product design
Making things usable
Product design is the process of creating new products or improving existing ones, encompassing function, aesthetics, usability, and manufacturability.
The term spans physical objects and digital interfaces: She studied product design at art school, The company's product design team focuses on user experience.
A product designer balances user needs, technical constraints, and business goals.
Ease of interaction quality
- user-friendlyEasy to operate
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- accessibilityEase of approach
- feedbackReturned response data
interaction · interface · navigation · onboarding · affordance · learnability · satisfaction · friction
Creating distinctive identity
- consumerOne who acquires goods
- packagingProtective product enclosure
- retailSales to end users
- positioningArranging in specific locations
differentiation · demographics · launch · pricing · unboxing · focus-group · segmentation
First functional specimen
- iterationRepeated procedural pass
- ideationForming mental concepts
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- inventionNew device or method
novelty · disruption · creativity · ingenuity · originality · concept · experimentation · R&D
Practical operational capacity
- practicalityQuality of being useful
- purposeReason something exists
- efficiencyProductive without waste
- utilityFunctional worth or purpose
performance · durability · reliability · effectiveness · mechanism · operation · modularity · stackability
Shape or document
- proportionComparative relation of parts
- symmetryInvariance under transformation
- colorVisual hue property
- textureSurface tactile quality
style · elegance · minimalism · beauty · sleekness · contour · palette · contrast
Raw stuff for creation
- toolingIndustrial machinery preparation
- CADTechnical drawing technology
- assemblyConstructing from components
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
sourcing · scalability · BOM · supplier · finishing · die-cutting · CNC · sustainability
Ease or soothing relief
- postureBody position, alignment
- adjustableAble to be changed
- gripSecure manual hold
- anthropometryScience of body measurements
biomechanics · supportive · handle · reach · fit · seated · standing
usability
Ease of interaction quality
- user-friendlyEasy to operate
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- accessibilityEase of approach
feedback · interaction · interface · navigation · onboarding · affordance · learnability · satisfaction · friction · touchpoint
branding
Creating distinctive identity
positioning · differentiation · demographics · launch · pricing · unboxing · focus-group · segmentation
prototype
First functional specimen
- iterationRepeated procedural pass
- ideationForming mental concepts
- breakthroughSudden important advance
invention · novelty · disruption · creativity · ingenuity · originality · concept · experimentation · R&D · patent
functionality
Practical operational capacity
- practicalityQuality of being useful
- purposeReason something exists
- efficiencyProductive without waste
utility · performance · durability · reliability · effectiveness · mechanism · operation · modularity · stackability · portability
form
Shape or document
- proportionComparative relation of parts
- symmetryInvariance under transformation
- colorVisual hue property
texture · style · elegance · minimalism · beauty · sleekness · contour · palette · contrast · finishing
materials
Raw stuff for creation
- toolingIndustrial machinery preparation
- CADTechnical drawing technology
- assemblyConstructing from components
tolerance · sourcing · scalability · BOM · supplier · finishing · die-cutting · CNC · sustainability
comfort
Ease or soothing relief
- postureBody position, alignment
- adjustableAble to be changed
- gripSecure manual hold
anthropometry · biomechanics · supportive · handle · reach · fit · seated · standing
- applied artsapplied arts, decorative arts, craftsmanship, furniture making, glassblowing
- creative fieldsillustration, animation, photography, art direction, motion graphics
- designfunctionality, emphasis, unity, typography, logos
- design fieldsarchitecture, color scheme
- Design HistoryArt Nouveau, Bauhaus, mid-century modern, Modernism, Postmodernism
- design artsapplied arts, decorative arts, craftsmanship, handicrafts, arts and crafts
product designdemolition
Deliberate structural destruction
disassembly · decommissioning · disposal · scrapping · dismantling
product designnatural formation
Landscape element from nature
random mutation · spontaneous generation · organic growth · emergence · evolution
product designinfrastructure development
Building essential shared systems
systems engineering · DevOps · mechanical engineering · electrical engineering
design, produce, product, designer, production, products, designing, producer, produced