We know that qualitative research brings companies closer to the humans they hope to inspire with their products and messaging. But what if there is a tight budget and the client wants to skimp on research? In what ways might we be true to Human Experience Design in more affordable ways to capture key insights that will help create more relevant, compelling products? This session will use a real case study to exemplify how a number of low-cost qualitative approaches were employed to capture deep human insights that were then used to design a brainstorming session that inspired relevant, big ideas. Through this session you will learn how human experience research became the driver of successful new product ideation. We will focus on how we captured and shared the findings from low-budget primary and secondary research to help the client team better empathize with the humans (and their pets) who will be using their products. We will share how we leveraged the insights captured to bring the client team closer to the human truth; and, how we illuminated consumer stories to create custom brainstorming techniques that inspired breakthrough ideas.