"To design without research is to assume, to research is to move forward with purpose."

By Carlota Cotelo, Experience Design Team Leader at NATEEVO

In recent months, I have been fortunate to lead increasingly varied, strategic and transformative Research projects. For some time now in NATEEVO We are committed to designing with people at the center, but this past year we have gone a step further: we have expanded our team, reinforced our methodologies and strengthened the value of the Research as a key driver in any design and business process.

From my role as Team Leader of Experience Design, I have been able to experience firsthand how Research not only improves deliverables, but also transforms the way we think, design and, above all, make decisions.

In this article I want to share how Discoverys work, what kind of activities we do and, above all, why researching well - and on time - makes a difference.

The value of Research in design and business

Research is the process of thoroughly understanding users, their context, needs and behaviors before making design or business decisions. It is not just about doing interviews or surveys: it is about discovering the "why" behind what people do, identifying real opportunities and minimizing assumptions.

Why does Research matter more than ever?

In NATEEVO we have been promoting projects focused on people for many years, but in the last year we have put even more focus on Research processes, thanks to the growth of the team, the specialization of this discipline and the relevance it has taken for our clients and their challenges. Today more than ever, research before designing is not a luxury, but a strategic investment.

The Discoverys we perform allow us to understand in depth both the user and the product or service ecosystem. We combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies. according to objectives and degree of maturity of the solution:

1. In-depth interviews The results of the surveys, triads and focus groups are used to uncover perceptions and latent needs.
2. Segmented surveys to validate hypotheses with volume and detect patterns.
3. Prototyping test We also offer guerrilla testing and inter-active validations to optimize concepts before investing in development.
4. Desk research benchmarks and competitive analysis to uncover opportunities.
5. Ethnographic studies and contextual observation to understand actual uses.
6. Digital listening + SEO analysis to detect expectations and trends in digital channels.
7. Ideation workshops co-creation and prioritization with internal teams.
8. Strategic analysis and experience mapping to connect business, brand and real needs

A collaborative and integrated approach

In addition, we work closely with areas such as Analytics, Brand, SEO o Content to enrich insights and connect key dots. For example:

1. We cross-reference interviews with digital analytics KPIs.
2. We integrate brand perception with current positioning.
3. We adjust architecture and content based on actual behavior and searches.
4. We design campaigns with the most appropriate tone and visuals for the end user.

Tangible impact of Research

Thanks to research we are able to design useful, viable and desirable products and services; reduce changes in production, optimizing costs and time; improve flows and journeys from their origin with real data; create coherent and usable multichannel experiences; detect new business opportunities and align strategy, experience and brand from the earliest stages of the process.

Real cases, valuable lessons learned

At NATEEVO we have worked on a wide range of projects: from banking and education to health and wellness. In each, we have tailored our research to the real people behind the business challenges. Some examples:

-. At bankingwe investigate how personal archetypes influence key decisions such as career development, savings, investments or direct deposit of payroll.
-. At educationWe help universities and schools to optimize their international and national service, combining interviews, benchmarking, digital listening and value testing.
-. At HORECAWe align products and internal platforms such as landings to the needs of end users.
-In wellness and healthWe redefine brand communication territories based on qualitative research and strategic analysis.

Very different projects with very diverse user samples such as countries of originFor each of them, we design customized value propositions after exploring their priorities. For all this, we produce differential reports related to each final stakeholder, such as videos supported by data, avatars built through archetypes and many others, all of them supported by the value data obtained in the process.

We have worked with users with a wide range of profilesFrom high net worth individuals to hard-to-target audiences, we always design customized value propositions after exploring their priorities in depth. For all this, we produce differential reports adapted to each stakeholder, including from videos supported by data to avatars built through archetypes.

Each project is an opportunity to connect with people and translate their voice into concrete decisions. Would you like us to start working on yours? Let's talk.