About OpenSourceEmpathy
In 2012, while completing an MFA at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Daniel Buckley spent two years studying what happens when designers try to genuinely understand the emotional lives of the people they design for — drawing on psychoanalytic theory, personal myth research, field experiments with community installations, and direct collaboration with psychoanalysts from the Boston School of Psychoanalysis.
The thesis that resulted — "Open Source Empathy: How Hanging Out with Psychoanalysts Changed My Approach to Life, Love and Design" — documented a hypothesis: that by drawing from the psychoanalytic technique to objectify subjective experience, designers can understand their users, their medium, and the connection between them at a level that standard research and design methods cannot reach.
Origins of the mission
A bit about Daniel
Daniel is a multidisciplinary design leader with 20+ years of experience turning ambiguous, future-forward concepts into consumer-loved products. Deep expertise bridging iOS/Android software experiences with physical hardware — from shipping Bose's primary consumer mobile platform (millions of users, improved App Store rating from 2.5 → 4.7) to defining interaction models for voice-first smart speakers and AR audio interfaces. Proven track record building high-performing teams, championing human-centered design, and translating strategic vision into shipped products. Inventor on six patents spanning AR interaction, wearable audio control, and personalized experience systems. Equally fluent in concept storytelling, applied research, behavioral design, and executive stakeholder alignment.
Education
MFA, Dynamic Media
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)
Boston, MA
2010 – 2012
Certificate, Creative Continuum: Business and the Creative Process
MassArt / Bentley University
Boston, MA
Jan 2011
BFA, Visual Design (Graphic Design & Typography)
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Dartmouth, MA
2001 – 2006
Teaching & Mentorship
Visiting Faculty — Graduate Thesis Advisor
Dynamic Media Institute
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)
2013 – Present
Visiting Lecturer — Sneaker Design
Artward Bound (High School After-School Program)
2014 – Present
Visiting Lecturer — Undergraduate Information Architecture
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)
Spring 2014
Visiting Lecturer
Course: "Posters, T-shirts and Sticker Design: Band Members Wanted!"
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
Fall 2011
Teaching Assistant — Graduate: Design as Experience • Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)
Fall 2011
Teaching Assistant — Undergraduate: Design Research & Senior Degree Project
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)
2011 – 2012
Patents
Six granted patents and applications spanning AR interaction, wearable audio, personalized experience systems, and audio fashion:
Augmented Reality Audio Menu
US11036464B2
Audio Wearable Device Control
US11910173B2
Dynamic Capability Demo
US10817251B2
Generating Customized Audio Experiences
EP3924961A1
Audio Fashion
US20200314524A1
Wearable Sensor Data Delivery
US20200280618A1