Today, product design is an essential pillar of the digital economy. Indeed, the quality of the user experience can indeed make the difference between the failure and success of a digital product. It must be said that this discipline goes far beyond the simple design of the user interface of a product: product design follows the product throughout its life cycle. Thus, all aspects are taken into account, from user research to business strategy orientation, in order to design a product that can really meet the needs of users. And this by achieving the business objectives set. Product design has therefore become a must and we offer you in this article to discover why and how product design can help you too to strive for excellence and relevance, in an increasingly saturated market.
Located between business, user experience, technology and marketing, product design has a global and strategic vision of the product. Thus, it is therefore not limited to a single aspect of the latter, but to it as a whole, in order to ensure that each decision made responds not only to the real needs of the users, but also to the objectives of the company. This ensures the consistency of the product, but also its performance and lifespan, while allowing it to stand out in the market.
The definition of product design is simple. It is a discipline consisting of designing a digital product, whether it is a website, an application or software, by placing the user at the center of his approach, without forgetting the challenges as well as the technical and commercial constraints. It is therefore a matter of building the best possible user experience, based on the methodologies of what is called design thinking, in order to design a product from A to Z. It can therefore be said that product design goes far beyond simple work on appearance or ergonomics, since it is a complete approach aimed at creating useful, usable and desirable products.
If UX design focuses on the user experience and UI design on the visual interface, product design addresses the product as a whole. And this by being user-centered, without neglecting the business side, which is also highlighted. Thus, it is not simply a question of graphics or engineering choices, but a complete methodology, which takes into account both product strategy, user research, prototyping, usability tests, but also continuous iteration. In short, product design is an approach that is concerned with both customer appeal and product effectiveness, taking into account commercial needs and identifying user problems. This, in order to develop relevant solutions. Did you know? Product design can also concern services, and therefore does not stop at products and interfaces. Thus, the design of a customer journey in a bank or the user experience regarding a delivery service or customer service can also be a product design. This approach makes it possible to optimize each point of contact, physical or digital, for a quality experience.
Product design contributes, on the one hand, to strengthening the identity of the company, increasing its sales and improving its position on the market. But that's not all. Indeed, product design also brings its share of advantages to companies, namely: Reduce development costs Early identification of problems, which avoids sometimes expensive corrections in the future. Prioritizing really useful features, which limits the waste of resources. An MVP approach, or Minimum Viable Product, to test hypotheses quickly and with minimal investment.
A methodology that promotes shorter development cycles.
Decision-making processes based on concrete data, which greatly limits the back and forth.
Rapid prototyping, allowing the validation of concepts before further development.
A design based on the needs of real and verified Internet users. Regular tests to ensure the adequacy between the product and the expectations of users. The implementation of continuous improvement based on concrete feedback.
You should know that the product design process is not linear, but iterative. Indeed, each phase will influence and feed the others in a cycle of continuous improvement. And this process can be broken down into several steps, each as important as the other.
The first step is an in-depth understanding of the needs and expectations of users. Indeed, as the adage in design says: "a well-defined problem is half solved". Here, several research methods can be used:
Interviews: these are discussions with target users, in order to understand their behavior, but also their motivations and possible problems.
Contextual observation: here, it is simply the observation of the users' point of view in their actual environment of use. Competitive benchmarking: it is the analysis of existing solutions on the market as well as the identification of related opportunities.
Data analysis: it is the exploitation of Analytics data, making it possible to identify behavioral models, but above all points of friction.
Once the problems have been identified, it is then the creative phase that begins with the generation of solutions. This makes it possible to quickly materialize ideas and confront them with the reality of users, through:
Design sprint: a methodology structured over just a few days to move from the idea to the tested prototype quickly.
Ideation workshops: sessions involving the various stakeholders to generate as many ideas as possible.
The creation of wireframes: schematic representations of screens and interactions.
Prototyping: the development of a simplified but complete version of the product.
User tests: the evaluation of prototypes made by real people.
After the launch of the product, new stages of the product design process begin: The definition of KPIs, key performance indicators to measure product success Continuous analysis of usage data via Analytics tools. The collection of user feedback. Work on iterations allowing a gradual improvement of the product. An evolutionary roadmap that the product designer creates in order to plan future developments.
✓ Research: identify the real needs of your audience
✓ Ideation: generate creative solutions to the identified problem.
✓ Prototyping: materialize ideas in a testable form.
✓ Test: compare prototypes to real users.
✓ Iteration: continuously improve based on feedback.
Product design and UX design, as well as UI design, are three totally different concepts. Indeed, UX design focuses on the overall user experience and UI design works rather on the visual and interactive aspect of an interface. For his part, the product designer sees the product as a whole in order to adapt it to the real needs of prospects and customers, as well as business, using various tools.
In an increasingly competitive digital environment, the product designer brings considerable strategic value, especially for startups and growth companies that need to optimize their resources while maximizing their impact on the market.
The product designer is the one who transforms the strategic vision of the product into a concrete, fluid and coherent user experience. Thus, a product design agency creates innovative solutions and ensures the alignment between user expectations, business objectives and technical constraints. Thanks to his global vision, he works closely with the product design, tech, UX/UI and marketing teams to ensure the relevance, desirability and viability of the product, at each stage of its co-design, and up to its promotion on social networks.
There are some cases for which the introduction and intervention of a product designer is decisive: Misdesigned MVP: Refocus on essential features to demonstrate the value of the product. Product too tech-centric: rebalancing in favor of user experience. Retention issues: Identification and correction of friction points to improve engagement. Insufficient conversion: optimization of the onboarding path or conversion tunnel. Difficult alignment between teams: facilitating collaboration through a transversal vision Good to know: A product designer acts as a conductor between UX, business and technique, thus ensuring the organization, consistency and relevance of the digital product.
Product design goes far beyond aesthetics. Indeed, it shapes the overall experience of your users and thus accelerates the growth of your company. By placing the user at the center, it promotes innovation, the coherence of paths and the relevance of decisions. All while strengthening the differentiation, adaptability and added value of your offer in an already very competitive market
Retention rate: A well-designed product naturally retains its users, with gains of 15 to 25% depending on the sector. Conversion rate: A fluid and intuitive journey can double or even triple conversion rates. Customer acquisition cost: A product that really meets the needs generates more recommendations and reduces acquisition costs. Customer lifetime value: Satisfied users stay longer and spend more, increasing long-term value. Reduced support costs: An intuitive product reduces support requests, reducing the burden on support teams.
A personal finance management startup has seen its users massively abandon the application because of too complex onboarding. In order to remedy this, a product designer has rethought the course with a minimum configuration at the start, gradually completed, and visible benefits at each stage. Thus, three months later, the abandonment rate fell from 78% to 23%, 30-day retention quadrupled, and user recommendations jumped by 250%.
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