“Empathy isn’t about being nice—it’s about truly understanding people, their contexts, and their contradictions. When you design from that place, you stop creating products and start creating meaningful change in people’s lives.”
– Wayne Li
Design isn’t just about creating objects—it’s about understanding people, their experiences, and the deeper contexts in which they live, work, and make decisions. In today’s rapidly shifting world, empathy has become an essential ingredient in innovation, leadership, and problem-solving. Few people embody this intersection of creativity, engineering rigor, and human-centered thinking as seamlessly as Wayne Li. As the James L. Oliver Professor of Design and Engineering at Georgia Tech, Wayne brings decades of experience across industries—automotive, consumer products, furniture, and design consulting—into a groundbreaking philosophy that bridges art, science, and emotional intelligence.
In this conversation, Wayne takes us inside the mindset of a designer who sees empathy not as a soft skill, but as a powerful strategic tool for understanding people more deeply and creating solutions that resonate on a human level. From real-world stories like transforming the intimidating MRI experience for children, to practical tools such as mindset switching and empathy mapping, Wayne shows how emotional insight, contextual awareness, and creativity can shape everything from product development to leadership culture. This interview offers a compelling look into how design—when rooted in empathy—can transform not only what we make, but how we live, lead, and connect with others.
Thank you so much for joining us, Wayne! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
Thank you, Stacey, it’s wonderful to be here. My story really begins with growing up as the son of Taiwanese immigrants who lived at the crossroads of art and science. My mother was a classically trained brush painter, and my father was a PhD polymer chemist. So from early childhood, I watched one parent create beauty from ink and paper while the other uncovered structure through formulas and experiments. That blend shaped how I see the world—through both intuition and logic. My career reflects that mix: I started in product development at IDEO, worked on vehicle design for Ford and Volkswagen, and contributed to furniture and housewares design in the creative department at Pottery Barn. Eventually, I moved into academia and helped shape human-centered design education at Stanford. Now, as a professor at Georgia Tech, I continue bridging design, engineering, and empathy. My book, Design Empathy and Contextual Awareness, is really the integration of everything I’ve learned over decades of designing for people and teaching others how to do the same.
You grew up surrounded by both art and science. How does that early influence carry into your work today?
That duality is woven into everything I do. Watching my mother paint taught me how powerful emotion, gesture, and storytelling can be. Watching my father work taught me the value of rigor and structure. In my mind, those two worlds aren’t in conflict—they inform each other. When I design, I’m always asking two questions: How should it function? and How should it feel? Whether I’m working on a car, a chair, a medical experience, or an academic program, I’m moving between intuitive exploration and analytical reasoning. Design isn’t just form and function; it’s the dialogue between them.
Your industry background is impressive. How have your experiences at companies like IDEO, Ford, and Pottery Barn shaped your teaching and research?
Industry taught me to value the messy, real-world constraints behind every design decision. At IDEO, we could only create meaningful solutions by deeply understanding the people we were designing for. At Ford and Volkswagen, emotional design had to coexist with engineering realities—safety, manufacturability, ergonomics, cost. At Pottery Barn, I saw how subtle design choices influence how people experience home life. Those experiences showed me that design isn’t theoretical; it’s embedded in culture, logistics, emotions, and economics. That holistic lens is what I bring to students and executives today. Design isn’t just about aesthetics or technology—it’s about creating something that fits into someone’s life with clarity and purpose.
Let’s define empathy in a practical way. What does empathy actually mean in your work?
For me, empathy is the ability to consciously enter another person’s world—mentally, emotionally, and contextually—so you can design something that truly works for them. I break empathy into three parts. First, cognitive empathy is perspective-taking—understanding the factors that shape someone’s decisions and behavior. Second, emotional empathy is feeling the emotional tone of their experience, which keeps you grounded in humanity rather than abstraction. Finally, empathetic concern is the motivation to do something constructive with that understanding. Effective empathy isn’t about absorbing someone’s pain or simply being nice; it’s about accurately interpreting their reality and responding in a way that’s thoughtful, relevant, and actionable.
How does empathy differ from compassion or simply being kind?
Kindness is an emotional response, and compassion is a desire to reduce suffering—but empathy is a cognitive tool. It helps you see what lies beneath people’s decisions: their motivations, fears, cultural norms, and environmental constraints. Compassion might move you to help, but empathy helps you understand how to help in a way that aligns with someone’s actual needs. In design and leadership, empathy lets you anticipate problems, identify unseen barriers, and create solutions that people can seamlessly adopt. It’s not softness; it’s precision.
