The Empathic Design Institute is sponsored by real people at Design for People Inc.
Design for People is a happy, kind, woman-owned digital agency where every project gets a little Empathic DNA. The company thinks Empathic principles are too important not to share. Rather than keep them close to Design for People’s metaphorical vest for competitive advantage, the idea with the Institute is to encourage the whole design world to go more Empathic.
The Design for People team toiled for years in the engine rooms of big, lumbering agencies – places that weren’t always truly Empathic. Places where, in the stampede to show off flamboyant design and own eyeballs, respect and affection for the user could get trampled underfoot.
They always said if they ever got into a position to run things their way, they’d change the energy – no more stampedes, no more pointless flamboyance – and give something back.
Lo and behold, the day came. The Empathic Design Institute is a way of giving back. Take the Institute’s core ideas, take the Five Precepts, expand on the Empathic Aesthetic. And run. Advocate for them; stir some Empathic thinking into designs of your own.
Go. Borrow. Enjoy. Drop us a line with more ideas. It’s not yet a 100% Empathic world, but we’re working on it. Hopefully you too.