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When it comes to manufacturing or building products, whether it be material or digital goods, design undoubtedly takes the reign in terms of importance. No matter what product you are making, the design is a central aspect of the development process. It can impact user experience and affect how consumers perceive your product. Without a doubt, a well-designed product will be profitable and impactful, and useful for your target audience.
When it comes to product design, you must not limit yourself to aesthetics, as you also have to consider functionality, accessibility, and overall experience. At the heart of good design is the process of design thinking, which helps you consider your consumers’ needs and integrate this into your product. It is a human-centered approach that allows you to think about your product’s end-users to ensure that your design solves a problem or aligns with their needs.
Below, you will find some of the most commonly overlooked yet essential considerations to make in product design. With this, you can better streamline the product development process by including these in your decision-making process.
Sustainability
When designing a product, you must consider how well you can source your materials to avoid running into scarcity issues along the way. Think about the sustainability of your design but assessing the long-term. Are your materials easy to find, or do you have several alternatives to switch to if you encounter supply problems? You don’t want to have to stop manufacturing halfway through the process, so before you begin anything, you must consider sustainability and longevity.
Packaging
At first thought, packaging may seem like a trivial matter and one that does not require much attention. However, in reality, your packaging and assembly can speak volumes about your product’s quality and send a message to users. Since this is the first thing they see, they will immediately form impressions about your brand and product based on its packaging.
This reaction constitutes the unboxing experience, which often consists of a mix of excitement and anticipation. It is said that people are naturally drawn to visually appealing packaging, so you have to be able to capture your target’s attention from the get-go.
Ergonomics
With regard to product design, there is often a struggle to balance aesthetics with functionality. However, the latter proves to be more important since a well-designed product that does not work properly will be useless. To ensure that your product is useful, start by laying down your objectives and thinking about its actual purpose. Try to put yourself in your end-users’ shoes and evaluate their needs.
Naturally, you want your product to be easy to use, but ultimately, your goal is to be functional and effective. For example, when designing tech wearable products, you must consider decision points like where to put the sensor, how to display data, and how the connectivity experience must be like. Map the entire customer journey to determine what touchpoints you need to include in your considerations when building on your product’s functionality.
Design is undoubtedly an impactful aspect of product development, and today, the emphasis on user experience has made this message ring clear. Today, it is more important than ever to consider your consumers’ needs and experiences to know how you should design your product, all the way from how it looks to how it works to how you get your materials.
