Nowadays, the success of an IT product largely depends on its functionality and design. High-quality UX/UI design can improve usability, retain users, and distinguish a product from competitors. Companies engaged in digital product development services pay special attention to aesthetics, ergonomics, and intuitiveness of the interface, as this directly affects customer engagement and satisfaction. One of the striking examples of a professional approach to the development and design of IT products is Kindgeek, a company that helps startups and businesses create successful digital solutions.
What Is Product Design?
Product design is a process that combines the interests of users and businesses to create successful products. Products emerge at the intersection of these interests.
A product has three main qualities:
- It does work for the user, that is, it solves some of his problems. For example, ordering a taxi, transferring funds, choosing clothes for a holiday, etc.
- The product develops and transforms. It constantly goes through cycles of improvements, during which its functions and design change.
- It has a financial component, that is, it allows its creators to earn money on it.
Examples of a product can be an app for ordering a taxi, a service for choosing clothes or streaming. They do work for the user: they help move from point A to point B, send funds, choose clothes for a holiday, or something else. New features can regularly appear in it, the arrangement of elements and the design change. And thanks to the fact that the user works with it, its creators make a profit.
IT product design is one of the main tools that helps companies differentiate themselves from competitors, attract users, and achieve business goals. Thoughtful and modern design not only forms the company’s image among customers but also provides a positive user experience, making it more comfortable.
The Impact of Product Design on the Success of an IT Product
Today, more and more companies are going online: creating websites, online stores, and mobile applications. In a highly competitive environment, it is no longer enough for a business to simply offer a beautiful product or service. To compete for customers’ attention, you need to use other methods, such as focusing on convenient and functional IT products.
Here’s why product design is important in the development of IT products:
- It helps to differentiate from competitors. High-quality design makes a company stand out from its competitors and shapes the company’s image among customers.
- It attracts attention. A company has only a few seconds to capture the customer’s attention. A beautiful shell is likely to make them stay and study the product more deeply, while an outdated or repulsive product design will make them go to competitors.
- It increases conversion and profit. A more convenient and well-thought-out product interface simplifies the user’s life. As a result, customers make a purchase more often, return to the service, and recommend it to their friends. All this leads to higher financial performance of the company.
- It takes into account the characteristics and needs of customers. A competent design of an IT product allows developers to take into account the characteristics of the target audience and, as a result, increase business profits. For example, IT products aimed at the “zoomer” generation can use short video formats and game mechanics popular among such users. And in products for older generations, clear descriptions without unnecessary effects may work better.
- Perhaps one of the main advantages of product design for companies is the ability to accurately calculate the effectiveness of their actions. Knowing what changes in the product bring results, a business can influence key indicators: revenue, number of users, and others. For example, in an application, you can collect fairly detailed information about user behavior: accurately calculate what color button they click more often, and leave the color that gives more conversion.
Over the past 10-15 years, product design has grown rapidly. The impetus for its development was smartphones with touchscreens, as a result of which service applications from banks, stores, and mobile operators began to appear.
The development of digital product design was also facilitated by many industrial changes – the development of digital services, the emergence of AI and design programs.
IT Product Design: Development Stages
It may seem that design in IT is simply creating a beautiful interface. But in fact, the IT product design process includes several stages:
Stage 1. Research
- Here, the customer’s requirements are collected.
- The team studies the needs of users and their behavior within the product.
- Specialists collect analytics, put forward product hypotheses, and set tasks for the design.
Stage 2. Design
- Then the team designs user path scenarios: in what situations and how exactly users interact with the product in each case.
- They create design layouts, work out the content, layout of elements, and the relationship of sections and pages.
- The design is checked for compliance with the original tasks and feasibility. Developers are involved in assessing feasibility: they look at the design and report whether it is possible to implement it on a specific project and platform.
Stage 3. Development
- The developers create the product, taking into account the requirements provided by the designer.
Stage 4. Design review
- The product is sent to a designer who checks that the received design matches the original layouts.
Stage 5. Testing (QA)
- Once developed and approved, the product goes to the QA stage. During testing, the product is checked to ensure that it works as planned, and that possible errors, bugs, and inconsistencies are identified.
Final Thoughts
Design is not just an aesthetic component, but one of the most important factors determining the success of an IT product. Well-thought-out user interaction, an attractive interface and convenient navigation contribute to user engagement and increase their satisfaction. Companies offering product development solutions with design elaboration, such as Kindgeek, help businesses create high-quality solutions that meet the expectations of the modern market. By implementing advanced design methods, you can not only increase customer loyalty but also improve the overall efficiency of the product, making it popular and successful.
