Jampathy: An exercise program for exploring service designers’ empathic capabilities inspired by the mindset underpinning the Japanese writing system
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Journal Title
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Volume Title
School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Author
Date
2023
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Master’s Programme in Design
Language
en
Pages
119
Series
Abstract
This thesis challenges prevailing notions about empathy within the service design field, questioning the assumption that designers possess sufficient empathic capabilities. Empathy is often treated as a phase in design practice, prompting an exploration into whether our empathic capacities are adequate for comprehensive service design or if enhancement is necessary. To address these inquiries, the study introduces an exercise program named Jampathy (a combination of Japanese and empathy), designed to explore and enhance the empathic capabilities of service designers. The development of Jampathy draws inspiration from empathic education in the medical field, incorporating elements from extensive research in this domain. Additionally, the program integrates unique insights from the empathic mindset inherent in the Japanese writing system to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the existing exercise program. Challenges set for the research include effectively incorporating empathy exercise elements into Jampathy and ensuring practicality and benefits in its development. The one-on-one workshops and questionnaires extracted elements of the empathic mindset which underlies the combination of Japanese letterforms, visualizing it even to those unfamiliar with the Japanese language. Exploring this mindset inspires the program's content, allowing participants to engage with unique empathic mindset approaches without requiring Japanese language comprehension. Moreover, an evaluation of Jampathy's practicality and effectiveness, employing diverse sources and multiple tests, demonstrates its impact on participants' empathic capabilities. The comprehensive analysis provided a nuanced understanding of the results, providing an exploratory foundation for future research.Description
Supervisor
Paavilainen, HeidiThesis advisor
van der Lei, Anna-MarieLehtonen, Miikka
Keywords
empathy, service design, design thinking, Japanese writing system, empathic design, empathic capabilities
