What is Human-Centered Design? Explained for Families
Learn how this proven design thinking approach works and how families can begin applying it at home.
A Holistic Approach
Human-centered design can be understood through four lenses:
People-centered: Focuses on people’s needs and lived experiences
Solving the right problems: Looking beyond symptoms to root causes
Seeing things as a system: Recognising how things are interconnected
Small & simple interventions: Testing, iterating and improving
The combination of these show why human-centered design is both art and science. It blends empathy and creativity (art) with behavioural science, data, and systems thinking (science)
At home, this means:
Keeping everyone’s needs and experiences at the center, including our own.
Pausing to uncover real issues behind behaviours, not just patching symptoms.
Seeing how routines, emotions and daily habits connect and contribute to the family system.
Taking actions to move forward, testing, experimenting and having fun as we go.
Human-centered design is both art and science. It balances empathy, creativity, behavioural science and systems thinking.
The Process: The Double Diamond of Human-centered Design
Designers often use the Double Diamond as a simple way to move from problem to solution. It breaks the journey into four phases:
Discover: Explore the situation, observe, gather findings
Define: Synthesize findings into insights, uncover root causes, clarify the real challenge
Develop: Generate ideas, explore possibities
Deliver: Test solutions, refine and implement what works
The first diamond helps you understand the people and context, so we can define the problem clearly. The second diamond helps you develop and deliver thoughtful solutions.
The process is often shown as a neat, linear journey from the first diamond to the second. In reality, it’s non-linear. Designers loop back, revisit, or jump ahead when new insights emerge. At home, this flexibility is even more important. You might start at different phases depending on the context. What matters is being aware of where you are and what else might be needed.
Each phase of the Double Diamond is also supported by tools, methods and mindsets. And these are what we are working on building here, so you experiment and choose what fits the context. With a few simple practices, we can potentially shift the dynamics at home in meaningful ways.
Families often jump straight from problem to solution, focusing on quick fixes. Looking at challenges through the Double Diamond helps us pause, step back, and better understand what’s driving the situation before reacting.
How Families Can Apply This
Human-centered design can be used at home in two ways:
As A Process:
Work through each phase with tools & techniques to get to solutions.For example:
• Big picture: Family values and designing a culture that supports them.
• Daily life: Getting kids to contribute meaningfully to the home
• Shared experiences: Planning a summer vacation where everyone benefits.
• Relationships: Manage sibling conflicts
• Transitions: Adapting to a new school, or new country.As A Mindset:
Use it daily to guide conversations and responses
For example:
• When siblings fight: Instead of blame, explore what might be driving the conflict
• When we feel stressed as a parent: Notice our own patterns, reflect on triggers and reframe future response.
• When a child resists homework: Understand what makes it hard. Is it the task? The timing or how they feel about learning or themselves?
When starting out, get familiar with the intent behind each phase. Expect to revisit them multiple times, especially when we are working with young children. The more families practice together, the more natural it becomes to collaborate, stay curious and get creative with challenges.
Key Takeaways:
Human-centered design is holistic. It blends art (empathy, creativity) with science (behavioral insights, systems thinking).
The Double Diamond gives structure. Four phases — Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver — guide families from understanding problems to testing solutions.
It’s flexible, not rigid. You can enter at any phase as long as you stay aware of where you are and what’s missing.
Each phase is supported. Tools, methods, and mindsets (shared in the Toolkit) help families put design into practice.
Two ways to apply it at home: as a structured process for bigger challenges or as a mindset for everyday situations.
Progress, not perfection. Even small steps and experiments can shift family dynamics in meaningful ways.