Chaitra R, IB MYP Design Teacher at Sreenidhi International School, Hyderabad, says, “Design in education is about understanding problems deeply and finding meaningful solutions with empathy at the heart.” It encourages students to think critically, view challenges from others’ perspectives, and create human-centred, inclusive solutions that make a real difference.
In the MYP, “design” goes far beyond fields like graphic, interior, or product design. It is understood as a structured, step-by-step process for developing solutions to real-world challenges. This process draws inspiration from human-centred design and design thinking, approaches that are increasingly shaping innovation, education, and business around the world.
When we talk about “designing for a problem” in MYP Design, it doesn’t mean students are expected to invent something entirely new each time. Instead, they learn to identify, define, and frame authentic challenges, allowing them to investigate and create meaningful solutions. Teachers across disciplines encounter problems in many forms, and design provides a systematic way to approach them—by guiding students to recognize the issue, analyse it, and generate a range of possible solutions. From there, students test, refine, and evaluate their ideas based on feedback and real-world impact.
A key element that often gets overlooked in this process is empathy. When we design solutions to address people’s problems, empathy becomes the foundation. It allows us to view the world through others’ experiences—to understand their challenges, emotions, and motivations. Empathy helps us appreciate problems not just as designers, but as human beings who seek to improve lives.
This is the crucial difference between problem-solving and designing for people. In design education, we emphasize not only identifying a problem but also addressing it meaningfully through human experience. Students must learn to ask: How does the user feel? What challenges do they face? How can we make their experience better?
By shifting the focus from who we are designing for to what we are designing and why, students begin to develop empathy as an essential design skill. It is this empathetic understanding that transforms design from a technical process into a truly human-centred practice.
Empathy is not just a concept or a definition—it’s a lived experience. In design, we cannot truly be empathetic until we have encountered a problem ourselves or experienced situations that make us understand what others go through. Empathy must be practised and cultivated through awareness and engagement.
In design classrooms, educators play a crucial role in helping students practise empathy by encouraging them to see problems through real human experiences. Empathy-driven design goes beyond creating solutions—it begins with understanding who is facing the challenge and how it impacts their lives. When students are guided to explore problems deeply, identify the people affected, and analyze the emotional, social, and practical dimensions of the issue, they begin to design with purpose and sensitivity.
By nurturing empathy in the design process, educators enable students to gain a broader perspective—one that allows them to create meaningful, human-centered solutions that truly make a difference.
For example, consider online shopping — a system most of us use regularly. Students may initially think of improving the platform in general, but a truly empathy-driven and human-centered design approach requires them to look deeper into specific human experiences.
Instead of asking, “How can we make online shopping better?”, students should ask, “How can we make online shopping better for a busy working parent who constantly struggles with time?” By focusing on a particular user group—such as working parents—they begin to understand the unique challenges and frustrations this group faces. This shift from general improvement to understanding a specific human experience transforms their approach to design.
To make their solutions even more inclusive, students can explore how online shopping experiences could be improved for people with limited internet access, visual impairments, or language barriers. By considering such diverse perspectives, they learn that good design is not just about efficiency or aesthetics—it’s about accessibility, inclusion, and empathy.
In this way, students practise looking at problems through the lens of real users, developing meaningful, inclusive solutions that respond to varied human needs.
Another example can be seen when students explore the issue of food waste, particularly within schools. Rather than simply focusing on how to reduce waste, students should begin by asking who is wasting the food and why. They need to investigate the decision-making process — how students choose what to eat and what to throw away during lunch breaks.
Through this process, students begin to uncover deeper insights into eating preferences shaped by culture, personal habits, and food experiences. Understanding these underlying reasons helps them approach the problem with empathy rather than assumptions.
To make the inquiry more inclusive, students should also consider how individuals from different cultural backgrounds, dietary restrictions, or taste preferences make their food choices. When they gather such perspectives, they gain a clearer picture of what students actually prefer to eat, leading to more thoughtful, realistic solutions.
In this way, students learn to see problems as human experiences—to understand the emotions, motivations, and contexts behind people’s actions. This approach helps them design more meaningful, empathetic, and inclusive solutions that address the root causes rather than just the visible symptoms.
Another meaningful example is exploring how to improve a public park. Students can begin by gathering information about the different groups of people who visit the park and how each of them uses the space. For instance, they can study the experiences of elderly visitors—how they navigate the park, what challenges they face, and what features they value most.
Since parks are shared spaces, people engage with them in many different ways: families may visit for recreation, elderly people for relaxation, and individuals with sensory sensitivities for calm or connection with nature. By analyzing these varied experiences, students begin to understand that a public park is not just a physical space but a shared human environment shaped by diverse needs and emotions.
