What inspires your product design work?

Curiosity. I’m always downloading new apps, trying new products. I love seeing how different apps onboard users. There’s so much inspiration to draw from real products rather than resource hubs such as Instagram or dribbble.

A key inspiration for me always has been in developing products that somehow makes life easier for an individual or business. I work in the OTT space and coming up with features that either excite or make life easy for end users has always been key! It’s not just about targeting a specific segment but taking a holistic view of all end users and their age groups. For example, a feature that makes things easier for teenagers can actually be hard to use for elder generations and people with disabilities. Inclusion plays a big part is being able to decide what will and will not meet the needs of a wider audience.

My inspiration for Product Design is the end user experience and the collaboration with my clients through the process. Using my skill set as a foundation to design the product, and incorporating the end users pain points, perspectives and own inspiration, helps me creative and innovative the product to expectations and more.

Not only understanding user needs is important. But bringing them to life is critical to meet their targets. One thing I found quite helpful is put ourselves into their shoes. This is how we can solve problems and understand user needs.

I have found that users often are unaware of life hacks that they are already applying to their own products in their daily lives. By recognizing those hacks, we can create features in products or all new products that customers are needing, and looking for consciously or subconsciously already.

Lateral thinking, system thinking and obsession with efficiency may lead to innovation and new approaches, usually, allowing to connect multiple problems in different steps in a single solution providing a roadmap of intentional evolution with clear steps.

I believe that designers should always be up to speed, and even be overly obsessed with the new, and how consumers are viewing and accepting new trends and technologies.

Industry trends are a valuable wellspring of inspiration in product design. Staying attuned to the evolving landscape of your domain provides insights into what works and what doesn't. It's a reservoir of knowledge where you can draw from the experiences of other designers, learning from their triumphs and missteps. This knowledge empowers you to enhance your own products, ensuring they remain relevant, competitive, and prepared for the future. It's about harnessing the potential of emerging technologies and methodologies, creating designs that not only fit the current scene but also pioneer the future.

I strongly believe that one must be a committed individual with an urge to innovate and should be tuned to the customer needs with hands-on experience of converting the design into workable products & above all a unique eye for finish & aesthetics. Committed responsible individuals with a clear vision of the future.

I believe following current design trends and staying updated can provide inspiration. However, it's essential to balance trends with user-centered design principles

As noted by The panel, "Inspiration for product design is your own personal passions and interests. By pursuing your hobbies, learning new skills, or exploring new topics, you can find inspiration in unexpected places, and bring your unique perspective and style to your product design. Personal passions can inspire you to create products that are original, expressive, and meaningful, and that reflect your values and vision." We all must have our own passions that are outside of the industry we serve as well as inside it. When we bring our own perspective from life experiences, that is when a product transitions from being useful to being exciting.

I agree because some of the best ideas come through personal passions. You can always nail “you” compared to someone else’s thought processes. However, it’s important to be mindful of the extent to which you do it and always take feedback in at your earliest because at the end of the day you are creating something for a specific target customer. And well tastes differ.

Personal passions provide a deeply personal and authentic well of inspiration for product design. When you follow your interests and engage in hobbies, you not only expand your skillset but also find inspiration in the unlikeliest of corners. This allows you to infuse your designs with a unique perspective and style, making them stand out in a crowded market. Your personal passions can be the driving force behind products that are not just innovative but also meaningful, reflecting your values and vision, and connecting with users on a more profound level. It's about designing from the heart, creating products that resonate on a personal level.

I agree, as sometimes I've been inspired while doing one of my hobbies or even doing something during the day. I suddenly think about a problem I'd been working on differently, or it triggers a question I write down to make sure I recall it later for a discussion. Doing personal passions gives you the space to step away from something you've been working on for a while and think clearly after.

I get frustrated with some products out there, which in turn inspires me to create better solutions I guess ??. I believe your own experiences and frustrations with products can be a personal passion

Having a curious mind to constantly observe the nature and environment around us, focusing on every detail of each simple phenomenon or thing we pass by every day can enlighten our vision and feed our creative mind. If you really want to get inspired from everything, you should try this: - Do one thing at a time with all of your attention - Use all of your senses to deeply feel the objects you're dealing with - Observe it curiously - Smell it - Touch and feel its details and prominences - Be curious about details and the way it works - Be patient with the process

Nature and art serve as a boundless source of inspiration in product design. When we immerse ourselves in the beauty and diversity of the world, we can derive inspiration from the intricate shapes, vibrant colors, captivating patterns, and textures that surround us. This influence can breathe life into our designs, making them not only functional but also visually captivating. Nature and art provide the spark for products that exude aesthetics, harmony, and emotional resonance, turning everyday objects into works of art that evoke emotions and sensations, offering users a deeper connection with the world around them. It's about infusing creativity and soul into design, making the ordinary extraordinary.