Your book introduces three mindsets—empathetic, creative, and critical. Why is it important to be able to switch between them?
Each mindset serves a specific purpose, and they activate different parts of the brain. The empathetic mindset helps you observe and understand. The creative mindset gives you permission to explore freely and imagine alternatives. The critical mindset helps you refine, evaluate, and choose what truly works. The problem is that most people try to blend them simultaneously, which shuts down the process. If you’re brainstorming and immediately criticizing ideas, creativity collapses. If you’re analyzing when you should be observing, you miss key insights. Successful designers, leaders, and innovators cycle intentionally through these modes, knowing when to listen, when to ideate, and when to evaluate. That flexibility is at the heart of effective problem-solving.
Can you share an example where empathy changed the direction of a project or saved it from going wrong?
A powerful example comes from an MRI redesign story connected to IDEO. The MRI machine itself was technologically brilliant, but children were terrified of it—it was loud, cold, and claustrophobic. When designers stepped into the mindset of a child, they realized the machine felt more like a horror experience than a medical one. They reimagined the MRI as an adventure: a pirate ship, a rocket launch, a secret mission. Children were given roles to play, and the noises were reframed as part of the adventure. The result was remarkable. Sedation rates plummeted, and the experience became empowering rather than frightening. Empathy didn’t change the technology—it changed the context around it, and the context changed everything.
You describe everyone as a “little d” designer. What do you mean by that?
Design isn’t limited to people with design degrees. Any time you shape an experience—whether it’s planning a meeting, making a meal, organizing your home, or helping a coworker—you’re designing. You’re making choices that affect how someone feels or behaves. So I call those everyday actions “little d” design. A “capital D” Designer is someone formally trained in the discipline. And then there’s the expert level—someone who has practiced their craft extensively. But recognizing yourself as a “little d” designer empowers you to apply empathy, creativity, and critical thinking to every aspect of your life. It turns design into a way of seeing and living, not just a job title.
Your book includes a technique inspired by method acting. How can method acting help someone become more empathetic in their work?
Method acting uses personal experiences as a bridge into someone else’s emotional world. Actors recall their own memories—moments of fear, joy, loss, hope—to inhabit a character authentically. Designers and leaders can do the same. If you’re trying to understand someone who feels overwhelmed or isolated, tapping into your own moments of overwhelm helps you emotionally approximate their experience. You’re not pretending to be them—you’re using your emotional memory to better connect with what they might be going through. It allows empathy to move from conceptual to visceral, and that shift often leads to better decisions and more intuitive designs.
You teach a two-minute method for converting observations into insights. Can you walk us through that?
The empathy map is a simple structure: four quadrants labeled Say, Do, Think, and Feel. The first two—what people say and what they do—are explicit. They’re observable and recordable. The other two—what they think and how they feel—are inferred. They require interpretation. The magic happens when you look for contradictions. When someone says something positive but behaves in a way that shows frustration, or when they do something repeatedly that they claim they don’t value—that contradiction reveals a design opportunity. That’s where unmet needs, hidden barriers, or unspoken motivations live. The empathy map helps you move from raw observation to clear direction.
How does empathy help us make better decisions in business and innovation?
Empathy broadens your awareness beyond the end user to include the entire ecosystem—your suppliers, investors, distributors, regulators, and team members. In startup environments, for example, understanding your supplier’s motivations helps you recognize when a deal might compromise your independence or scalability. Empathy also clarifies who you’re really designing for. A medical device for a rural village must account for different infrastructure, cultural norms, and training levels than one designed for a major U.S. hospital. Without empathy, you build something impressive but unusable. With empathy, you create something meaningful, adoptable, and impactful.
One of the principles you teach is “live richly.” What does living richly mean to you?
Living richly is about expanding your worldview through genuine human encounters—not just travel or novelty. One meaningful experience I had was when a houseless man asked me for money. Instead of walking away or handing him a dollar, I sat with him and listened. I learned about his life, his dreams, and how a single injury shifted everything for him. That conversation taught me how quickly life can change and how layered people’s stories are. Experiences like that help fuel the emotional and cognitive resources we draw from when designing or leading. Living richly means seeking those authentic connections, noticing the world around you, and letting those moments deepen your empathy.
