---
title: Humanward Labs | Human-Centered Product & Experience Design
url: https://humanwardlabs.com/
updated: 2026-10-12
---

# Human-Centered Design in the Age of AI

Humanward Labs is a human-centered product and experience design studio in Richmond, Virginia. We design products people find useful, usable, desirable, findable, accessible, credible and valuable.

## Grounded in how people really think and act

Behavioral science, research and craft, applied to every product and experience we design.

## Impact

- Over **$1.3 billion** in impact delivered by our principal for the world's leading brands, including Circuit City, Microsoft, Allianz, Intersections and Capital One.
- Our principal created **Marketing Research and Competitive Analysis**, ranked **#2 in Research & Analysis** on the GPT Store: 1.28M+ conversations, 4.4 average rating from 25K+ ratings.
- Our principal holds **three U.S. patents** in financial services. Each one started with how people really handle money:
  - [Rewards that apply themselves](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150206167A1/en): discounts and rewards applied automatically at checkout, with no extra step for the customer. Granted 2020.
  - [Spending categories that learn](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20160125317A1/en): machine learning that sorts transactions the way each person thinks about their money, and gets sharper with their feedback. Granted 2020.
  - [Service that surfaces what people already have](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150095130A1/en): automated customer service that brings forward benefits customers already hold. Granted 2019.

Brands our principal has worked with: Microsoft, Capital One, PayPal, Circuit City, Allianz, Dominion Energy, BlockFi and Intersections.

## What we do

Three disciplines. One direction: toward people.

- **Product Design:** interface and interaction design, prototypes tested with real people, and design systems that scale.
- **Experience Design:** journey maps and service blueprints that connect app, web, email and in-person touchpoints into one experience.
- **Design Strategy:** customer research, opportunity mapping and roadmaps tied to business outcomes.

## Questions, answered

### What does Humanward Labs do?

Humanward Labs is a human-centered design studio in Richmond, Virginia. We offer product design, experience design and design strategy for companies building digital products and services.

### What is human-centered design?

Human-centered design starts with the people who will use a product. Research, prototyping and testing with real users shape every decision, so the result is useful, usable and trusted.

### How does behavioral economics shape your design?

Behavioral economics studies how people really think and act: through shortcuts, habits and emotion, not pure logic. We use it with research and testing to design products that fit the way people really behave.

### How does Humanward Labs design for AI?

We design AI-powered products around the people who rely on them: clear interfaces, honest explanations of what the AI is doing, and controls people trust.

### What's the track record behind Humanward Labs?

Our principal's work has created over $1.3 billion in impact for brands including Circuit City, Microsoft, Allianz, Intersections and Capital One. Our principal also created Marketing Research and Competitive Analysis, ranked #2 in Research & Analysis on the GPT Store with over 1.28 million conversations. Our principal also holds three U.S. patents in financial services, for rewards applied automatically at checkout, machine-learning transaction categorization and automated customer service.

### How do I start a project with Humanward Labs?

Select “Let’s talk” on this page or email info@humanwardlabs.com. Share what you’re building and where people get stuck. Every message is read and answered personally.

## Let's move it humanward

Tell us what you're building. Every message gets a personal reply.

## Contact

- Email: [info@humanwardlabs.com](mailto:info@humanwardlabs.com)
- Principal: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebenjamin/)
- Location: Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Website: [humanwardlabs.com](https://humanwardlabs.com/)