Our clients often come to us with an idea of what the problem is, but get stuck when it comes to finding an answer. We then take a step back and explore why this is actually the problem and where it comes from. Sometimes the real issue turns out to be something else than expected. By giving a voice to the people involved, it often becomes clear what is really going on. That is why target group research forms the basis of our projects.
Looking behind the question
Numbers and statistics show how big a problem is. They rarely show what lies beneath it: what drives someone, what holds someone back, which forces steer people's behaviour. Only once we understand that layer can we design solutions that truly fit.
In Theroux's documentary, we see how the hypermasculine men often manage to talk their way around his questions, keeping their mask intact. Yet there are small moments when their façade briefly slips, revealing what lies behind the muscles and the tough talk.
Like Theroux, we look for ways to reach that deeper layer. In our work, target group research takes many different forms. We organise group conversations and workshops with people in their familiar surroundings. We design an installation as a starting point for conversation. We interview professionals, stakeholders and people with lived experience. As much as possible, we go to people rather than the other way around, to the places where the issue actually plays out. When people feel at ease, they open up naturally, and behaviour reveals itself.
Our role as an objective party
As an objective party, we have only one interest: finding solutions that work for everyone involved. That position helps participants speak freely about what they experience, even when it conflicts with the policy or organisation they are dealing with.
For clients, this means gaining insights that can be difficult to surface from within their own organisation. We bring in the perspective of the target group and translate it into policy, design or services.
What it delivers
Target group research helps us identify the right problems and challenges, based on the people who live with them every day. It prevents methods and interventions from failing in practice because they don't match the people they are meant for. It also creates space for ownership among the target group itself. When people feel heard and seen, and when they have helped shape a solution, that contributes to support for change and to the long-term impact of the solution.
And what does Theroux take away from his research? In the brief moments when the mask slips, it becomes clear that a successful life, for these men, is about everything visible on the outside: nice things, appearance, being surrounded by women, while on the inside deep-rooted insecurity, rejection and loneliness linger. They have turned hiding that inner side into an art form, an attitude they actively sell to their followers.
Good design starts by creating moments like these, moments that reveal what truly moves people. Only then can we start to truly understand the people at the heart of it.
