StudioRed Founder on Product Design (Part 2)
When you look at product design, our primary focus has to be the end user and delivering a great user experience. We work as a central hub for all the elements that drive product development. For example, we connect with engineering, manufacturing, software, etc. As a result, it’s important for us to understand all of these core functions.
Through the years, our philosophy has been that product design and engineering must go hand in hand. Ultimately, a great design is nothing if you can’t produce it at the right pricepoint with the right quantity for the market.
About a year ago, our senior design team came up with these five elements for product design that are driven by what is most important in products today:
- Product must be authentic. Identify a clear purpose and make that purpose apparent in its design.
- Product must provide unique experiences. It’s not only about a product’s look and feel; it’s about the interaction process and how users experience a product.
- Effective product design goes unnoticed. Create a friction-free experience that becomes a part of your life. Conversely, you avoid a negative experience where every detail is noticeable.
- Do one thing extremely well. Find your product’s one essential function and make it really good with emphasis on simplicity.
- Solve pain points elegantly. Make the interactions with your product expressive and interesting for its users.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a natural flow of combining digital and physical interactions into product design. The human level of interaction with products is much deeper than it used to be. As a result, you can’t just make something that works and looks beautiful.