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Love thy neighbor, is Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees when questioned about the laws and commandments. According to Matthew 22:39 Jesus says,
“‘…’Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
In 1958, Charles and Ray Eames — in The India Report — say while comparing a ‘Lota’ to the attitude that they hoped would be created by the National Institute of Design,
“… an attitude be generated that will appraise and solve the problems of our coming times with the same tremendous service, dignity and love that the Lota served its time.”
Both these quotes speak of love for others. You can love someone only if you know them.
Love thy user. Know thy user.
Your users are almost never like you. They don’t think like you. You know your product inside-out. You created it and were with it through every iteration. You decided how it would behave at every phase. But your users might be seeing it for the first time. They might be using it to accomplish a set of goals. They might have to use your product under peculiar conditions. They might just be poking around to see if it’s fun to play with.
Knowing your user will help you predict how they will behave. You won’t have to take design decisions based on your subjective preference. Knowing your user is important because it might reveal incorrect assumptions that you might have made. Knowing your users will give you insights into how they behave and where or when they struggle to get to an objective.
Charles Eames once told Ashoke Chatterjee — a former director of NID — that love is seeing the world through another persons eyes. Look through your users’ eyes to see what they need. This will allow you to create a product that not only empowers them but also attracts and captivates them.
nice post. very true.