Understanding Your Customer
"To walk a mile in your customer’s shoes, you have to take your own shoes off first." — Brad Smith, CEO Intuit
Understanding your customer is the essential starting point for designing services, policies, or solutions that truly meet their needs. Rather than assuming what people want or need, human-centered design begins by intentionally seeking to understand the real people involved—their goals, challenges, lived experiences, and context. This understanding allows us to shift from designing for people to designing with them, ensuring our work is relevant, respectful, and impactful.
By taking the time to understand who your customers are and what matters to them, you lay the foundation for more equitable, empathetic, and effective outcomes. It also helps uncover gaps, assumptions, and potential barriers that might otherwise go unnoticed—especially for those whose voices are too often left out of decision-making processes.