Why start with an empathy map
An empathy map organizes qualitative research — interviews, session recordings, support tickets, reviews — into what a user says, thinks, does, and feels. The point isn't the four-box template itself; it's forcing a pause before jumping to solutions, so the team is redesigning around a real pattern rather than the loudest opinion in the room.
For this exercise, I pulled directly from user comments and feedback about the Pinterest app's browsing, search, and content experience.
What users actually said
- "There's too much happening on the home screen — I just want to browse."
- "I wish I could filter searches better to find exactly what I need."
- "There are too many ads disguised as organic pins."
What that told us
Feels: overwhelmed by visual noise on first open; mildly deceived when ads blend into organic content; mildly frustrated when search doesn't narrow down fast enough.
Needs: a calmer, more scannable home screen; search that behaves predictably once filters are applied; a clear, honest line between sponsored and organic content.
None of these are dramatic complaints on their own — which is exactly why they're easy to miss in isolation. Mapped together, they pointed at one underlying theme: users wanted more control over what they see and more trust in what's shown to them.
Where this led
These findings became the starting brief for a structured UX audit — translating "too much happening" and "too many disguised ads" into specific, prioritized interface recommendations.