I am a product designer. I design products thinking about how the person that will use them will experience those products. I could have chosen different paths but this is what I love to do…and here are a few reasons why:
It is a service for others
The design process, the creation of the product, what features it should have, how it should behave…it all comes down to serving others. It is a service. I don’t do it thinking about me. I do it thinking about others, about how their lives will improve and consequently how the world around them will be changed.
"The design process, the creation of the product and how it should behave - it all comes down to serving others."
It is a constant exercise in empathy
The design is only good when I succeed in placing myself in the shoes of the person who will use the product. I think about the context in which this person will use the product. I ask myself questions such as, ‘Is the user multitasking when using the product?’ or, ‘Is the user in a rush?’ or, ‘Does the user trust this transaction or feel safe in this interaction?’.
I try to understand the user’s feelings, asking questions such as, ‘Is the user overwhelmed?’ or, ‘Is the user anxious?’.
"To get into the user’s mindset I do a lot of user research, observing users in different contexts and having 1-1 conversations with them. I need user research to put myself in their shoes. User research helps me to generate empathy, and empathy helps me to create better product experiences for students."
It is exciting work
There is no better feeling than to fill a white canvas with great design solutions to a challenge. When I think about design, I think about solving problems. I love to get a blank sheet of paper and try out a bunch of different solutions to see what sticks. I start wireframing, drawing lines, boxes, buttons, containers and imagining how the interaction of the user with that product will be. It feels great! It is fun, creative and stimulating work. Good for the soul.
"When I think about design, I think about solving problems."
It is a team endeavour
"I don’t design in a vacuum."
I receive feedback from engineers, product managers and other designers. Most of all, I receive feedback from those who will be using the product through user research and usability studies. Receiving feedback, recognising others can contribute to building something even better than what I imagined is awesome. I get to improve on my original idea through teamwork. In other words, feedback makes me a better designer because what I design gets better through feedback and iterations.
It requires discipline
Discipline does not sound like fun. It usually isn’t. But when I am designing, it is very much a central aspect of it, specially when it comes to making the design simple. Being disciplined with the design and its objectives allows me to say ‘no’ to features and functionality that would generate a complex interaction between the user and the product.
"My goal is to always have a simple, frictionless interaction, and that only comes into being through steady discipline."
It allows for user delight
The sense of joy upon seeing a person using a product you designed is incredible. Even more incredible is hearing their visceral responses such as a “Wow” or, “This is cool” or, “Is this out yet? Can I use it? It will help me so much”… Hearing such words make all the hard work, the hours of ideation, mocking, wireframing, doing user research and pushing pixels seem… well, freakin’ worth it!
The work is never finished
The world is constantly changing because of our choices. We are creating, building and making choices that shape the world we live in. It’s what makes us human. A lot of these choices are design choices, and they are super important. That is why I want to take an active part in this never ending process of change. My role is to impact the endless ongoing process of creating, of bringing design, order and beauty to the world.
"Creating remarkable products is the way I've found to contribute to a better world."
In the grand scheme of things, I design because I want to make the world a better place. Creating remarkable products is the way I've found to contribute to a better world. And that is why I design.
This article was originally published on Diego's Medium page.
