Keynote Description:

Empathy: Understanding a designer’s most powerful tool

As designers, we’re exposed to countless types of tools, mediums and methodologies that aid us in the creation and translation of our work. Yet our single, most powerful one is empathy. It moves us from designs informed solely on stats and data about people, to ones informed by motivations and thoughts of people. In an experience economy like today, it’s the linchpin to success; in a global crisis, when our environments and our connectivity are disrupted, empathy is the tool to reconnect. Recognizing that even in social isolation, we never design alone; most often it occurs collaboratively and in multi-discipline teams. Hear two diverse perspectives from seasoned architects on how building their empathy muscles transformed how they choregraph user experiences and collaborate more effectively with other designers.

• How to leverage empathy at every stage of the design process
• The role empathy plays between you and other designers on your team
• Why human connections matter and how physical space influences behavior
• How to be intentional about choreographing the experiences of people