A map for understanding a person, not a persona. What they say, do, see, hear, think, and feel — plus the pains and gains that drive them.
Layout
Empathy Map Canvas
8 blocks · 4-row grid
What it is
A persona's inner world, mapped. Goal sits at the top because it frames everything. Around it: Says (verbatim quotes), Does (observable behaviour), Thinks (assumed inner monologue), Feels (emotional state). Pains and Gains close the loop, naming what the user is fighting and what they're chasing.
Origin
The empathy map started life as a workshop aid for executive teams who kept designing for themselves. It was later sharpened with explicit Goal, Think & Feel, and Pains/Gains zones — turning it from a quick brainstorm tool into a proper design-thinking artifact you can actually defend a roadmap against.
When to reach for it
You're kicking off product discovery and the team has different mental models of the user.
You're onboarding new designers or PMs and need them to internalise the user fast.
You're reviewing a redesign and need to check whether each decision serves the user's actual goal.
The blocks
Worked example uses Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip.
What good looks like
The end-state the user is trying to reach. Frame it from their perspective, in their words.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
Book a 5-night Lisbon stay that feels like a real apartment in the neighbourhood — not a hotel — within a £1,200 budget, ideally before her partner loses interest in deciding.
What good looks like
The person, their role, the context. Avoid stitching together a persona — pick one named user.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
Maya, 29, marketing manager in London. Travels with her partner three or four times a year. The de-facto trip planner in the relationship. Books mostly on her phone, on weekends.
What good looks like
Tasks, decisions, success measures. The observable actions they need to take to reach the goal.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
Pick a neighbourhood (Alfama vs. Príncipe Real), filter for a kitchen and a washing machine, read every review on the top three listings, message the host with questions, and confirm with her partner before booking.
What good looks like
What they encounter in their environment — competitors, content, signals. Anything they actually look at.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
Instagram reels of Lisbon apartments, TikTok travel guides, friends' Airbnb photos, NYT travel articles, and the personal "Lisbon" wishlist she's been pinning listings to for two months.
What good looks like
What influencers, colleagues, family say to them. The voices that shape their opinion.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
A friend gushing about her Porto loft, her partner saying "let's just book it already," and travel influencers naming "the one neighbourhood you have to stay in."
What good looks like
Verbatim quotes from interviews or support — what they actually say, not what you wish they said.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
"I don't want another hotel breakfast." "Can we afford one with a view?" "The reviews say the host is amazing." "Why is the cleaning fee €120?"
What good looks like
Observable behaviour — what they do today to get the job done, including the workarounds.
Example — Maya, an Airbnb guest planning a Lisbon trip
Compares twelve listings on her wishlist, reads the most recent ten reviews on the top three, screenshots favourites and texts them to her partner, then books on Sunday night after a glass of wine.
How to use it
Pick a single named user — not a segment, not a persona. The whole map is about that one person.
Fill Says and Does from real evidence — interview quotes, session recordings, support tickets. Avoid inventing.
Move to Thinks and Feels with explicit "we're guessing here" tags. Mark them as hypotheses to validate.
Read the map cold. If the user's goal can't be inferred from the surrounding cells, you're missing data.
Common mistakes
Filling cells with what you wish were true instead of what evidence shows.
Mapping a persona (a composite) instead of a single named user.
Stopping at the map. It's a thinking tool — the output should be design decisions, not the canvas itself.
Spin up the canvas in one click. Copilot will score every cell against the same rubric this guide describes.
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