Jason Ogle proves that empathic design is not only possible, but essential in creating life-changing products and services. He enlightens us to our seldom talked about mirror neurons and the critical role they play in user testing. He shines a spotlight on incredibly powerful and moving examples of empathy in design. He also teaches us how empathy can not only be taught and learned, but practiced, because being great designer begins and ends with being a great human.
Jason Ogle is human, not dancer. He fails early and learns often. He’s a growth-minded, avid reader and listener whose vehicle is a rolling university, and a biz-minded, strategic designer who loves to make life better for his users. He’s a passionate user defender who fights for the users who are victims of bad design decisions. He’s an influential podcaster who uses the enchanting magic of audio to inspire and equip an audience of hungry and ambitious designers. He’s an evocative (often contrarian) writer who believeth in the power of the written word. He’s a self-aware and highly empathic servant-leader who believes that humans are so much more than resources. He’s also a loving husband, father of seven (one’s in heaven), and thankful believer who has a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Fun fact: He once had to get a manicure to be a hand-model for a tech ad, and he has a rare essay titled “Altars of Satan” given to him and signed by Eldridge Cleaver.
- Intro Story (00:24)
- What is Empathy? (5:04)
- Mirror Neurons (9:14)
- Still Face Experiment (11:17)
- Mirror Neurons and Movies (15:59)
- Inspiring Examples from IDEO (19:19)
- Doug Dietz’s Empathy for Terminally Ill Children (23:35)
- Margaret Hamilton’s Empathy for Apollo 11 (29:44)
- Can We Grow in Empathy? (34:07)
- Seth Godin Explaining Empathy (35:21)
- Put Your Oxygen Mask on First (36:10)
- Seth Godin on Faked Empathy (39:19)
- Seth Godin on Being Indispensable in an AI World (40:57)
- Empathy & Mindfulness (43:23)
- Rise to the Empathy Challenge (45:55)
Continue reading 061: Empathy as a Design Superpower with Jason Ogle
