts, Empatika carried out human-centred design workshops first internally in Jakarta, and then in each location to explore challenges identified by community members themselves during the immersion.
These challenges were highly contextual and were oriented around areas that people wanted to change. After communities conceptualised and prototyped a solution in each location, they then trialled the prototype independently over a number of weeks.
Researchers returned again to communities following the testing phase to discuss progress, lessons learned so far, potential strategies for continuing/wider implementation of their solution(s) along with a reflection about the overall research and HCD process.
The following are some examples from this study of the HCD process and the solutions generated by community members:
These challenges were highly contextual and were oriented around areas that people wanted to change. After communities conceptualised and prototyped a solution in each location, they then trialled the prototype independently over a number of weeks.
Researchers returned again to communities following the testing phase to discuss progress, lessons learned so far, potential strategies for continuing/wider implementation of their solution(s) along with a reflection about the overall research and HCD process.
The following are some examples from this study of the HCD process and the solutions generated by community members: