Navigating the Depths of Product Design–My Journey Beyond Pixels and Platforms

first time generating image on AI, its pretty interesting🤣

Reflecting on my journey as a Product Designer, I’ve come to realize some profound lessons that go well beyond the digital interfaces and tools we often associate with our field. My journey has been as much about understanding people and processes as it has been about creating visually appealing interfaces.

Here are some of the pivotal insights that have shaped my approach to product design:

Collaboration Over Tools

Surprisingly, 70%-80% of my design process takes place outside of tools like Figma. The real magic happens in the interactions with team members — engineers, QA professionals, and project managers. Regardless of how perfect my designs might look, they’re ultimately brought to life by these other teams. I’ve learned the importance of spending less time on the tool itself and more on developing strong relationships with these collaborators.

“Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.” — Don Norman

This resonates deeply with me, highlighting the importance of cultivating strong collaborative relationships over solitary tool mastery.

Discovery Drives Design

I’ve found that the true essence of being a product designer lies not in the final design but in the discovery process that precedes it. The richer and more thorough this phase, the more robust and effective my design outcomes are. It’s about asking the right questions and deeply understanding the needs before jumping into solutions.

“Design thinking is all about upgrading within constraints.” — Tim Brown

Tim Brown of IDEO captures this sentiment well, It’s about asking the right questions and deeply understanding the needs before jumping into solutions.

Contextual Adaptation and Flexibility

Every company is different, and as a product designer, I’ve had to rely on my empathy, intuition, and experience to navigate these variations. What works as a best practice in one place might not fit another. Learning to adapt my approach to each unique company culture has been key.

Simplicity Over Complexity

In our field, it’s easy to get caught up in complex methods and processes. I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes these fancy methods are just unnecessary complications. Stripping back to simplicity often leads to clearer, more effective results.

Realistic Expectations

One of the harder lessons has been accepting that not everything will go as I hope. Whether it’s expecting support for my personal growth or expecting the best from my leaders and peers, I’ve realized that everyone’s journey and capabilities are different. I’ve had to learn to align my efforts with the company’s goals and its current phase, rather than solely on what I wish to achieve.

Practical Guide for Context Adaptation

In my journey, one of the pivotal challenges has been adapting my design approach to different contexts, especially when transitioning between diverse user demographics or company cultures. Here’s a practical, step-by-step strategy I’ve developed to effectively navigate these transitions:

Example Scenario: Designing for Different User Demographics

Imagine a situation where you’re transitioning from designing products for a tech-savvy, younger audience to a more mature, less digitally native demographic. This change in user base drastically alters the context of your design work.

In the previous setting, you might have leaned towards a design that prioritized aesthetics and advanced features, assuming a high level of digital literacy. However, in the new context, such an approach could lead to a product that’s challenging to navigate and use for the intended audience.

Here’s a practical, step-by-step strategy I’ve developed to effectively navigate these transitions:

1. Identify Assumptions and Hypotheses: Start by listing all the assumptions and hypotheses about the new context. For instance, beliefs about user preferences or behaviors that might not have been validated yet.
2. Gather Internal Information: Collect insights from within the company. This includes user data, feedback from different departments, and any relevant past research. This information often provides initial guidance and highlights areas that need more exploration.
3. Spot Doubts and Uncertainties: From the information gathered, pinpoint any doubts or areas where you’re uncertain. These are the aspects that require further investigation and validation.
4. Prioritize Validation Based on Risk: Assess which unvalidated assumptions carry the most risk and prioritize them. This ensures that the most critical aspects are addressed first, leading to a more efficient allocation of resources.

Lest assume you already done all that list above, some of the riskiest hypothesis may looks like this:

Challenges:

Assumption Bias: Carrying over assumptions and design principles from one context to another without considering the unique needs and behaviors of the new user demographic.

Resistance to Change: A natural tendency to stick with familiar design practices, even when they are not suitable for the new context.

Communication Gaps: Struggling to understand and articulate the needs and preferences of a different user group, which can lead to misaligned design solutions.

Okay, now you have all the riskiest hypothesis in hand. What you do next?

1. Methodically Validate Assumptions: Use various methods like user interviews, surveys, and prototyping to validate your riskiest assumptions. Focus first on the assumptions you identified as the most risky. For instance, if you're unsure about the preferred level of interface complexity, you might start with a prototype and gather feedback on its usability. This step is crucial in refining your understanding and ensuring your design aligns with actual user needs and contexts.
2. Iterative Refinement and Ongoing Evaluation: Based on the feedback and validation results, refine your design and approach. This might involve changing some of your initial assumptions or even rethinking parts of the design. Continue this process iteratively, validating and refining as you gain more insights.

Reflecting on the Journey

You may notice that through all these processes, vital elements such as cross-functional collaboration, a flexible mindset, and simplified design principles naturally emerge. These elements have been critical in my journey, helping me forge genuine collaborations, focus on discovery before design, adapt to diverse corporate cultures, embrace simplicity, and set realistic expectations.

In essence, my path in product design has been about forging genuine collaborations, focusing on discovery before design, adapting to diverse corporate cultures, embracing simplicity, and setting realistic expectations. These lessons have shaped me more than any tool or aesthetic consideration ever could.