Human-centred design brings homogeneity—it’s time for brand-centred design
Design thinkers tend to use the same customer journey maps, look at the same consumer needs and come up with the same solutions that ignore distinctive brand attributes.
Originally Published in Campaign Magazine.
(Image source: Gentle Monster)
Human-centred design has transformed the landscape of user experiences and developing solutions to business problems. It’s been credited with helping inspired innovations like the Apple mouse, AirBnB, and Uber Eats and continues to help organizations collaborate and develop solutions by putting the customer at the centre of their thinking.
Marketing departments at all types of organizations, from banks to CPGs, have also embraced it to solve problems. Agencies and consultancies are practicing and selling their versions of it. The application of human centred design (and design thinking) has produced countless benefits, but a growing concern is emerging—human centred design is forcing homogeneity.
Why is this happening?
A core tenet of all human centred design is empathizing with the user and understanding their actions, behaviours, motivations, and pain points. All this information is usually mapped on a customer experience map accompanied by a set of personas. This information and data is usually category level, meaning competitors in a particular category get to the same data, insights, and journeys.
Designers—encompassing everyone who is part of developing solutions—then ideate and brainstorm against the personas, insights and needs across the journey and come up with solutions: “We should create a mortgage calculator.” “We should show people our car inventory.” “We should have a loyalty program to retain our customers.”
Small and big ideas, quick wins and strategic decisions come out of this exercise. These solutions are assessed, prioritized, scoped, and shipped for making.
But when we look at the Canadian personal banking apps space, we see a good example of what is happening with the widespread application of human-centred design.
Almost all these apps have the same features, from the ability to make bill payments, e-transfers, depositing cheques, money transfers, spending tracking etc.
New feature ideas keep getting added periodically and replicated across all the banking apps. The homogeneity is consistent across the wealth and personal investing experiences as well.
Are these solutions and ideas right for the brand? Does the brand have the permission to do these? Do these ideas ladder up to the brand’s positioning? These types of questions rarely get asked. Although the solutions produced through human-centred design could be good and provide value, or increase physical availability, they are fulfilling category-level needs.
A quick Google search of human-centred design and design thinking frameworks highlight that brand as a consideration is missing. There is little thought given to the brand and its unique positioning. The emphasis is on fulfilling a customer need in the most generic way possible. This is where the problem lies.
Human-centred design is forcing brands into homogeneity. All category players following the same customer journey maps, looking at the same needs, coming up with the same solutions, all in service of the customer with a total disregard of the brand. Keep in mind that the brand is the only element that will helps customers in all categories differentiate and choose, and as marketers and brand managers the job is to win in the categories we operate in.We need to show up distinctively in every single interaction, from media to mobile, social to sample, tablet to table, and not be mistaken for our competitors. Most customers are distracted and use the brand’s differentiation as the cue to guide the decisions.
So where do we go from here? It’s time to evolve the human-centred design approach to a brand-centred approach. Keep the majority of the human-centred design and design thinking methodology. Use the same category level understanding, the customer experience journeys, and insights, but use your brand and brand strategy as the filter for developing ideas, solutions, and innovations.
The brand strategy and positioning reflect the unique value and a strategic choice, and it must inform the future state customer experience. Develop ideas and solutions that use brand as the north star.
The customer experience map tells you that customers want to have the ability to buy online. If you are a luxury brand who wants to maintain exclusivity, should you be selling online?
A human-centred design approach will lead you to build a robust e-commerce experience. A brand-centred approach might lead you to a path where the luxury brand builds a web presence that allows for scheduling but only sold through its physical locations.
Luxury handbag designer Goyard follows this approach. They clearly state on their website that they “do not engage in e-commerce” and encourage buyers to contact advisors with their requests.
Gentle Monster, a Korean eyewear brand, provides an art gallery experience rooted in its “strange aesthetic” positioning. The eyewear is the second thing visitor’s notice in their physical stores.
Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere” philosophy is manifested in their booking feature that lets users filter searches by unique home types, like treehouses or yurts, worldwide. This functionality not only broadens the sense of belonging by offering a wide range of accommodations, but also personalizes the experience, making users feel at home anywhere they go. These brands are following a brand-centred approach that is helping them be distinct in their experiences while driving growth.
Recent data from Kantar BrandZ finds that companies that create brand-rooted experiences enjoy the strongest growth. According to their research, 75% of the strength of brand comes from non-paid media channels that are branded, delivering meaningful different experiences across the customer experience. Brands that are meaningfully different are 2.5x more likely to significantly grow their market share compared to those with weaker experiences, according to Kantar.
The unintended consequence of human-centred design creates the sea of sameness. Brands should be crafting distinctive ideas and solutions, reinforcing the brand's positioning throughout their products, services, advertising, and the boarder customer experience.
Let’s make the brand the north star, and commit to making brand-driven ideas that cannot be replicated. It’s time for brand-centred design to reign supreme.