Product Design
Product Design involves idea generation to create a product based on the needs of consumers and business objectives. For instance, https://play-juicy-fruits.com represents the idea of a full developed casino ptoduct. 1These ideas are generated to meet market demands, and product designers ensure users have a hassle-free experience while using a product. Product Design is essential for the development of a new product.
The designer must identify with the end users for a successful product design process because they are the ones the products are created for. Product designers must use empathy, understand end-users pain points, and understand customers’ behaviour, needs and wants to build a product which equates to solving real problems.
Product design is essential for creating user experience and product offerings, from pre-ideation user research to developing a concept, prototyping, and usability testing.
History of Product Design
The industrial design used to be the order of the day before product design came in and outgrew the former. Industrial design didn’t focus on just how a product looked but on its functions, manufacturing, and the value and experience it provides for users.
Before manufacturing started, products were primarily built by hand, which equates to the fact that lesser products were produced, hence lesser accessibility to end-users, making it much more expensive. Industrialization allowed products to be mass-produced and inexpensive. Products could reach as many users as possible due to this.
Industrial design has a subset, and over time, it has evolved into what is known today as Product Design. Product design involves any product, including digital products.
Product Design Process
When it comes to design thinking, similar philosophy is followed. Product design process involves five steps:
Empathize with the People
The first step in designing a product is recognizing people’s pains. A product designer must identify with the people’s problem so they can become receptive to the designer’s proffered solution.
Define the problem
Before a product is designed, there must be a clear definition and statement of the problem being addressed. This makes the designers laser-focused in search of a solution.
Ideation of a solution
Based on the problems, the product designers think of all possible solutions to the problem, whether viable or not.
Building a prototype
A prototype is a modelled sample of the proposed solution to an identified problem. This may not be, in most cases, the final solution. However, it can be modified and altered to create a perfect solution.
Testing a solution
Once a solution has been proposed, it is the designer’s job to test this solution to determine if it is the ideal solution to the problem. In cases where the solution is ideal or perfect, the developers bring it to life so that it can be handled physically.
According to Cam Sackett, it is explained that the design process is not necessarily followed in an orderly manner because results achieved in a certain step can lead to refining or repetition of a specific stage. Furthermore, this process has no end even when a product has been designed to maturity because technology and users are still evolving. Therefore, product designers must learn to adjust to innovations accordingly as the impact on the user is determined.
Salary of a Product Designer
In the United States, a product designer’s average salary is around $105,000. On average, a senior product designer earns about $130,000, while a lead product designer earns a range of $140,000.
Tools for Product Designers
There are several tools product designers make use of but listed below are a few of the tools used:
Figma: Fast and solid interface design toolSketch: Digital Design toolkit InVision: Digital product design and workflowAdobe Illustrator: For illustrationMiro: Whiteboard and collaborationNotion: Team documentationSketch: A digital design toolkit Flowmap: For visual sitemaps
Conclusion
Product Design is broader than what people know, as it lies beyond making a product look good. It involves evaluating, validating, crafting, designing, testing, and shipping solutions. Understanding the end user is crucial to ensure a successful product design process.
