The art of compassion
How Deep Understanding Fuels Meaningful Creation
The best ideas don’t come from assumptions. They come from listening, witnessing, and truly feeling the human experience.
We often hear about the importance of empathy in design, storytelling, and problem-solving. But empathy—simply recognizing someone’s pain from a distance—isn’t enough. Compassion takes us further. It requires stepping into another person’s world, sitting with their struggle, and creating from a place of deep, shared understanding.
The Difference Between Empathy and Compassion
Empathy is seeing someone’s pain and understanding it intellectually. Compassion is feeling it with them and being moved to take action. The word compassion comes from the Latin compati, meaning "to suffer with." It’s not passive—it’s participatory. And when we create from compassion, we don’t just solve problems; we make people feel truly seen.
The Power of Compassion in Creation
Consider some of the most powerful innovations, movements, and works of art—they weren’t just solutions; they were responses to real human struggles.
Designing for Accessibility: The best accessibility features—like curb cuts and screen readers—weren’t developed because someone imagined a need. They were created because designers sat with people, listened to their frustrations, and built solutions that honored their lived experiences.
The Birth of Hospice Care: Dame Cicely Saunders revolutionized end-of-life care by pioneering hospice. She didn’t just study patient needs—she sat with the dying, listened to their fears, and reshaped care around dignity and comfort.
Storytelling That Moves Us: The most compelling stories don’t just entertain; they reveal something deeply human. Authors like Maya Angelou and Viktor Frankl didn’t just write about struggle—they lived it, felt it, and shared those truths in ways that changed lives.
Moving Beyond Assumption: The Role of Deep Listening
To create with compassion, we have to do more than guess what people need. We have to listen. Not just for answers, but for the stories people tell—the words between the words, the emotions behind their frustrations.
Practical Ways to Cultivate Compassionate Creation
Go to the Source – Instead of relying solely on data and surveys, spend time with the people you want to serve. Observe, ask open-ended questions, and immerse yourself in their world.
Listen for the Deeper Story – Don’t just ask what’s wrong—ask what it feels like. Understand the emotions, not just the problem.
Step Into Their Experience – If possible, put yourself in their shoes. Use their tools, navigate their challenges, and feel the friction firsthand.
Co-Create with the Community – Don’t just design for people; create with them. Include them in the process so the solution reflects their real needs.
Stay Present with Discomfort – True compassion requires sitting with pain, uncertainty, and complexity. Resist the urge to fix things too quickly—sometimes, the best insights come from staying in the discomfort.
Compassion and Intuition: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Compassion helps us understand what others need. Intuition helps us recognize truths that transcend individual experiences. In my companion piece, "The Art of Knowing," I explore how some of the most powerful creations don’t come from external validation, but from an internal knowing of what needs to exist. Together, these two forces—compassion and intuition—help us build things that are both deeply needed and profoundly resonant.
The art of compassion is the art of seeing, feeling, and responding to the needs of others in a way that makes them feel truly known. When we create from this place, we don’t just make things—we make things that matter.
So before your next project, ask yourself: Are you designing from assumption, or from true understanding?
