A design can change the world. And organizations around the world are turning to human-centered design to find creative approaches to solve social challenges around the world. Human-centered design is an approach to problem-solving that incorporates the interests of end users throughout the design process so solutions are tailored to meet their needs.
Although each design firm has its own approach the core parts of the process include participatory research, feedback and partnership with the communities they serve. In the words of Donald A. Norman, co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group, “Human-centered design is a philosophy, not a precise set of methods, but one that assumes that innovation should start by getting close to users and observing their activities.”
Here’s a list of some of the human-centered design firms doing this work: