Understanding your users

Let’s start with something fundamental about user experience design: it all begins with understanding your users. If you want to make something that really works for people, you’ve got to see the world through their eyes. You’ve got to walk in their shoes, feel their frustrations, run into the same walls they do. That’s not just a nice idea—it’s the foundation. Without that empathy, you’re just guessing, and guesses rarely lead to great design.

Two ways to know your users

So how do you get that understanding? There are two main paths, and you need both. First, there’s quantitative research—the numbers. Think product analytics, surveys, A/B tests, usability tests that spit out hard data. This stuff tells you things like how long people spend on a task, where they mess up, how often they succeed, where they drop off, how satisfied they are. It’s the “what” and “how much” of the problem. Then there’s qualitative research—the stories. This is user interviews, deeper usability tests, heuristic analysis. It’s about context, about why people feel the way they do. The numbers show you where the issues are; the stories explain what’s behind them. Put them together, and you’ve got a full picture of your user’s world. One without the other leaves you half-blind.

The power of being your own user

But here’s something that doesn’t get enough attention: one of the best ways to understand your users is to become one yourself. Look at products like Airbnb, Spotify, Notion, Sweetgreen. These weren’t cooked up in a lab by people detached from the problem. They were built by founders who were solving their own headaches. When you’re living the same pain points as your users, you don’t just sympathize—you feel it. That kind of firsthand experience gives you a deep empathy and a real drive to fix things. It’s not theoretical anymore; it’s personal. And that’s powerful.

You can take this further. Try out competitor products yourself. Use them, poke at them, ask yourself what works and what doesn’t. That kind of introspection sharpens your awareness in a way no report can. Secondary sources—articles, studies-are fine. Primary sources, like talking to users, are better. But nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes, feeling it with your own hands. That’s the rawest, truest way to know what you’re up against.

Why this matters more than you think

Here’s the bottom line: understanding users isn’t just step one of design—it’s the thread that runs through everything. If you don’t get close to your users, if you don’t stay close, you’re designing for a ghost, not a person. The best design isn’t about fancy theories or slick frameworks. It’s about solving real problems for real people. Whether you’re crunching numbers, listening to stories, or living the problem yourself, the goal is the same: know who you’re building for. Get that right, and you’re halfway to something great. Miss it, and no amount of polish will save you.