Good Product Design

Although a good product design begins with innovation and imagination, it takes a lot of practicality and hard work to convert the dream into reality. Product designers face a unique set of challenges because they are creating not to please themselves but the end-user. While there is an art to product design, the goal is to attract buyers. Therefore, new products must be useful, functional, and be appealing.

Important Concepts

There are several relevant concepts on which to base good product design. As they go through the various phases of the design process, the best designers keep coming back to these central themes—usefulness, functionality, and finish. The goal is to give the best user experience possible.

Usefulness is key to good product design

This concept may seem obvious. However, keep in mind, all great ideas don’t lead to great products. So, it’s important not to get carried away with an idea. Usefulness must be the number one priority in every aspect of the design. With every decision, starting with the fundamental purpose of the product and ending with how it’s packaged, usefulness must be the underlying factor.

Functionality-keep it simple

On the surface, usefulness and functionality may sound like the same thing. However, when you look deeper into good product design, you find that even if something is useful, it can still interfere with the function of a product. After all, adding more and more features may not improve the user experience. Consumers prefer products that are intuitive, easy-to-use, and solve a real-world problem.

Getting caught up in versatility over functionality turns a potentially great product into something mediocre and could negatively impact sales. Another way to look at it is from the viewpoint of advantage. Consider the advantage a new function gives the user. If it’s valuable to them, it’s worth pursuing.

Similarly, when design decisions come down to clever versus functional, the best bet is to keep it simple. In the end, buyers simply want something that works well. Often, the most successful products concentrate on a single need and offer the best way to meet it.

Finish enhances user experience

Finally, getting the details right is crucial. Even when they are unaware of it, fit, form, and finish impacts the user experience. The look-feel of your product is just as important as how it works. Good product design takes into consideration where and how the product will be used. Choosing the materials and finish details with the end-user in mind will get your product noticed. Keep in mind, getting from nearly done to fully designed necessitates patience and energy. Time-consuming but small tweaks often are what bring a product to the next level.