Another key principle is “see the meta.” How can people use this idea to improve their decision-making?
Seeing the meta means discovering the deeper purpose behind your actions. Many people focus on surface goals—get an A, get a promotion, finish a project. But when you ask “Why?” repeatedly, you uncover motivations that guide better choices. For example, if you’re in a class to “get a good grade,” that’s surface-level. But if the true reason is to support your family or develop a skill that creates meaningful change, then your decisions shift. You prioritize differently. You navigate obstacles differently. Seeing the meta helps align your decisions with your deeper values, which often leads to clearer, more sustainable progress.
You also encourage people to “stay creative.” Why is creativity so important, even outside the arts?
Creativity is essential because it enables adaptability. Whether you’re an engineer, an accountant, or a designer, you’re constantly navigating change. Creativity lets you reframe problems, explore alternatives, and imagine new possibilities. Yet creativity often gets overshadowed in education in favor of technical subjects. But the ability to improvise, experiment, and work with ambiguity is critical in every field. Staying creative might mean sketching, coding in a new language, trying a new form of writing, or simply approaching a daily task in an unconventional way. The point isn’t artistic perfection—it’s keeping your imaginative instincts alive. Those instincts often become the source of your most innovative solutions.
What role does empathy play in leadership and team building?
Empathy helps leaders understand the individuals behind the roles. When leaders recognize that everyone brings different experiences, strengths, and fears to the table, they’re better equipped to cultivate environments where people feel valued and safe to contribute. A great leader isn’t the one with all the answers—it’s the one who listens well, facilitates collaboration, and brings out the best in others. When you lead with empathy, you create space for diverse ideas, which strengthens the team’s creativity and resilience.
If someone wanted five concrete actions they could take in the next week to strengthen their empathy and creativity, what would you recommend?
First, have a genuine conversation with someone outside your usual circles—listen deeply. Second, choose a project and ask “Why?” three times to uncover its deeper purpose. Third, make time for a small creative ritual, whether it’s drawing, writing, or experimenting with a new tool. Fourth, invite ideas from someone who usually stays quiet and create space for them to share. And finally, pause once a day and ask yourself which mindset you’re in—empathetic, creative, or critical—and whether you need to switch. These five actions can shift how you engage with people, solve problems, and approach your day.
You’ve said that design is more than a discipline—it’s a lifestyle. What does that look like in practice?
It means viewing your life as a living design process. You’re constantly observing, adjusting, and learning. If you’re cooking for someone, you experiment with flavors based on their reactions. If you’re organizing your schedule, you treat it like a user journey, reducing friction and enhancing flow. If you’re supporting a colleague, you stay curious about their needs and constraints. Living as a designer makes everyday moments opportunities for improvement, connection, and creativity. It keeps you engaged with the world rather than moving through it on autopilot.
Tell us about your book—what is Design Empathy and Contextual Awareness about, and who is it for?
The book is a guide to the human side of innovation. It’s not a technical manual about how to code or build; it’s about how to understand the people and contexts you’re designing for so you can make decisions that matter. I wrote it for creative individuals, students, entrepreneurs, engineers, and leaders who want to innovate with clarity and purpose. It includes practical tools like empathy maps, guided interviewing, observational techniques, and methods for switching between mindsets. Its goal is to give readers a foundation to create experiences, products, and services that are meaningful, adoptable, and grounded in real human needs.
Where can readers find your book?
The book is available on Amazon—just search “Wayne Li” and Design Empathy and Contextual Awareness and it will appear immediately. It launched in September and is now widely accessible. For those interested in academic or corporate collaborations, my initiative at Georgia Tech, Design Bloc (spelled B-L-O-C), also offers programs and educational experiences based on the principles in the book.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I’d love to stay connected. You can find me on LinkedIn by searching “Wayne Li Georgia Tech.” I’m also on Instagram under @wlicoyote, where I share sketches, design inspirations, and small insights. And you can learn more about my work at Georgia Tech through Design Bloc at designbloc.gatech.edu, which includes information about our programs, research, and ways to connect.
Wayne, thank you so much for sharing such thoughtful, warm, and inspiring insights today. This conversation truly shed light on the power of empathy, creativity, and human-centered design.
Thank you, Stacey. I really appreciate your thoughtful questions and the space you created. This was a wonderful conversation, and I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s been an absolute pleasure talking with you.
