Human-centred design without the Post-it notes

Human-centred design is supposed to start with people, not a wall full of sticky notes. In this episode of Freeformers Unplugged, Toby Kheng and Emilie Forrest unpack what discovery is really for, why so much employee research collapses into generic pain points, and why the most useful thing HR and L&D teams can do is simply talk to real users. They explore how many people you actually need to interview, where AI can help with research without replacing the human conversation, why surveys rarely explain the why behind behaviour, and how teams can build a more systematic discovery process. The episode also connects directly to the thinking behind InsightCon 2027, Freeformers’ human-centred event for senior HR and L&D leaders. InsightCon tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/insightcon-tickets-1999366942346