EMPATHIZE + DEFINE
OBJECTIVE
In the empathize + define portion of this project, my goal is to empathize and understand the homeowner experience as well as define the key challenges they face when decorating their homes. This blog post captures the process I took during each of my 3 interviews, the creation of empathy maps, and the final persona developed by my group. Along with this, I utilized AI as a research collaborator by utilizing its analysis capabilities and input the interview data to be broken down into empathy maps.
AI USAGE
INTERVIEWS
EMPATHY MAPS
PERSONA
Before beginning interviews, I asked ChatGPT to give me a list of possible interview questions to ask to gain the most insight into what homeowners experience. Below are the questions I ended upselecting:
When you begin decorating your home, what do you do to start the process?
When you decorate, how do you decide on a style for your home?
Do you ever have issues between visualizing it and executing?
How do you visualize your space when planning? Internally? Externally?
What is the hardest part about decorating?
How do you pick items that fit your style?
How you plan the layout of your space with furniture and decor?
Are there other platforms that you use to help you buy things or find things?
I then conducted 3 interviews with individuals in different living situations from homes, apartments, to dorm living. I got in-depth answers from each of the interviewees. To understand the data more specifically, I prompted ChatGPT to make an empathy map from each interview highlighting what each on “says” “does” “thinks” and “feels”. Below is an example of one empathy map AI created for me:
SAYS
"I take into account the things that I already have and what I can currently use."
"Probably, like, influence by, you know, online social media. TikTok."
"I don’t have trouble visualizing, but sometimes executing."
"I have an idea in my head and I try to find items that fit that vision."
"The hardest part is the waiting period… picking pieces over time."
"Another challenge would be staying within a budget."
"I kind of just start moving things around."
"I like going in person."
DOES
Reviews current belongings and decides what to keep or throw away.
Looks at social media (TikTok, Instagram) for inspiration.
Struggles with layout and dimensions of large furniture.
Moves furniture around physically to see what works.
Purchases items gradually instead of all at once.
Thrift shops and buys items over time.
Uses online platforms like Amazon and Target but prefers shopping in person.
THINKS
"I need to make sure my space matches my vision."
"It would be helpful to have a tool that shows how furniture fits in a space."
"I should take my time and find the right pieces."
"Trendy styles influence my choices, but I want to personalize them."
"I have a budget, so I need to be mindful of spending."
FEELS
Excited when finding inspiration online.
Frustrated when execution doesn’t match visualization.
Overwhelmed by layout planning and measurements.
Impatient about waiting to find the right items.
Satisfied when discovering unique pieces through thrifting.
Confident in internal visualization but wants external tools for execution.
After having AI create empathy maps from each of the 3 interviews, I then prompted it to create three personas from the data of each interview. This would allow AI to take that in depth information it analyzed into empathy maps which defines the human experience of different homeowners and turn it into a “person”. This “person” allows me to have a clear definition of what the target audience is, their goals, challenges, and needs. This process was used to take all 9 personas created by each of the three team members to utilize AI in combining each to create one persona that represents all of our research.
Below is one of my own prompts given to ChatGPT and the answer it gave me:
Short Bio
Alex is a 25-year-old young professional living in a mid-sized apartment. He wants his space to feel stylish and put together but struggles with executing his vision. He enjoys finding inspiration online—scrolling through TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram—but often feels overwhelmed when translating those ideas into reality. He prioritizes furniture first, making sure it fits his space, but decorating beyond functionality is not his strong suit. He buys decor gradually, balancing budget constraints with his desire for stylish and high-quality pieces. While he prefers shopping in person to see items firsthand, he also uses Amazon and Target for convenience.
Goals
Create a space that reflects his style without feeling overwhelming.
Balance trendy inspiration with affordability and functionality.
Improve execution by finding a tool to help visualize layout and decor.
Slowly invest in high-quality, long-lasting furniture over time.
Ensure that his space feels cohesive and intentional rather than mismatched.
Needs
A visualization tool that helps him see how furniture and decor will fit in his space.
Affordable decor options that align with his style vision.
A way to simplify the decorating process so it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
Assistance in selecting and arranging decor beyond just furniture placement.
A resource that curates decor suggestions based on his existing items.
Challenges & Frustrations
Struggles with translating inspiration into execution.
Finds it difficult to plan layouts and visualize items before purchasing.
Overwhelmed by the process of making style decisions.
Impatient with the slow process of finding the right pieces over time.
Wants a cohesive look but lacks a structured approach to achieve it.
Limited by budget constraints but wants to make smart investments.
Pull Quote
"I have a vision in my head, but executing it and making it work in my space is the hardest part."
CHALLENGES
During this phase of the project I didn’t find that there were many challenges with using the AI other than the typical need for specifically worded prompts. AI in general needs an in-depth understanding of the project, background, and what my needs are for the prompt I give it. In this specific phase, AI was extremely helpful in quickly analyzing the data I received from interviews and empathy maps.
BENEFITS
Using AI in this phase was extremely helpful, and I don’t want to ever do this kind of research again without the help of AI. The first benefit was time efficiency. Using AI to specifically analyze the interview data cut my research time down exponentially. It made understanding and defining the problem quicker and more enjoyable because I didn’t have to spend as much tedious work analyzing each sentence on my own.
The second benefit is problem definition. Because I gave AI a detailed understanding of the project and even used it as an interviewee I feel like it was able to clearly understand what people were experiencing based on the responses they gave. AI typically is a bit disconnected from deep human understanding because it isn’t able to take into account things like body language or tone, but in this case it was great at understanding what was going on in each person’s life. That made it super beneficial to me when asking for things such as an empathy map and persona. The results were very accurate and insightful.
REFLECTION
For this section of the project, AI was extremely helpful because it cut my research time down by at least half. It also helped me both understand what specifically happens during homeowners’ decorating experience. It also helped analyze the data in a simple and organized way. I wouldn’t make any changes to the way I utilized AI.