Human Centered Design Vs User Centered Design: How Are They Different?
- UI/UX
- July 8, 2025
Are you one of those who use human-centered design and user-centered design interchangeably? If your answer is affirmative, it’s time to dig deeper to get it clear. Thinking how? No worries! This blog examines “human-centered design vs user-centered design, differentiating them based on various parameters like focus, scope, empathy, context, and more. It helps you know and choose the one needed for your next project.
Human-centered design (HCD) and user-centered design (UCD) are the key concepts in software development. People often use HCD and UCD interchangeably; however, they’re different with their distinct focus areas and implications.
Human-centered design follows a broader view, considering a holistic approach to human experience, which includes cultural, social, and emotional aspects. User-centered design, on the other hand, focuses on a specific set of users’ needs, preferences, and experience with a product or service.
There’s a slight difference between human-centered design and user-centered design; however, it might obfuscate your decision when choosing one of the two. But fret not! This blog comparing “human-centered design vs user-centered design” will let you know all the nitty-gritty of both, enabling you to choose the right approach for UI UX design services.
What is Human-Centered Design?
Human-centered design (HCD), or humanized design, is a design approach that prioritizes users’ needs, behavior, and experience in the product design and development. It involves understanding users’ challenges and aspirations clearly to create effective solutions tailored to their needs.
Enhanced innovation, user-friendliness, increased user satisfaction, better engagement, improved efficiency, and reduced development cost are some of the crucial benefits of human-centered design.
Approach to Human-Centered Design
The human-centered design process is an iterative approach that emphasizes understanding users’ needs and behaviors to create a solution that aligns with their specific business needs. Here’s all about the design approach for human-centered design:
- Empathize: Understanding users’ needs and pain points.
- Define: Articulating the problem or challenge to address.
- Ideate: Generating potential solutions.
- Prototype: Creating tangible representations of potential solutions.
- Test: Evaluating the prototypes with users and gathering feedback.
What is User-Centered Design?
User-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy that prioritizes specific users’ needs, wants, and abilities throughout the product design and development. UCD aims to gather a thorough understanding of a specific set of users and create a product or service that caters to their defined needs.
The process includes conducting thorough research, understanding users, creating personas and user scenarios, and making use of that data to develop, test, and refine the product to bring it in alignment with users’ needs.
Approach to User-Centered Design
User-centered design (UCD) prioritizes understanding and meeting the needs of a set of target users throughout the design process, right from the very initial concept to the final product. It’s an iterative approach wherein developers continually refine the product based on the testing and users’ feedback.
- Target User Research: Researching and gathering users’ data, like needs, behaviors, and context, through interviews, surveys, and usability testing.
- User Focus: Designing the product and services keeping users’ needs in mind.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Making decisions based on data collected from user research, keeping the product in line with users’ needs.
- Iterative Approach: Following an iterative cycle of product design, testing, and refinement to user feedback.
What is the Difference Between Human-Centered and User-Centered Design?
Often used interchangeably, however, human-centered design (HCD) and user-centered design (UCD) are different in various aspects, as both of them have distinct focuses to cater to the user’s needs. While human-centered design takes a holistic human experience that encompasses emotional, cultural, and social aspects, user-centered design primarily focuses on specific needs and expectations of a specialized group of users.
Take a glance at the table, as well as the detailed analysis below, comparing human-centered design vs user-centered design to know all about the differences between these two approaches to software design:
| Sr.No. | Features | Human-Centered Design (UCD) | User-Centered Design (UCD) |
| 1. | Focus | Targets a wider set of human experiences, including social, emotional, and cultural factors | Focuses primarily on the needs, tasks, and goals of a specific set of users |
| 2. | Scope | Broader scope, which includes all stakeholders, encompasses various design contexts | Narrow scope that focuses mainly on the direct user and specific product features |
| 3. | Empathy | Intense empathy for humans in general, but not specific ones | Empathy for specific users through usability and task efficiency |
| 4. | Context | Taking into account the environmental, psychological, and ethical context | Context is taken into account mainly in terms of user interaction |
| 5. | Approach | Holistic approach, system-wide thinking | Task-oriented approach, usability-focused |
| 6. | Use Case Example | Designing and developing a public health platform with support for patients, staff, and families | Designing and developing a fitness tracker with an intuitive user experience for the app’s users |
| 7. | Application | Ideal alternative for complex systems, including diverse groups and long-term impact | Best for apps and interfaces used by clearly defined end-users |
| 8. | Design Process | Iterative, research-heavy, and often includes field studies and storytelling | Iterative usability testing and user feedback at each design stage |
1. Focus
Human-centered design (HCD) focuses on understanding the complexities of the human experience as a whole, encompassing emotion, behavior, and social contexts. It aims to create products and services that are not only well-functional but also emotionally satisfying to users.
On the other hand, user-centric design (UCD) focuses on addressing the needs and preferences of specific users. It prioritizes the needs and expectations of users, emphasizing functionality and usability.
2. Scope
The scope of human-centered design tends to extend beyond just immediate user interaction to encompass wider societal and environmental impacts.
The user-centered design, on the other hand, focuses more on the individual user’s experience within a specific context.
3. Empathy
Human-centered design prioritizes empathy and understanding the physical and emotional areas of human interaction, establishing a deeper connection between the product and users.
User-centered design in software development prioritizes tangible and physiological aspects of targeted user interactions, fostering enhanced user satisfaction and experience.
4. Context
Human-centered design considers a wider context of human behavior, interaction, and environment wherein the product is used.
User-centric product design focuses on the specific tasks and interactions a predefined set of users performs with the product.