I would follow your gut on color and shapes. As a designer, you should be able to see what excites you, and if you are aware of what is already in teh world and what trend forecasts are, then you should recognize tat if you are excited by a design, it is likely pulling from the collective information you have naturally, and you likely are onto something fresh and new.

Nature is a good way to understand form, function, and order. Look at the way a spider weaves its web, the way ants make their anthill, the way birds craft their nest. It's a harmonious balance you can unitize in design.

For me personally nature is one of the best places to find inspiration for your work, to disconnect from usual ways of finding references or ideas. It can be very to get out and just walk, look around and feel the world that surrounds you. Next time you go outside try and observe one thing, like a dog or a tree think about it. How it grows, how it changes, where does it come from?

Feedback and collaboration are invaluable wellsprings of inspiration in product design. They open the door to a wealth of insights and fresh perspectives from peers, mentors, and stakeholders. It's a dynamic process of give and take, a creative exchange that refines and validates design decisions. Through collaboration, products benefit from the collective wisdom and experiences of a diverse team. This interaction is the catalyst for designs that evolve, adapt, and improve, making them not just individual creations but collective achievements. It's about harnessing the power of teamwork to create products that resonate and excel in the real world.

don't make your ego blind you. take any and all feedbacks in considerations. sometimes the most stupid piece of feedback data can have dramatic effect on your product design improvement. each feedback and each individual collaboration is a valuable input for you regardless of how great that feedback was written

Take what makes you excited separate your emotions from the product and see how well it is received by your marketing and consumer tests. Then decide if it should move forward or not, based on your interpretation of the study, it is not up to the market experts , (they usually will overly like or dislike the product), but how they react that will inform you if an idea is good or not, and then you can adjust it as the designer to reach an ideal audience and goals.

I agree, as feedback and collaboration have also provided other product teams you work with a different way of thinking about a problem. Sometimes, we also realize our teams may be working to solve similar problems, just in a different way. The feedback snowballs into more opportunities for us to collaborate and find ways to validate how we're solving the problems and enhance our products to help make them more cohesive and holistic.

I agree and one must not be sucked into an infinite loop of overwhelming challenges also. It’s a journey that must be taken with a resilient spirit and that way all bumps on the road will always be taken as an opportunity to get better.

The challenge for me is what inspires my product design. As an experienced product designer, I found that the challenges and constraints involved allow me to think deeply about how to creatively design the simplest solution that meets the user needs and expectations. Challenges and constraints help me push the boundaries of what’s possible and come up with innovative design solutions. The more challenging, the excitement for me.

I’ve always been a student of Dieter Rams’ timeless principles. His work underscores two key tenets: functionality and the room for evolution. ??? How it Works: A product’s utility should always take precedence. Beautiful design devoid of purpose serves no one. Rams teaches us that good design is as little design as possible, putting function at the forefront. ?? Room for Growth: Design isn’t static; it evolves. We can’t possibly predict every use-case, which is why leaving room for adjustments is invaluable. ?? Balanced Approach: Melding function with an allowance for evolution creates products that not only serve immediate needs but adapt over time.

A sheltered designer is an unsuccessful one. It's important to stay in the know when it comes to society, technology, psychology, and relationships. With these factors in mind, they'll be able to grow and gain inspiration into future developments.

I remember when I took the course of Product Design at Delft. One of the things that also help good product design is exposure to how things work and your personal problem solving ability though association core principles of solution. It's how birds helped the design of the plane.

I find my inspiration in helping both users and businesses. Why do we make products? Simple—it's about finding solutions to user issues and making sure that, 95% of the time, the business is profitable. This motivates me to research how other product designers keep consumers satisfied, keep them from leaving, and spend less money acquiring new ones. Making intelligent products that benefit both people and businesses is the key.

I get inspired by - Looking At What Competitors Have Done To Source Inspiration. - Explore Various Sources for Design Trends and Ideas. - Embrace the “Think Different” Approach. - Leverage What You Already Have & Create Something New. - Focus On Simplicity & Usability.