24 product design predictions for 2024
What will the world of product design look like in 2024? 24 members of Zalando’s product design community weigh in on the upcoming developments we can expect to see in the industry.
2023 was the year the world — and the world of work — changed forever. The rise of AI was a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it moment. For many of us, having instant access to all online knowledge was impressive enough. Then, within a few months, we were already collaborating with AI in our daily work. In product design, this rapid paradigm shift has opened up a new universe of opportunities. If some of us were sceptical of AI when it entered the scene, we are now seeing how we can form a healthy partnership with the technology. Far from losing our agency as designers, we are empowered to streamline our processes while safeguarding the human spark that makes for truly delightful experiences.
2024 is shaping up to be a year of exploring new possibilities — and not just hand-in-hand with our intelligent new digital ally. AI might be the two letters on everybody’s lips right now. However, according to Zalando’s community of Product Designers, User Researchers, and Content Designers, next year, we can expect humanness to shine through brighter than ever.
What will product design look like in 2024? We asked 24 members of our product design community to share their predictions — from visual design trends to increased personalisation to the evolution of customer and partner needs and desires.
Visual design revivals, bold aesthetics, and increased immersion
“It is nearly impossible to look at upcoming product design trends without looking more holistically at the broader world of design. We are in an era of remixes. Frutiger Aero is trending in digital design. ’90s fashion made space for Y2K, and now indie sleaze. Skeuomorphism is having a comeback on various interfaces. Will 2024 finally bring more fun to digital products? Who knows… But one thing is for certain: remixes and mashups of various previous trends are here to stay, especially with the further expansion of AI, the ultimate remix-maker. #productcore ” — Michael Feeney, Principal Product Designer at The Studio, and Art Director for Product Design in the Statement team
“I expect skeuomorphism to gain even more ground in our interfaces. This looks like a skinny/baggy jeans trend where there are only two possible roads and the entire industry shifts between those two. The resurgence of light, shadow, and reflections is long overdue but soon to show up in the majority of our working spaces.” — Santiago Camargo, Senior Product Designer, Zalando Lounge
“This progression marks a departure from static digital realms, resembling more interactive, cinema-like spaces.”
“I can imagine a pivotal shift towards volumetric interfaces that seamlessly blend content into digital spaces, transcending the limitations of traditional layouts. This evolution, fueled by conversational interfaces and the integration of volumetric design, heralds a natural fusion of digital elements within existing environments. This transformative phase embraces more fluid, reactive interfaces that effortlessly adapt to their surroundings, moving away from linear structures towards dynamic, moment-centric experiences. Embracing the potential to eliminate the notion of pages, these interfaces will facilitate non-linear flows, integrating seamlessly with conversational technologies. This progression marks a departure from static digital realms, resembling more interactive, cinema-like spaces, now enriched with transitions and animations. It’s a leap forward from mere input/output experiences, transcending the conventional use of QR codes and fostering a new era of experiential design.” — Israel Martin, Principal Product Designer across the Zalando Commerce Platform
“In the technically advancing realm of content creation, high-quality visuals and edits have become the norm, prompting a shift toward emphasising authenticity and inspiration in narratives. In the face of content overload, curation is a crucial element — less is more. Minimalist design is giving way to a resurgence of maximalist aesthetics. We will see more surreal, memorable brand campaigns and visuals that are overly aesthetic, with branding leaning into heritage to find a way to stand out, and interfaces that feel remarkably real and almost tactile.” — Anna Shapovaliuk, Product Designer, Emerging Propositions
“In the fashion and retail B2B realm, the upcoming year seems poised for a significant shift towards merging physical and digital retail landscapes. From a partner perspective, there’s a notable drive to blend physical and digital stores, necessitating more personalised customer experiences. This could involve utilising virtual try-on technologies, wearable tech, and AR for immersive shopping. Additionally, sustainability remains a focal point, highlighting eco-friendly materials, ethical sourcing, and circular practices such as recycling and upcycling. Within partner logistics, the emphasis may shift towards improving last-mile delivery via drones and autonomous vehicles. Sustainability in logistics and reverse logistics might manifest through green transport, efficient route planning, smart warehousing, and the establishment of systems for paperless product returns, or material reuse to minimise waste. — Kalliopi Papadopoulou, Product Designer, Partner Orders, Offers, Logistics, Analytics and Steering
“2024 will focus on expanding the AR & VR space from a product design point of view into industries other than e-commerce and gaming. Considering big firms are already betting on AR & VR, I feel that the practicality of AR & VR will find use in other industries like logistics and warehouse management. For example, an AR app inside a phone could help a warehouse worker navigate to the correct racks to pick up multiple products for a customer.” — Bobby Kariyatty, Product Designer, Fulfilment Product Design & Analytics
Conscious integration of artificial intelligence
“As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our daily routines, we designers face the challenge of seamlessly incorporating AI into user experiences while managing expectations and addressing ethical considerations. The evolving AI-enabled user base requires us to understand and cater to changing needs, emphasising personalised interfaces and ethical design principles. As Product Designers, we will play a pivotal role in crafting engaging, adaptive experiences by collaborating with AI systems and prioritising human-centric solutions in this dynamic and evolving AI-enabled landscape.” — Sriram Venugopal, Senior Product Designer, Zalando Marketing Services
“It is important to recognise that in every era, good designers were the ones who shaped the tools through their expertise and talent. I believe it is the same for AI tools.”
