The Future is Designed: A reflection on Hermeneutic Approach to User Centered Design

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, where businesses navigate new markets, changing user behaviors, and technological shifts, design is not just about aesthetics—it is also about meaning, context, and understanding. At TBD, we integrate ideas from hermeneutic methodology with UX research and design principles to create services, changes, brands, and ecosystems that are not only functional but deeply resonant. Our approach is explorative, prototype-driven, and rooted in continuous evolvement.

Hermeneutics (traditionally a method of interpretation in philosophy and the humanities) offers a powerful lens through which to approach classic UX and design research. Understanding is never fixed; it is shaped by context, experience, and interaction. This aligns with our iterative, human-centered approach, where design is not a singular act of creation but an ongoing process of refinement based on real-world use and feedback.

Rather than treating digital products as static solutions, we see them as evolving narratives—always subject to reinterpretation as user needs, behaviors, and technologies shift. Every digital ecosystem, app, or service we design is built not just to function, but to adapt and grow alongside its users and the business itself. Meaning is not imposed from the top down but emerges through interaction, iteration, and lived experience.

Traditional UX and design research methods focus on data collection, user testing, and behavioral insights. While these are critical, we extend this approach by applying hermeneutic cycles of interpretation, where user insights are not simply observed but continuously re-examined and recontextualized. Deep user immersion allows us to understand behaviors in relation to history, culture, and emerging norms. Investigated through using speculative Ai and Human driven rapid prototyping. Iterative dialogue ensures that conversations with stakeholders and users are ongoing, rather than one-time research studies. Contextual prototyping enables us to test solutions within dynamic, real-world environments to uncover how they shape and are shaped by users over time.

“it is a process of understanding..”

For us, prototyping is not just about validating a concept—it is a process of understanding, interpreting, and refining meaning through iteration. In contrast to rigid design methodologies that seek to finalize solutions early, our approach embraces fluidity, exploration, and learning-by-doing. Each prototype is a new reading of the problem space—an opportunity to reinterpret user needs and business objectives through testing, feedback, and adaptation. Prototypes are not endpoints; they are conversations between users, systems, and future possibilities.

Design is never neutral—it carries assumptions, influences behaviors, and shapes perceptions. A hermeneutic approach demands that we acknowledge this and actively engage users and stakeholders as co-creators in the process. Through structured workshops, iterative feedback loops, and immersive strategy sessions, we ensure alignment between digital strategies and user realities. We identify emergent needs that may not be visible through traditional research, and we prototype adaptive solutions that evolve rather than become obsolete. This level of collaborative interpretation ensures that business strategies are informed by real user narratives, not just market trends.

Digital services, apps, and ecosystems must do more than function—they must grow, shift, and respond to both user behavior and business transformation. Our methodology ensures that design is not static but anticipatory, able to adjust to unforeseen changes in technology, culture, and market dynamics. By integrating hermeneutic thinking with design methodologies, we create digital products that are not just useful, but meaningful—deeply embedded in the context of their use, continuously evolving with user needs, and strategically aligned with business goals.

At To Be Designed, we do not see design as a one-time solution. It is a process of understanding, a dialogue between human experience and digital possibility, and a tool for shaping the future in ways that are flexible, adaptive, and profoundly user-centered.

Get started with us.

1. Digital Strategy Workshop – Define your product’s foundation with our explorative, prototype-driven approach, aligning vision, user needs, and market positioning for a future-proof roadmap.

2. Prototype & Iterate – We test and refine multiple iterations, ensuring your service evolves through real-world insights and collaboration.

3. User Experience Deep Dive – We apply a hermeneutic UX approach, using contextual prototyping and iterative dialogue to uncover friction points and create adaptive, meaningful experiences.

4. Quick User Audit & Action Plan – A fast review with hands-on mockups and practical fixes to improve usability, engagement, and adaptability. This is a great quick start to test what design and our methods can do. To ensure your product is intuitive, engaging, and built to adapt.