If you think of a professional offering product design services, you might imagine an artist sitting at a desk, sketching what your idea can look like to the world. He or she might start building various 3D models to better demonstrate it, then tinker with how that looks, too.
While these are essential aspects of designing products, one shouldn’t think that an artist is all product designers can be.
Problem Solvers
There’s more to the job than aesthetics. On the most basic level, product designers are also problem solvers – the people who can listen to your concepts and goals, then help you work out how to bridge these and turn your idea into something buyers will like.
That’s not to say ideas come often with problems; they just have to be refined so they stand up to market tests and demands. What unique purpose will the product you’ve thought of serve? How useful will it be? What can you do to make it easier to use – and how would people use it, if they want to use it at all?
Product designers help you identify tests like these, then try out different approaches to make sure your product passes them. They determine and develop your idea’s selling points.
Creators of Convenience and Cool
Nowadays, selling points would usually have two words attached to them: “convenient” and “cool.” That doesn’t necessarily mean product design services will help you attach bells and whistles to a ground-breaking product (though they can certainly make it more appealing).
The truly “cool” innovations – the ones that impress – often deliver the simplest yet not-so-obvious solutions to improve everyday situations. Think of small but useful items like desk cord organizers that minimize clutter or satchels than turn into seats, making the bag doubly useful; it’s flashy AND makes activities easier for their owners.
You may have thought of items like these, but it’s a product designer who can help you fine-tune it into something that works and can be manufactured for a competitive cost.
Savvy Marketers
In a way, product designers are also savvy marketers. This is not so much because they’re good at the act of selling a product (the way salespersons are) but because they can reach out to target markets, tap into what potential customers want and need, and develop products in such a way that they answer to these.
A product designer wears these many hats and more. Learn more about how you can make use of their expertise and contact specialists in product design services like DesignStein Studios today.
Sources:
Lecture 1: What is Product Design? Medium.com
The 4 Key Principles of Modern Product Design, HuffingtonPost.com