Desktop vs Web App
In a hyper-connected world, we are always looking to find better tools, technologies and solutions to improve the way we work.
Product Design
In an era of digital experiences, it is real hard to pinpoint a general rule for designing a good product. Apart from all the necessary requirements that a good design needs like usability, interactive response and accessibility, modern products should be able to make a difference in the lives of the customer. It has to be more creative, powerful and smarter than ever before. So, what is the logical first step for a designer to fulfill this vision?
A designer has to look at the bigger picture, streamline project requirements, try to match the design and development phase and ensure stakeholders are on the same page. It is not enough to just worry about the look and feel of the product, it is more important to understand the scope and opportunities of the project from a broader point of view. This is where product design becomes an essential part of any business strategy.
Product design starts with the knowledge about the product, business objectives, project considerations, the people involved and the customers for whom we are designing. It covers the entire lifecycle of the project from design to strategy to engineering to implementation.
Many companies have applied the concepts of product design to adapt to new ways of working and to manage budget and resources in a time-constrained environment with more and more success. Product designers are insightful people who are able to make future predictions and suggest changes based on changing customer and business requirements.
Product design takes a lot of creativity and vision to come together to accomplish tough and challenging goals. A product designer with all his knowledge and experience can sometimes find it hard to understand the complexities within the product development process.
It is quite possible that when you start off a project, you might have people in your team with different background and work experience, diverse culture, age group and gender. It is important to know how they feel and consider their opinions about how to improve the product.
With a better understanding of people around you, it becomes easy to communicate the unique goals and vision of the project. People can also contribute more and provide better feedback if they are aware of the conditions and details of your project.
Transparency in a team is a great way to boost performance and reduce internal conflicts between people of different groups. When people trust each other, and share design, documentation and other valuables, it leads to better and faster products.
How the customer responds to your products depends a lot on how simple and easy-to-use they are. If the customer is not able to understand the product, then it has no use for him. Creating simplicity in design is much harder than we think. We often complicate things, add more features, increase the text or use too many colors to make the interface looks visually appealing. But, we forget to put emphasis on simple things that can help provide the customer with a better experience. Sometimes, it is better to focus on just one thing, and not get carried away by being more versatile or creative. We should see the product from the perspective of someone who had never used it before.
It is important to keep the pressure away from the team, and create a fun, positive and collaborative environment to succeed together. If the development team does not know what the design team wants and if the design team is not aware of how the devs work, it will become hard to manage the many requirements of product design. There should be no information gap between people working in the same team.
Every successful product has been able to solve a problem that no one could. All your efforts in designing should be directed towards solving an exisiting problem faced by your customers. Many times, we have seen product designers market their products exclusively at a specific customer demographic. It is because they have identified what problems their customer think as important, and found ways to address it. If your product has the all the good qualities design wise but still not able to provide any solution to an existing problem, it will lose relevance in the marketplace.
No matter how big or small your company is, if your products make a revolutionary impact, you will be remembered for a long time. Customers are always attracted towards using products that bring something new to the market. In the digital age, every new trendsetting product is in demand and the popularity always goes higher unless a better product is introduced at the same time. It also helps the company to easily enter new and emerging markets.
A customer loves a product that stands the test of time. It is the timeless design that motivates the user to create a strong relationship with the brand. We are deeply connected to things of the past. Be it antiques, old things or old cars. They remain valuable to us because they mean a lot to us emotionally. A good product is designed to last for a lifetime. There is nothing better than a product that helps us to trace our past or find some meaning through it.