“As designers, the key to our craft will be giving the right prompt. It is important to recognise that in every era, good designers were the ones who shaped the tools through their expertise and talent. I believe it is the same for AI tools. By the end of next year, I see us reading articles about our favourite prompts of the year.” — Esin Isik, Product Design Manager, Zalando Plus
“Figuring out the AI elephant in the design room will continue while everyone is still making it up as they go along. I feel we need more clarity on the baseline skills we need in this field and what constitutes a good designer in the age of AI. What does it mean to be a senior practitioner when many of our core skills might change beyond recognition?” — Clive Kenneth Lavery, Principal Product Designer, Connected Network B2B / ZEOS Logistics
“We’ll see the field of product design maturing in using the new AI-powered design tools and methods, including generative AI. Yes, there’ll be amazing breakthroughs in the application of generative AI, but the most powerful use cases for these tools will emerge from the very basic mission of product design: focus on the right customer problems and business opportunities.” — Jarno Koponen, Product Design Manager, Personalization, Recommendations, Search and Browse
“Prediction number one: While design will undergo a notable transformation with generative AI tools, the demand for UX specialists skilled in the techniques we’ve developed over the past 20 years won’t go away. Prediction number two: The hyperbole that fueled industry talk and public discourse about generative AI will come to an end. Prediction number three: genAI jobs won’t make it to 2025. Take the ‘prompt engineer.’ Yes, job postings demanding skills in generative artificial intelligence have soared 1,848% this year. Yes, Google searches for prompt engineers peaking in early 2023 saw humanities majors frenzy over the 36-fold increased chance to surpass software developers and consultants in terms of demand, recognition, and salaries north of $300k. Yes, prompt crafting and training large language and diffusion models are real skills. However, businesses trying to get ahead of their FOMO by going beyond upskilling designers to put genAI to use, created roles that won’t go the distance.” — Christian Vonscheidt, Head of Content Design, Content Design team
“I anticipate more advancements in generative AI for design in 2024, where large algorithms seamlessly integrate historical design data and emerging trends to autonomously generate innovative design solutions for designers. This will empower us designers by automating routine tasks, allowing us to focus on higher-level strategic work.” — Lekan Isaac, Senior Product Designer, Connected Network Design and Research
“I think the product design community will be learning how to build their own AI-powered work streams. I can see us also working on how to integrate AI solutions within non-AI features and how to navigate the users through these mixed-experience landscapes.” — Agnieszka Magdalena Winczakiewicz, Senior User Researcher, User Research team
“From a process perspective, I believe AI will continue to automate a lot of the solution design steps. Our roles as Product Designers will continue to merge with Product Managers in the sense that solving the right problem at the right time and with the right resources will be a shared responsibility, not a delegated step in the process.” — Santiago Camargo, Senior Product Designer, Zalando Lounge
Even more delightful and user-centric experiences
“I believe next year will demand that we care even more about our users. During times of uncertainty, people lean towards quality over quantity and choose companies that invest in long-lasting partnership. We, as Product Designers, will be on the frontier of these efforts and should advocate for user needs more than ever.” — Inès Mir, Principal Product Designer, Partner Tech
“Anticipating a shift in user behaviour, I envision a heightened mindfulness towards time and attention allocation. Users are likely to gravitate towards offline experiences, prompting digital products to adeptly comprehend their audience, captivating attention, and infusing joy into the time spent. To thrive, products must seamlessly integrate into users’ lifestyles. Cheers to a future where thoughtful design harmonises with mindful living!” — Manuela Dos Santos Pinto, Product Designer, Context Experiences
“If we can lift our heads from the next AI tool, I see many emotional experiences focusing on delight coming up. The ‘lipstick effect’ shows that people go for perceived small delights in times of hardship. I see a lot of small delightful experiences popping up in the coming year. No matter what we work on, designers will develop expertise in collaborating with Product Analytics, Data Scientists, and Applied Scientists. In my previous team, I worked very closely with Applied Scientists. It was a transformative experience for me to understand what the next years have in store.” — Esin Isik, Product Design Manager, Zalando Plus
