Human-Centred Design (HCD)

HCD is the core philosophy that guides my UX work: I put real people—their needs, behaviours, emotions, frustrations, and contexts—at the centre of every decision.

Instead of asking “What can we build?”, I start with “Who are we designing for, what are they trying to achieve, and what gets in their way?”

Why it matters

• We solve the right problem (not just build something cool).
• Designs feel intuitive, inclusive, and genuinely helpful.
• We reduce risk by involving users early and often.

Empathise / Research

• Interviews and contextual inquiry to understand real environments.
• Surveys, analytics review, and benchmarking to triangulate evidence.

Define

• Synthesise insights into a clear human problem statement.
• Keep alignment with a simple format: “[User type] needs [need] because [insight], so that [outcome].”

Ideation

• Run timeboxed ideation sessions to generate a wide range of options from a clear user need (often using “How Might We” questions).
• Use Crazy-8s to push for variety, then cluster ideas and apply quick selection (dot-voting / affinity mapping) before moving into prototyping.

Prototype

• Make ideas tangible quickly: paper sketches → low-fi → mid-fi clickable prototypes (Figma).
• Move to high-fidelity when learning needs it.

Test & Iterate

• Run usability tests and concept checks with real users (think-aloud, preference tests).
• Observe what people do and refine the problem, solution, and prototype.

Typical pace: 3–6 quick iteration cycles per major flow, starting low-fidelity and increasing fidelity as confidence grows.

Stakeholder summary

“HCD means we never assume we know what users need—we find out directly, build rough versions fast, test with users, listen to what breaks or delights, and keep refining until the experience feels natural and valuable.”