A lot of people believe the aim of a product design process is to create something beautiful, that pleases the eye and inspires. But it is only the tip of the iceberg. Why we really do need product design, that’s because it helps to understand our customer’s pain, and to find a way for solving this problem. Thus, we create a product that is as good-looking, as useful.
For your inspiration please see below several examples of great products proving that great product, first of all, should resolve the customer pain.
Before design
Before we begin, we need to clarify all the process. Do we know what direction we follow? Why are we doing this and not that? Surely, we understand how to design a new product, we have mastered all the creative and technical aspects. But do we understand our task and goals? That is what the product manager is considered to be responsible for. This is the ideological mastermind who must charge the whole team.
But in fact, managers have a lot of various concerns, meetings, tasks. And they don’t have enough time to convey all the reasons. Therefore, product designer should be more active. So, where the tasks come from? They come from the audience, it doesn’t matter how big it is. These people have chosen our product to solve their issues. So we need to hear these people, to understand their needs, to share our visions transparently.
That’s why we need to use:
- reviews;
- own experience and experience of friends or acquaintances;
- experiments;
- UX-testing;
- competitors.
Try to receive a lot of feedback, especially from your customers. You can have perfect A\B testing results or your mother will name you the best product designer in the world, but it is not enough if your customers don’t like your product. Make sure you know exactly what they need.
After analyzing the information and when some ideas come to your mind, you can consider the following factors in order to recognize whether your product is completely new or just new representation of the existing product. This way you can define the further strategy for your product design.
Completely new product for market
VR glasses by Oculus
New design of a product
Latch Table
by @vincent.bergogne
Product with improved features
Strawtini Martini Glasses
by Udarely.
Design process
Now we start to create. This process is divided into 3 parts:
- Sketching— it would be useful to meet with all the team to discuss design factors of product design. And it’s the best time for painting, because at the end of the meeting we’ll have mockup outline and a clearer understanding of what everyone expects. Next, we work through all the ideas, transfer them to Sketch and think over again. We must have answers for all potential questions as well.
- Testing — You need tangible prototypes to understand how your product will look like. And don’t rely on your own opinion only. Demonstrate them to your team, remember the reaction and draw conclusions. It is necessary to ask as many questions as possible at this moment. Ask your colleagues why do they think so? How would they act in such case? What is wrong with this design? And so on.
- Reflection — ask yourself: what is good? It is important to mention and fix the advantages of your works. The second question — what isn’t good enough? And the third essential questions: how can I improve that? Think about saving your advantages and getting rid of disadvantages. Now you have more ideas for continuing your work and you can paint again.
If you work in a team, you need to make sure you’re on the same wave and have the common vision how to design a new product. Take care of the principles of design in advance, discuss them with other designers and manager, and approve. You can even print and hang it in a prominent place. Inspire by Dieter Rams 10 principles or by principles of some young companies.
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