“The future of designing generative AI-powered products will see a shift towards intuitive personalization that extends beyond the conversational interfaces common today. We will see products more embedded into our daily lives, connecting with our preferences, behaviours, and context by dynamically adapting to our needs. In this era of change, facilitating the transition from traditional design patterns to embracing new possibilities will be one of the main challenges for product designers.” — Şeyda Ülgen, Principal Product Designer, Personalization, Recommendation, Search and Browse Design
“From a user research perspective, this year, we saw a growing desire from our customers for personalised experiences. With the ongoing development in AI, I can see that next year, our teams will develop hyper-personalised experiences that answer user needs and preferences. I predict that when we talk to our customers next year, they will share experiences of websites presenting perfectly tailored product selections, right down to their favourite colour palette and style.” — Irene Chambi, User Researcher, User Research team
“Fashion platforms are changing to let people buy clothes their own way, making online shopping more personal. Platforms are using what they know about customers to offer clothes that fit their style, which makes people like the brands more. Imagine you’re shopping online for a jacket, and seeing the best one that perfectly fits your occasion and wardrobe overall. The website suggests these options based on your past preferences and style. So you end up with a jacket that’s not only your favourite colour but also feels like it’s truly yours. This shopping experience is more fun and ensures you get something you really love, reducing the chances of having to send it back because it’s exactly what you wanted in the first place.” — Anna Skorobogatova, Product Design Manager, Content Experience Design
“Amidst the ongoing economic uncertainties, B2B design now more than ever demands a focus on user-centred solutions that transcend mere usability. The goal for 2024 should be to craft delightful tools that optimise productivity and alleviate daily workloads rather than adding to them. This is not only for the benefit and health of individuals but also to prepare for the years ahead, where employee satisfaction will be a crucial factor in winning and retaining top talents.” — Andrea Brinkmeier, Principal Product Designer, Partner Tech
“This shift underscores the pivotal role of user empowerment in the design process, signalling an era where personalised, user-centric interfaces become the cornerstone of successful digital experiences.”
“Customers will increasingly seek to reclaim ownership of their data, driving a demand for greater transparency and control. The future landscape will witness a departure from passive engagement to active participation, with users actively shaping and customising their experiences within products and applications. This shift underscores the pivotal role of user empowerment in the design process, signalling an era where personalised, user-centric interfaces become the cornerstone of successful digital experiences.” — Thiago Hapner, Principal Product Designer, Fashion Propositions Customer Experience
“I predict language in B2B will become user-friendlier, in the sense that technical concepts will be broken down into simpler, everyday terms. Users will feel more ‘at home’ in the experiences we build for them, thanks to being able to find the information they need easily and at the right time.” — Raph Paraschos, Senior Content Designer, Zalando Marketing Services
An even deeper relationship with the customer
“Testing, testing, testing! That’s what I think 2024 has in store for content design. As I say this, my entire team is taking a content testing course. And I think we’ll want to put those newly acquired skills to practise so that our decisions are backed by quantitative or qualitative research.” — Lakshmi Kumaraswami, Content Designer, Content Design team
“With the constant buzz around AI and the race for faster, automated solutions, I think it’s time for us designers to slow down. We should move from speed to substance and focus on a deeper understanding of the range of unpredictable and illogical human behaviour. Designers can play the role of steady compasses, leading us toward solutions that genuinely matter.” — Maiju Tompuri, Product Designer, Partner Tech
“Our role as designers will need to shift more towards being facilitators who bring people and communities together to solve problems and reimagine the world we want to live in and leave for future generations.”
“The last few years have been challenging for the design industry the world over. I think, in 2024, design will be in its next stage of self-discovery. In an industry and a world where change is happening by the day and not always for the good, our role as designers will need to shift more towards being facilitators who bring people and communities together to solve problems and reimagine the world we want to live in and leave for future generations.” — Prachi Taneja, Senior Product Designer, Connected Network, Design & Research
However the next year of product design shapes up, we wish you a successful and fulfilling 2024. Would you like to contribute your prediction? Feel free to leave a comment! Next, we discuss how tech can open up a more inclusive future.
