The Five Elements of Product Design

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:

1. Product must be authentic. Identify a clear purpose and make that purpose apparent in its design.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Do one thing extremely well. Find your product’s one essential function and make it really good with emphasis on simplicity.
5. 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.

Click here for Part 1

Click here for Part 3