Everything About Product Design and UX/UI You Need to Know

A discussion with Gloria Lo delving deep into the world of product design and UX/UI from a startup perspective.

Gloria Lo is a Senior Product Designer at Canva who has applied her innovative perspective and creative talents to every aspect of her work. She obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW and have since explored the fascinating world of product design and UX/UI.

In simple terms, what would you say UX/UI is?

To put it simply, UX (User Experience) is the overall feel of the experience and how things work, whereas UI (User Interface) is focused more on how things look.

UX refers to the way in which a user interacts with a product or service. It’s all about how easy it is for a user to accomplish their desired goals, whilst UI is focused on the visual aspects of the design e.g. the typography, colours, imagery, icons, interactivity of elements, etc.

Take, for example, the online shopping experience. From a UX perspective, consider how easy and intuitive it is to use and locate what you need. From a UI perspective, consider what it looks like.

Typically, the two work hand in hand — you can’t really have one without the other.

You might notice that the terms ‘Product Design’ and ‘UX/UI design’ are often used interchangeably. Technically speaking, Product design is a specialty that requires multiple skills, two of which are UX and UI related.

What does a Product designer do, and why are they important?

Product designers get to wear multiple hats, so your day to day will never look the same. You’re responsible for many different tasks, some of which include: conducting user research to identify market opportunities, working with product managers to understand the scope of the work, brainstorming and designing the concepts, all the way to working with engineers to build the final solution.

Once the product is shipped, you’ll be expected to analyse the impact and continue to grow and optimise the product over time.

If you’re more of a generalist, product design is the ideal career path. The breadth of skills that you will acquire can range from research, to design, data, product management, marketing and even basic coding!

The role of Product Design is important as it bridges the gap between people, technology and businesses.

Product designers work closely with product managers, engineers, and users to create products that not only solve users’ needs but also ensure that the business needs are met whilst working within the limitations of technical requirements.

What are your tips on working with engineers to make sure that the process is smooth between Product designers and engineers?

When working with engineers, it’s always good to get them involved early on in the design process as they are able to provide a perspective of what is technically feasible and what isn’t.

It’s important to have validated the problem beforehand so that engineers can help with brainstorming solutions before building the real thing.

Engineers are excellent at grounding designers and ensuring that what is built is possible.

During the hand-off process, be sure to work closely with the engineers as edge cases can often arise. Working with them closely will ensure that these edge cases are addressed so that you end up with a fully-fledged product that is ready to be shipped.

What is the most valuable quality for a Product Designer to have?

I would say that the most important quality for a designer is empathy i.e. being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It is essential to understand why and how a user thinks or feels so that you can create an experience that makes sense to them and meets their needs.

Storytelling is also another important skill to have. As a designer, it is your responsibility to craft a narrative that is compelling to stakeholders. This links back to a person’s communication skills and how they might make a sound argument with evidence that resonates with the audience.

What would you say is the most important element in Product design?

The most important thing to remember is that you’re essentially designing a product for people to use. People should always be front of mind. Understanding the problem is the most challenging part of the design process. If you haven’t conducted user research before you design a product and haven’t validated whether there is product-market fit, you will run into complications later on.

Never start with the solution. Always start with the problem.

When conducting user research, seek to first understand the user’s pain points. People may not always be able to tell you what they want, but they can certainly tell you what their frustrations are. This should help to shape your problem statement and what your team should focus on.

How would you describe the future of Product design?

As designers, we spend a lot of time trying to solve societal problems by looking at the world around us. The future of design will largely depend on how the world progresses and the problems that arise as we move forward as a society. Take, for example, the pandemic, climate change, and digitalisation of the workforce.

These challenges should be taken into consideration when we are designing for the future as it forces us to rethink how we might be able to create new experiences.

Product designers have a huge role to play in shaping our future. So many of the products we create have the power to influence how society thinks, feels, and behaves. For example, social media nowadays is beginning to have an adverse effect on younger generations. Designers are currently trying to break these patterns and come up with new ways to change people’s behaviours so that they can start prioritising their mental health. As mental health becomes a rising issue, we need to start thinking about how we might create products that can give us back our time, reduce clutter and cut down on noise.

In the industry, we’re moving away from a user-centric approach to a more society-centric mindset by thinking about how we can empower people and be more inclusive in our products. Canva is a great example of prioritising diversity by choosing to include different people of all backgrounds in our media and imagery. It’s important for us to recognise everyone who uses our product and ensure that they feel represented.

What are some challenges in the product design process?

I’d say our biggest challenge when it comes to the design process is when it comes to working with multiple stakeholders. As designers must work with product managers, engineers and users, and figure out what the best solution is based on various (and sometimes competing) requirements.

There is a balance we must strike between ensuring that our product meets the needs of the business and users whilst staying within the confines of our technical limitations.

It can sometimes be difficult to align when stakeholders have competing goals. Ideally, you would work with your product manager and facilitate stakeholder workshops so that stakeholders are aligned on the problem and solution at hand.

One way in which you can overcome diverging thoughts is to facilitate ideation sessions. The point of these workshops is to involve non-designers such as engineers and product managers so that they have the opportunity to voice their opinions and share their ideas. By the end of these sessions, you’ll start to identify patterns in everyone’s thinking which makes it much simpler to come up with a combined solution that caters for every stakeholder.

What advice would you give to someone interested in testing the waters of this industry?

I typically use what’s called the Learning framework when it comes to learning something new. There are three parts to it:

a) Exposure

If you’re new to the field, you should try to soak in as much information as you can. This includes understanding what the career is about and the type of things you’d be expected to get involved in if you do choose to pursue it. You can achieve this by reading books, watching videos and talking to people in the industry.

Meet-up events are a great way to meet like-minded people and learn from other professionals in the industry. ADPList is a fantastic community platform that allows mentees to connect to mentors in the design industry. You can simply book a time with a mentor, and they will be able to answer any questions you may have about the industry.

b) Experience

Once you’ve acquired some knowledge about what you could be involved in, it’s time to gain some practical experience. This could involve starting a new project, writing a blog, getting an internship, or doing something that requires you to apply what you’ve learnt in theory.

UNSW’s Digital Society (Prodigi) runs a fantastic program called The Product Design Program which I would highly recommend to any students interested in product design as it’s a great way to get hands-on experience. Typically you are given a brief to work on for eight weeks and assigned a mentor who is there to provide you with feedback along the way.

c) Credibility

This involves building a portfolio, gaining certification, or getting a job — something that will give you some level of credibility. It shows that you’ve had an opportunity to consolidate your theoretical knowledge and practical experience. This is essential if you want to get your foot into the door.

Learning takes time, so it’s important to be patient. Don’t give up! Sometimes it takes a few tries before it will work. But I can guarantee you, that product design is the best career decision I’ve made in my life and I hope it will also be the same for you!

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