How to generate better ideas with human-centred design

When you’re tasked with coming up with something new; a product, service, or strategy, it’s easy to fall into familiar patterns. You reach for what’s worked before, recycle ideas, or run a standard brainstorm that doesn’t really push the envelope. So where do truly fresh, unique ideas come from?

At Treehouse, we use human-centred design to help teams break out of that cycle and generate better ideas that are bold, useful, and grounded in what people actually need. It’s not just about being creative, it’s about using the right conditions and tools to design innovation that sticks.

Why human-centred design helps create better ideas

Human-centred design doesn’t start with “What could we build?” It starts with: “What do people actually need, and why?” That shift makes all the difference. By immersing yourself in people’s experiences, frustrations, and desires, you create a rich foundation for idea generation that’s bigger, more surprising, and more relevant.

Here’s how human-centred design empowers idea generation – with examples and things you can try:

Step away from assumptions

The trap: Traditional problem-solving often relies on what has worked in the past, but this can limit creativity. Human-centered design helps us let go of assumptions and start from scratch. By reframing the problem from the user’s perspective, we create space for new, unconventional ideas to emerge. 

The shift: Human-centred design encourages you to reframe the problem based on real human insight.

Try this: Run a quick “assumption dump” before your next brainstorm. Write down everything you think you know about the user or the problem. Then go out and challenge those assumptions through interviews, observation, or quick-and-dirty user tests.

Marinate in the user’s world

The trap: It’s tempting to jump straight to ideation. But great ideas come from surprising insights – and those only show up when you go deep.

The shift: Human-centred design invites you to slow down, observe, and listen with curiosity.

Try this: Create a ‘Day in the life’ map of your user – not based on assumptions, but on real conversations or shadowing. Look for moments of friction, workarounds, or emotional spikes.

Example: While designing a service for remote workers, a team discovered a moment of loneliness mid-afternoon. That unexpected finding led to ideas for virtual co-working spaces and spontaneous social nudges – far from the original brief of ‘more productivity tools’.

Brainstorm from a new place

The trap: If your inputs are the same, your outputs will be too.

The shift: Once you’ve uncovered real human insights, you can ideate from a much more original, energising place.

Try this: Frame your brainstorm around a sharp “How Might We…” question that emerges from user insight. Keep it tightly focused but generative.

Example: Instead of “How might we improve onboarding?” try “How might we help new users feel confident and in control within their first 10 minutes?” That reframing leads to richer, more actionable ideas.

Embrace the wild stuff

The trap: In many organisations, ‘safe’ ideas dominate too early.

The shift: Human-centred design gives permission to go broad, weird, and even a little silly – before narrowing things down.

Try this: Use a “Yes, and…” brainstorm technique to build on even the most out-there ideas. You can always bring things back to Earth later – but you won’t get to the magic if you filter too soon.

Example: A team exploring ways to help elderly users navigate a banking app started with an idea for a ‘talking penguin guide’, which later evolved into a voice assistant with empathetic language and humour. The penguin didn’t make the cut, but the spirit of the idea did.

Provoke the future

The trap: It’s easy to design for now – but what about what’s next?

The shift: With a foundation of human insight, human-centred design helps you stretch your thinking into future needs and behaviours.

Try this: Pair user insights with ‘What if?’ prompts that push the boundaries. “What if this tech disappears?” “What if the users double in number?” “What if we had no interface at all?”

Example: A health tech team imagined a world where users never had to open an app – leading to ambient health monitoring ideas triggered by context and wearables.

Ready to bring fresh thinking to your team?

At Treehouse, we help organisations tackle big challenges and generate truly unique ideas using human-centred design. Whether you’re looking to inject new energy into your strategy or upskill your team with creative problem-solving tools, we’re here to help.