Product Design

[Dimple Belousson]

Productdesign is the process of creating new products for sale businesses to its customers.[1] It involves the generation and development of ideas through a systematic process that leads to the creation of innovative products.[2] Thus, it is a major aspect of new product development.

The product design process is a set of strategic and tactical activities, from idea generation to commercialization, used to create a product design. In a systematic approach, product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, turning them into tangible inventions and products. The product designer's role is to combine art, science, and technology to create new products that people can use. Their evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that now allow designers to do things that include communicate, visualize, analyze, 3D modeling and actually produce tangible ideas in a way that would have taken greater human resources in the past.

Product design is sometimes confused with (and certainly overlaps with) industrial design, and has recently become a broad term inclusive of service, software, and physical product design. Industrial design is concerned with bringing artistic form and usability, usually associated with craft design and ergonomics, together in order to mass-produce goods.[3] Other aspects of product design and industrial design include engineering design, particularly when matters of functionality or utility (e.g. problem-solving) are at issue, though such boundaries are not always clear.[4]

The product design process has experienced huge leaps in evolution over the last few years with the rise and adoption of 3D printing. New consumer-friendly 3D printers can produce dimensional objects and print upwards with a plastic like substance opposed to traditional printers that spread ink across a page.

Depending on the kind of product being designed, the latter two sections are most often revisited (e.g. depending on how often the design needs revision, to improve it or to better fit the criteria). This is a continuous loop, where feedback is the main component.[5] Koberg and Bagnell offer more specifics on the process: In their model, "analysis" consists of two stages, "concept" is only one stage, and "synthesis" encompasses the other four. (These terms notably vary in usage in different design frameworks. Here, they are used in the way they're used by Koberg and Bagnell.)

The Double Diamond Framework is a widely used approach for product discovery, which emphasizes a structured method for problem-solving and solution development, encouraging teams to diverge (broad exploration) before converging (focused decision-making).[6]

During the diverging stage, teams explore the problem space broadly without predefined solutions. This phase involves engaging with core personas, conducting open-ended conversations, and gathering unfiltered input from customer-facing teams.[6] The goal is to identify and document various problem areas, allowing themes and key issues to emerge naturally.

As insights emerge, teams transition to the converging stage, where they narrow down problem areas and prioritize solutions.[6] This phase involves defining the problem, understanding major pain points, and advocating for solutions within the organization. Effective convergence requires clear articulation of the problem's significance and consideration of business strategies and feasibility.

The Double Diamond Framework is iterative, allowing teams to revisit stages as needed based on feedback and outcomes.[6] Moving back to earlier stages may be necessary if solutions fail to address underlying issues or elicit negative user responses. Success lies in the team's ability to adapt and refine their approach over time.

In design, Creative Visualization refers to the process by which computer generated imagery, digital animation, three-dimensional models, and two-dimensional representations, such as architectural blueprints, engineering drawings, and sewing patterns are created and used in order to visualize a potential product prior to production. Such products include prototypes for vehicles in automotive engineering, apparel in the fashion industry, and buildings in architectural design.[7][8][9][10][11]

Demand-pull happens when there is an opportunity in the market to be explored by the design of a product.[12] This product design attempts to solve a design problem. The design solution may be the development of a new product or developing a product that's already on the market, such as developing an existing invention for another purpose.[12]

One solution to that is to create a product that, in its designed appearance and function, expresses a personality or tells a story.[13] Products that carry such attributes are more likely to give off a stronger expression that will attract more consumers. On that note it is important to keep in mind that design expression does not only concern the appearance of a product, but also its function.[13] For example, as humans our appearance as well as our actions are subject to people's judgment when they are making a first impression of us. People usually do not appreciate a rude person even if they are good looking. Similarly, a product can have an attractive appearance but if its function does not follow through it will most likely drop in regards to consumer interest. In this sense, designers are like communicators, they use the language of different elements in the product to express something.[15]

Product designers need to consider all of the details: the ways people use and abuse objects, faulty products, errors made in the design process, and the desirable ways in which people wish they could use objects.[16] Many new designs will fail and many won't even make it to market.[16] Some designs eventually become obsolete. The design process itself can be quite frustrating usually taking 5 or 6 tries to get the product design right.[16] A product that fails in the marketplace the first time may be re-introduced to the market 2 more times.[16] If it continues to fail, the product is then considered to be dead because the market believes it to be a failure.[16] Most new products fail, even if there's a great idea behind them.[16]

Product design is typically handled by both product managers and product designers, where product managers will create a product development strategy and product designers will lead design teams to translate product features into great user experiences through testing and iterations.

A strong product design process is based on the idea of design thinking. Coined by Tim Brown and David Kelley of IDEO, this is a technique to pragmatically resolve problems through human-centered design.

Track progress and measure success: product design lends itself to tracking product success and performance over time, so you can understand if your product is meeting user needs and learn what improvements to make

Combine: combine parts of your product, service, or solution to create something new. For example, say your product has AI capabilities. Look for ways you can combine this AI with other product features to meet user needs.

Modify: enhance or minify elements of your product, service, or solution to work towards improvements. For example, tweak the user interface of your software to make it more intuitive and user-friendly.

Put to another use: find new ways to use your product, service, or solution. For example, say you offer cloud storage for users. Another use for cloud storage could be disaster recovery and backup services.

For example, after creating a prototype, your team might encounter a design flaw that negatively impacts the user experience, even though it was built with the user in mind. This stage in the design process gives you the chance to fix problems before launch.

Given all the user data, channels, and tools out there, conducting thorough research about your users and translating that research into actionable insights can be daunting for product designers and teams.

Predict market demand with tools like Think With Google and see popular trends in product searches and their likelihood of success. Then, look at competitor reviews on websites like G2, Capterra, Trustradius, and Google.

Ask for feedback: poll your target audience about potential product ideas or features using polls on Instagram Stories or LinkedIn. Or, use unobtrusive feedback widgets and place them throughout critical touchpoints in the customer journey for key insights into product ideations and improvements.

Survey your team and users to better understand what you could streamline in your design and development process. Administer anonymous surveys to your product team for fresh ideas on how to improve your process, or survey your target market for early-stage product screening insights.

After watching recordings of users interacting with your prototype, you can filter Hotjar's Recordings to see how the product experience (PX) varies for different user personas, so you know which features to prioritize.

Administer customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys to gauge your customers' short-term satisfaction with your product. For example, after receiving a low CSAT score during a new product rollout, ask customers to provide a reason for their score to get direct insights into their experience.

The role of a product designer is to design products that delight customers and do well in the marketplace by closely defining product and business goals, and anticipating market opportunities and user needs.

Product designers oversee the entire product lifecycle, integrating both form and function. They handle aesthetics, functionality, and user needs. On the other hand, UX designers specifically focus on user experience, ensuring products are user-friendly and meet users' needs. As outlined in the article from Interaction Design Foundation, while there's overlap, product design is broader, encompassing many aspects that UX design homes in on. For a deeper understanding, consider enrolling in Interaction Design Foundation's comprehensive courses to distinguish and master both realms.

3a8082e126