At PDD, people are at centre of our work. We thrive on understanding users and the interplay between products, services, systems, and cultures.
With our strong expertise in ethnography, psychology and design, our teams identify people’s unmet needs, desires, and aspirations to create products and experiences that add value to customers and businesses.
We are always looking for people to help us with our design research.
Would you like to take part?
What is User-Centred Design Research?
User-centred design focuses on users and their needs. It involves focusing ideas and the development of a new service or product around the person who is going to use it, to optimise the overall experience.
What does it mean to be a participant?
Participants in user-centred design research are chosen as representatives of an intended user group to help us establish their actual needs and desires and apply them to the design. They can be users of a particular consumer product (such as a fitness tracker or a portable speaker), or people with a particular medical condition or those that care for them. This representation is important as it means that we can rely on the findings of our research to give a true insight into our target audience.
When do we do user-centred research?
We conduct our research at any point in the development cycle of a new product or service.
At the start of the design process, we may engage with participants and have a discussion to try to understand what is currently lacking, or what people want and need from a product or service. In the middle of the development cycle we may have some drawings or early-stage models that we want participants to engage with; this gives us an insight into whether we are on the right track and what may need to be changed. Towards the end of the process, when we have a confirmed design, we ask participants to interact with the end-product to make sure we have addressed their needs, and identify any final improvements.
How do we do our research?
There are several ways we can engage with participants, depending on what we want to research. Some examples include:
- Face to face interviews
- Focus groups
- Remote interviews
- Diary entries
Taking part
If you’re interested in participating in our research, we pay our participants a modest sum for their time and involvement. Your participation will help us ensure that next-generation products and experiences are safe, effective and can enhance people’s lives.
If you have any other questions, get in touch.
