Lessons I learned as a product designer in an enterprise environment
Editor: Lakshmi Jagad
In my two years as a product designer, my journey has been one hell of a rollercoaster, but most importantly, it has also been very exciting! I can still remember switching from graphic design to product design, and wondering, “Am I going to enjoy this?” And the answer is YES! Over the last two years, I have learned so many things, and yes, I still have a lot to learn but I want to share these nine lessons I’ve learned so far as a product
designer.
Doing competitor research is helpful
Competitor research helps you explore how other apps are approaching a specific problem. As a designer, you always want to be creative, but in most cases, you are probably not going to reinvent the wheel. The idea is to provide the best and the most intuitive solution which likely exists already or at least can serve as a starting point.
Think twice before rejecting or accepting an idea
While working on a solution, we are sometimes influenced by our own opinion as users. That’s why feedback is always valuable. It can provide you with new perspectives that you may not have considered before. The first step when it comes to feedback is to accept it without judgment or criticism. By exploring the suggestions further and analyzing how they could potentially solve an end user’s problem, you might find a better overall solution or even spark other creative ideas!
Be careful when you plan to change the UI
Even if a design doesn’t look right for you, there may be users who are happy with a specific layout or behavior as they are already accustomed to it. If you design for frontline workers, you might need to consider that they mostly use their muscle memory to operate. Therefore, before changing anything, doing research for validation would be the best place to start.
Do user research before adding a new feature
If you want to add something new or modern to the product you are working on, consider how that change will affect your end users. Make sure it covers their needs and helps them achieve their goals in a better way. Updating your app with a new feature is great, but if it doesn’t benefit the user then there isn’t much point in doing so.
Sacrifice aesthetics for usability
If you are working on a product that helps people to complete their work-related tasks, it’s important that it eases their work instead of creating additional problems. If you are looking to fulfill customer needs, as they relate to a specific use case, then you might need to sacrifice the aesthetic to provide the best working solution.
“In UX, empathy enables us to understand not only our users’ immediate frustrations, but also their hopes, fears, abilities, limitations, reasoning, and goals.” — Sarah Gibbson from NN/g, Sympathy vs. Empathy in UX
Think about accessibility
A design can look and work great for most of your users, but what about people with disabilities? Helping them complete their day-to-day tasks seamlessly on their own is an example of empathy in action. Having sufficient color contrast, accounting for users with color blindness, and supporting dynamic type and voiceover are some of the most essential things you need to keep in mind when designing for a global audience.
Consider localization
English is the language that unifies the whole world, but to increase your user base, you might need to localize your product. A label or a sentence can have a different length in another language, and that might lead to truncation or even layout changes. Make sure you have that in mind when working on components like buttons, menus, lists, tables, or anything that contains a label.
Communicate with the developers
Having a healthy relationship with developers will always lead to success. The key to communication is to ask questions and listen. Having discussions that include a technical perspective will lead to identifying more edge cases and errors. And if a problem is not clearly defined, don’t stop asking questions until you have everything you need to deliver the best solution.
Be curious and keep learning
The tech industry is constantly growing and changing so fast that you have to make sure you are up to date with the latest innovations and updates, most of which include both technology and design. Checking for updates from Figma, watching conferences from Apple or Google, and opening Material Design and HIG from time to time as you get your morning coffee — all of these will help you get a fresh outlook on your designs.
I am fortunate to be part of a team where I can learn from everyone. Working with like-minded, intelligent, and supportive colleagues makes my job much more enjoyable. Despite this, the workload can become a bit overwhelming at times, especially if you lack experience or have difficulty saying “no” when your bandwidth is already full. This could lead to skipping lunch breaks or feeling exhausted by the end of the day, and there may be times when you feel self-doubt and question your own abilities. It is important to acknowledge these feelings as a natural part of the journey. This will make it a lot easier to truly appreciate how far you’ve come and really enjoy your work!