To design meaningful improvements, students must interact with real users, listen to their stories, and observe their experiences firsthand. Without such genuine engagement and empathy, it is impossible to develop solutions that are both inclusive and effective. This process teaches students that thoughtful design stems from understanding people, not just solving problems.
User experience
Continuing from the earlier examples of food waste and public park design, another important area where empathy-driven design plays a vital role is in understanding user dissatisfaction with products or services. When people express that they are unhappy with a product, such as a mobile banking app, it is not enough to simply improve its features — we must first understand why they are dissatisfied and what aspects of their experience need attention.
In design education, students must be guided to think like empathetic problem-solvers. When a client requests an improvement to a mobile banking app, for instance, the students should approach the task by seeing it through the user’s perspective. They should explore how a first-time user might feel while navigating the app — whether it is confusing, overwhelming, or difficult to use. The goal is to make the experience smooth, intuitive, and comfortable for everyone.
Empathy-driven design encourages students to think inclusively. They must consider how elderly users, people with limited digital literacy, or those unfamiliar with English would access and use the app. Clear navigation, multilingual options, and simplified interfaces are not just features — they are thoughtful design decisions that emerge from understanding diverse human needs.
Many modern design improvements, like multilingual interfaces in banking apps, stem from recognizing these varied user experiences. Such empathy-based insights remind students that design is not about adding more features but about enhancing the user’s experience. To achieve this, empathy must be practised consciously — by observing, listening, and understanding users deeply — because true empathy in design never happens by chance; it grows through intentional human connection.
Practising Empathy and Human-Centered Thinking in Design Education
Empathy mapping plays a crucial role in helping students understand users deeply. It enables them to observe, research, and interact with people to uncover what they see, feel, think, and experience while using a particular product or service. Students must identify users’ pain points, needs, and expectations to create solutions that are genuinely meaningful.
For instance, if students are designing a product for a young person with dyslexia, they must first understand the unique challenges the user faces. By engaging in discussions, observing real experiences, and analysing the user’s environment, students can design a product tailored to those specific needs. Similarly, when designing for individuals with disabilities, students should focus on features that enable users to achieve their goals independently. This process requires empathy, awareness, and a willingness to see the world from someone else’s perspective.
To strengthen this understanding, students can be encouraged to write stories from the user’s point of view rather than from a designer’s perspective—exploring emotions, struggles, and daily experiences. Once they begin developing their product, they should continuously test it with users and collect feedback to refine their design. Feedback is an essential part of the empathy process—it helps students recognise whether their solutions truly meet user needs.
As Dr. Prabhjot Singh aptly said, “We spent a lot of time designing the bridge, but not enough time thinking about the people who cross it.” This statement captures the essence of empathy in design: it is not just about creating a product but about understanding the people who will use it—their feelings, challenges, and context. Through such experiences, students develop a human-centred mindset, learning that design is as much about people as it is about functionality or aesthetics.
At our school, we reinforce this mindset through interdisciplinary units, where students are encouraged to approach problems from multiple perspectives. When they design something, they analyse not just the technical aspects but also the human and emotional dimensions. This cross-disciplinary approach fosters empathy, creativity, and user-centric thinking.
Empathy, however, is not innate—it must be practised intentionally. Students may not have personally experienced the problems they are trying to solve, so we must teach them how to view these issues from the perspective of those who have. We help them develop the mindset that whenever they encounter a problem, their first step should be to ask: “How does this affect the person experiencing it?” Over time, this habit cultivates designers who think ethically, inclusively, and compassionately.
Ethical and Sustainable Design is another essential layer of empathy. It aligns closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reminds students of their moral responsibility as designers—to create for the greater good. Whatever they design should be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, background, or circumstance. A responsible designer ensures that their creation benefits people and contributes positively to society.
For example, if students work on projects related to anxiety or mental well-being, they must deeply understand the lived experiences of those facing such challenges. This requires meaningful conversations, empathy mapping, and reflection—understanding what the person feels, what strategies they use, and where they struggle. It is a demanding process that requires time, patience, and sensitivity, but it builds the foundation for authentic, empathetic design.
Finally, students must recognise that design is dynamic. Like technology, human needs constantly evolve. A good designer accepts that change is inevitable and adapts accordingly. They must anticipate future needs and design with foresight, understanding that some ideas may not work immediately but may hold value in the future. Teaching students to think this way prepares them not just to design for today but to design for a changing world—one that requires empathy, flexibility, and a deep understanding of people.
Contact details
Chaitra Kashyap
Sreenidhi International School,
Hyderabad, Telangana
M: 8431085067
E: chaitrakashyap09@gmail.com