Thanks for taking a walk in someone else's shoes!  Designers empathize deeply to understand the people they are helping, just as Ikea and Better Shelter did when they set out to create safer and more dignified housing for refugees.  The resulting "flat pack" shelter can be assembled by 4 people in just 4 hours, is built to last three years, and features durable walls for privacy, windows for light, a locking door for security, and a solar panel that powers an overhead light and can charge a cell phone. Also, the ceiling is high enough to allow a person to stand up straight.  Over 16,000 units have been distributed, and the shelter won the Design Museum of London's Beazley Design of the Year award in 2016. 

Way to get creative!  It's not always easy to see everyday things or experiences with new eyes, but that's exactly what AP Thailand, a real estate company, did in a crowded neighborhood in Bangkok where there was no room to build soccer fields.  AP Thailand literally thought outside the box and designed non-traditional fields to fit into spaces that were considered unusable.  These unusual soccer fields are a hit with residents who now have a place to play their favorite sport.

Now you get the picture…testing is very important!  How else will you know that your idea solves your problem (and doesn’t cause unintended consequences)?  In 2009 Google began testing concepts for a self-driving car, beginning with a retrofitted Prius operating on rural roads.  As their design evolved, their testing became more sophisticated, moving onto highways and then to more complex urban environments.  The self-driving car project, which Google spun off as an independent company called Waymo, has advanced its design so far that they are now conducting a public test of self-driving cars with residents of Phoenix, AZ.