5. Approach
Human-centered design (HCD) employs a participatory approach, which involves users and stakeholders in the product design process to ensure that products and services meet users’ needs and preferences.
UCD, on the other hand, follows a data-driven design, a methodology where designers make informed decisions enabled by user data rather than intuition or personal preferences.
6. Application
Businesses can apply human-centered design across various fields, such as product design, architecture, and urban planning.
In contrast to HCD, user-centered design is likely to be used in web, mobile app, and software development services to cater to specific user needs.
7. Design Process
The human-centered design process is iterative and research-heavy, and oftentimes includes field studies and storytelling.
On the other hand, user-centered design tends to be iterative, which involves usability testing and employing user feedback at each stage of the product design.
8. Use Case Example
One of the examples of HCD is developing a mobile app considering the user’s emotional needs and motivations, like creating a personalized experience or incorporating elements of gamification.
The example of UCD can be designing a website with intuitive navigation and alluring call-to-actions, giving a boost to user efficiency and satisfaction.
Human Centered Design Vs User Centered Design Examples
Apple’s iPhone, Google Maps, Slack, and Mailchimp are a few of the numerous examples of human-centered design and user-centered design you should know for better clarity.
Here are a few real-life examples of human-centered design and user-centered design for better clarity:
Human-Centered Design Examples:
1. Apple’s iPhone
Gone are the days when people would experience infuriating, more complex smartphone features. Thanks to Apple’s iPhones, which have altered the scenario! Apple follows human-centered design principles, setting its products apart from the rest to meet users’ expectations. Attributed to HCD, the iPhone’s UI is known for its simplicity, easy navigation, and aesthetically pleasing design, providing a user-friendly experience.
How HCD Helps Apple:
- iPhones provide an intuitive multi-touch interface
- It provides a physical home button as a “safety net”
- iPhone’s app icons mimic real-world objects like a camera, a calendar, and a notepad
2. Google Maps
Google Maps, which was initially named “Google Local,” follows human-centered design principles. It prioritizes user needs right from initial research and testing to the final product’s features and functionality. HCD enables Google to understand how people navigate, gather information about users’ needs, design and reiterate the app, and make it intuitive and convenient to use.
How HCD Helped Google Maps:
- Google Maps offers color-coded traffic flows, matching human perception (red = bad)
- It features voice navigation, adapting to missed turns
- Visualizes local business photos to minimize decision anxiety
User-Centered Design Examples:
3. Slack
Slack is an example of user-centered design, which prioritizes understanding user needs, collecting feedback, and leveraging them to make the product highly interactive, intuitive, and usable. UCD enables Slack to enrich the user experience and boost product success.
How UCD Helped Slack:
- It ensures consistent updates based on user behavior and requests
- Slack has channels, threads, and search, streamlined to reduce clutter
- Users can customize themes, notifications, and integrations based on their needs
4. Mailchimp
The drag-and-drop interface and robust automation tools in Mailchimp are designed to be user-friendly, even for those with limited technical knowledge. Mailchimp iterates designs depending on user feedback and involves users in the design process to provide user-friendly solutions.
How UCD Helped Mailchimp:
- Mailchimp iterates based on continuous user testing and data
- It provides step-by-step guidance for creating email campaigns
- It has friendly and non-technical microcopy that fosters user confidence
Human-Centered Design Vs User-Centered Design: When to Choose Which Approach
While human-centered design takes a broader view, focusing on the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of human experience, user-centered design focuses on the specific needs and interactions of a specific user group to create products or services that are right for them. Here’s how you can decide when to choose what out of HCD and UCD:
Choose HCD When:
- You need to consider ethical, social, and emotional factors beyond usability.
- The problem includes complex human behaviors or systems.
- You’re designing a product for diverse stakeholders, not just end users.
- You value co-design and empathy as key drivers of innovation.
Choose UCD When:
- The focus is on boosting the usability and efficiency of a product.
- You want direct, task-based feedback from end users.
- Your design is aimed at a specific user group with clear goals.
- You’re working on a digital interface or product UX.
- You prioritize user testing and iterative refinements based on usage data.
Conclusion: Bridge Business Goals with User Needs
A well-conceived, frictionless UX design could potentially raise the conversion rate by up to 400%. That’s where you should design the product for people, which is embedded with a highly appealing and engaging UI. Thanks to human-centered design and user-centered design, it’s completely and conveniently possible!
Both HCD and UCD are different; however, as showcased in this blog, they allow you to design and develop a product that is capable of fulfilling users’ needs and preferences. Needless to say, they bring immense benefits to the table; however, when you hire UI UX designers who excel at UI/UX design, you open the door for optimal benefits.
MindInventory is a leading UI/UX design company, excelling at designing products with enriched UI/UX. We’re a team of vetted UI/UX designers, having delivered 450+ design projects to businesses across 90+ countries worldwide. So, if you need an appealing UI/UX design, get in touch with us for an exceptional experience!
Frequently Asked Questions on Human Centered Design Vs User Centered Design:
User-centered design follows a narrower focus, centering exclusively on the end-user experience. HCD, on the other hand, follows a holistic approach, focusing on the experience of users in general.
Apple’s iPhone and Google Maps are among many top-notch examples of human-centered design (HCD), delivering users solutions they actually need.
The four key principles of human-centered design involve understanding and addressing the user’s core issues, focusing on target users who will use the design, considering the system as a whole, and making use of iterative prototyping and testing.
The 5 core steps of human-centered design include empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. These steps work as a guide and can be iterative, allowing you to revisit previous stages as you learn and refine your solutions.
