SEPTEMBER 26th  9:00AM PDT; 12:00PM EDT; 17:00PM BST (London); 18:00PM CET 22:30 PM IST

60 minutes

• Non-member: $99 Buy Now
• Open Circle: FREE (Get it FREE>> Join Open Circle)
• Inner Circle: Included in your $99 a month Inner Circle membership (50% discount available) for all events plus Digital Library 250+ videos, mentoring, hands-on workshops and more…

Designing with Lived Experience

Two problems with how products are built:

First, most product teams start with assumptions. We segment audiences, write personas, and sketch journeys, often looking at users’ world from a narrow ‘use case’ lens. Agile zooms us even closer: ‘As a user, I want to X, so I can Y”. In working in this way, we don’t get the opportunity to fully appreciate the underlying lived experience that compels users in one direction or another. Lived experience can help avoid the risk that users feel you got it wrong. It can illuminate your team on unappreciated bias, harm, power imbalances and more.

Second, when we do user research, we explore a problem space with empathy (Rethinking Empathy masterclass), extracting ‘user needs’ and capturing user requirements. Too often, we listen to people’s stories but still create solutions based on our own assumptions, priorities, or institutional logic. We “consult” with lived experience but don’t let it guide how solutions are defined or decisions are made.

The result? Services that may be functional but feel not quite right, extractive, or even harmful.

If we want services, products, or systems that truly work, we need to move beyond collecting lived experience as data. We need to design with lived experience as a partner in solutioning and co-creation.

About this Masterclass

A lived experience approach flips the script. Instead of beginning with what we think people need, we start where they actually are. We listen to their stories, trace their relationships, and understand the cultural forces at play. This isn’t just about empathy. It’s about shifting power.

In this Masterclass, Frank Spillers, will explore how lived experience can change how you approach the designing of products and services. He’ll show how beyond a data point, lived experience can replace classic approaches to Human Centered Design with a focus on appreciating the culture, identity, or relationships that shape someone’s daily experience.

Agenda- Beyond Empathy: Designing with Lived Experience Masterclass

• Lived Experience- Why Listening is not enough
• Identifying your Lived Experience and your user’s Lived Experience
• How to move your Human Centered Design approach to a more relational framework where stress cases and trauma-informed become default
• Q&A

About Monthly MasterClasses:

These monthly meet-ups are topic-driven live events with an informal presentation by Frank Spillers and group activities and discussions. Monthly MasterClasses are included as part of your membership. They allow a deep dive into important UX topics, with insights drawn from process best practices and case studies from Frank’s 25 years in the field.

How to access this masterclass…

• Open Circle: FREE (Get it FREE>> Join Open Circle)
• Inner Circle: Included in your $99 a month Inner Circle membership (50% discount available) for all events plus Digital Library 250+ videos, mentoring, hands-on workshops and more…

Date:	26 Sep 2025
Time:	09:00 am PST 12:00 pm EST 06:00 pm BST 06:00 pm CET
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