Designing Products People Love

1. Understand Your Audience: Products Exist to Solve Customer Problems

"Products are for Customers"

Customer-centric approach. Successful product design starts with a deep understanding of your target audience. This means identifying their pain points, needs, and desires. Avoid the trap of "ego-first development" where you assume your ideas are inherently valuable. Instead, focus on creating solutions that genuinely improve people's lives.

Ethnographic research. To truly understand your customers, employ techniques like "Sales Safari" - a modern form of online ethnography. This involves:

• Observing customer behavior in online forums, reviews, and social media
• Analyzing their language, frustrations, and aspirations
• Identifying patterns and opportunities for product innovation

By immersing yourself in your customers' world, you'll gain insights that drive meaningful product development.

2. Research Deeply: Observe Customers in Their Natural Habitat

"The key is you start by observing what [your customers] actually already do"

Observation over questioning. Traditional market research often relies on asking customers what they want. However, people are notoriously bad at predicting their own behavior or articulating their needs. Instead, focus on observing what customers actually do in their natural environments.

Historical precedent. This approach has roots in the work of influential figures like:

• Lillian Gilbreth: Revolutionized kitchen design through motion studies
• Henry Dreyfuss: Pioneered human-centered industrial design
• Neil McElroy: Invented the "brand man" concept at Procter & Gamble

Their methods of careful observation and analysis led to groundbreaking products and innovations. Apply these principles to your own research by:

• Conducting thorough online ethnography
• Analyzing customer behavior patterns
• Identifying unmet needs and opportunities for innovation

3. Define the Product Vision: Collaborate with a Small, Focused Team

"The larger a group, the more process problems members encounter in carrying out their collective work"

Small, agile teams. Jeff Bezos famously advocated for "two-pizza teams" - groups small enough to be fed by two pizzas. This approach promotes:

• Better communication
• Faster decision-making
• Reduced groupthink

Collaborative vision-setting. Bring together a core group of stakeholders to define the product vision:

• Product designer/manager
• Engineers
• Marketing/PR representative

Use tools like the Pain Matrix to visualize customer needs and prioritize features. Employ techniques like Amazon's "Working Backwards" approach:

• Write a future press release for the product
• Create FAQs and user manuals
• Work backwards to define the necessary steps for development

This process ensures alignment and focuses the team on solving real customer problems.

4. Design User Flows: Start with Words, Not Visuals

"UI design starts with words. Writing first makes me treat UI as a conversation."

Words before visuals. Begin your design process by writing out the user flows and interface copy. This approach:

• Forces clarity of thought
• Focuses on user needs and goals
• Prevents premature visual styling

Step-by-step process:

1. Map out user flows and key interactions
2. Write the actual interface copy for each screen
3. List required UI components and data elements
4. Create low-fidelity wireframes or sketches

By starting with words, you'll create more intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. This method also helps identify potential usability issues early in the design process.

5. Prototype Early and Often: Tangible Trumps Theoretical

"A prototype is worth a thousand meetings"

Rapid prototyping. Move quickly from concept to tangible prototype. This allows you to:

• Test assumptions
• Gather feedback
• Iterate rapidly

Prototyping tools:

• Simple: Paper sketches, clickable wireframes (e.g., InVision)
• Intermediate: Interactive prototypes (e.g., Framer, Origami)
• Advanced: Coded prototypes

Benefits of prototyping:

• Aligns team vision
• Uncovers usability issues early
• Facilitates user testing and feedback
• Improves communication with stakeholders

Remember, the goal is to create something functional enough to test key concepts, not a fully polished product.

6. Master the UI Stack: Design for Five Key Interface States

"Awkward UI is a missing loading indicator. It's forgetting to tell your customer where something went wrong."

The UI Stack. Every screen in your product should account for five key states:

1. Ideal state: The perfect scenario with all data present
2. Empty state: First-time use or no data available
3. Error state: When something goes wrong
4. Partial state: Incomplete data or actions
5. Loading state: While waiting for data or processes

Designing for each state:

• Ideal state: Focus on core functionality and content
• Empty state: Provide clear onboarding and guidance
• Error state: Offer helpful, human-friendly error messages
• Partial state: Show progress and encourage completion
• Loading state: Use skeleton screens or meaningful animations

By accounting for all these states, you create a more robust and user-friendly interface that handles real-world scenarios gracefully.

7. Create Engaging Experiences: Leverage Psychology and Motion

"Motion is humanizing. It's a reflection of how the real world operates."

Psychological principles. Incorporate behavioral psychology into your design:

• Variable rewards: Create addictive experiences (e.g., Tinder's "It's a Match" screen)
• Feedback loops: Encourage continued engagement
• Social proof: Leverage user-generated content and reviews

Motion and animation. Use thoughtful animations to:

• Guide user attention
• Provide feedback on actions
• Create a sense of continuity between states

Key animation principles:

• Ease in/out: Mimic natural acceleration and deceleration
• Follow-through: Add subtle overshooting for realism
• Staging: Direct focus to important elements

By combining psychology and motion, you create more intuitive, engaging, and emotionally resonant product experiences.

8. Gather and Interpret Feedback: Level Up Your Product Iteratively

"The Valley of Despair: we all know that feeling as product designers. We all have hit that moment where we think our product won't work, that nobody is going to use it."

Feedback sources:

• Internal team critiques
• Current customers
• Potential customers

Interpreting feedback:

• Look for patterns and recurring themes
• Distinguish between user preferences and actual needs
• Consider the context and source of feedback

Iterative improvement:

• Prioritize feedback based on impact and alignment with product vision
• Implement changes in small, measurable increments
• Continuously test and validate improvements

Remember that negative feedback is often louder than positive. Stay focused on your product vision while remaining open to constructive criticism and new insights.

9. Ship Strategically: Aim for a Minimum Lovable Product

"It's called 'ship,' not 'shit.'"

Beyond MVP. Rather than rushing to ship a bare-bones Minimum Viable Product, aim for a Minimum Lovable Product (MLP):

• Solves a core customer problem effectively
• Creates an emotional connection with users
• Delivers a polished, albeit limited, experience

Strategic shipping:

• Set internal deadlines, but be willing to adjust them
• Ensure core functionality is solid before launch
• Plan for post-launch monitoring and rapid iterations

Post-launch focus:

• Monitor customer support channels closely
• Analyze usage data and user behavior
• Prioritize bug fixes and critical improvements

Remember that shipping is just the beginning. Be prepared to continue refining and improving your product based on real-world usage and feedback.

Last updated: August 9, 2024