The Hard Truths About Great Product Design

Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of product teams—brilliant, driven people trying to build something great. But even the best teams fall into the same common traps.

?? Some were so convinced a feature was essential that they built it before gathering real user feedback.

?? Some moved so fast—constantly shifting priorities—that features got shipped, but critical edge cases were left unresolved.

?? Some were so deep in their own product that they lost sight of who their users actually were.?

?? Some didn’t have a clear sense of their biggest product pain points—so they weren’t sure what to fix first.

After 15 years of designing and shipping products, I’ve seen these mistakes play out time and time again. Some are obvious. But others? The kind of non-obvious truths that separate great products from those that never quite work.

Why Good Products Fail (And How to Avoid It)

1. Prioritizing Aesthetics Over Clarity

A beautiful UI means nothing if users are confused. Too many teams obsess over pixel-perfect designs, flashy animations, and trendy design systems—before even testing whether their product is intuitive, easy to navigate, and actually helps users accomplish their goals.

?? Non-Obvious Truth: A well-designed product doesn’t require a tutorial. If you have to explain how to use it, you’ve already lost.

Even the most visually stunning product will fail if it’s not designed around real use cases and jobs-to-be-done. The best products feel intuitive because they are built with a deep understanding of their users—what they need, how they think, and where they get stuck. Investing in user personas and real-world testing ensures design decisions are anchored in actual user behavior, not just aesthetics.

2. Ignoring the Edge Cases

It’s easy to build for the ideal user—the one who follows instructions perfectly and never makes mistakes. But real users? They forget passwords, misclick, ignore guidance, and rage-quit when they hit friction.

?? Non-Obvious Truth: The difference between a frustrating product and a delightful one is how well it handles failure. Every edge case is an opportunity to build trust.

Most teams design for the best-case scenario (aka the happy path) and overlook the messy reality of how users actually interact with their product. The result? Silent failures, lost conversions, and user frustration that never gets addressed.

Great products anticipate where users get stuck—and actively remove those roadblocks.

?? Where do users drop off? Watch session replays, track rage clicks, and dig into analytics to find friction points.

?? Where do users get frustrated? Set up error logging, collect support tickets, and review real user feedback to identify pain points.

?? What happens when things go wrong? Thoughtful empty states, clear error messages, and recovery paths (undo, autosave, smart defaults) turn a bad experience into a manageable one.

Users don’t quit because something went wrong. They quit because they weren’t given a way forward. Teams that obsess over edge cases, failure states, and fallback experiences build products that feel effortless—even when things don’t go as planned.

3. Mistaking Features for Progress

More features don’t make a product better. In fact, they often make it worse—more complex, harder to navigate, and less intuitive. The best products don’t win by doing more; they win by doing the right things exceptionally well.

?? Non-Obvious Truth: The best products don’t have the most features. They have the fewest necessary features.

That said, some of the best products do have a lot of features—but they’re obsessive about what stays and what goes. Every feature is continuously scrutinized: Does this add meaningful value, or is it just adding complexity?

The Questions Great Teams Ask:

?? What’s adding the most value? What features are driving real engagement and actively solving user problems?

?? What’s rarely used? What features sit idle, confuse users, or overcomplicate the experience?

?? What’s getting in the way? What clutters the interface, slows workflows, or distracts from the core value?

? Example: Apple is known for relentlessly killing features—even successful ones—if they no longer align with their vision. Google, on the other hand, has a graveyard of half-baked products that linger before being axed.

A Culture of Pruning

Building a great product isn’t just about shipping new things—it’s about curating the right experience over time. The best teams audit, simplify, and remove unnecessary features to keep their products sharp, focused, and intuitive—even as they evolve.

4. Ignoring the First 5 Minutes

Users decide in seconds whether a product is worth their time. Yet, onboarding is often an afterthought—either too overwhelming (endless tooltips, forced tutorials) or too hands-off (leaving users lost, unsure where to start).

?? Non-Obvious Truth: Activation isn’t about teaching users everything—it’s about helping them feel successful as fast as possible.

Great onboarding isn’t just an introduction; it’s the first win a user experiences with your product. Companies with high retention rates don’t just explain features—they guide users toward value immediately.

What Effective Onboarding Looks Like:

• Minimizes Cognitive Load: Users shouldn’t feel like they’re taking a crash course—progress should feel natural, not forced.
• Focuses on Action Over Explanation: Let users interact with the product instead of making them sit through a tour.
• Personalizes the Experience: Contextual onboarding (progressive disclosure, personalized recommendations) keeps users engaged.
• Surfaces the “Aha Moment” Quickly: The faster users reach meaningful value, the higher the chance they stick around.

? Example: Duolingo doesn’t start by explaining its entire platform—it gets you into a simple language exercise immediately. You’re using the product before you even realize you’re onboarding.

Instead of asking, “How do we introduce our product?”, the best teams ask:

?? How quickly can users accomplish something meaningful?

?? What’s the smallest action that delivers real value?

?? Where do most users drop off, and why?

Great products don’t make users work to understand them—they make value obvious and effortless.

5. Overlooking the Power of Emotional Engagement

People like to think product decisions are rational. They’re not. Users don’t just evaluate a product based on what it does—they judge it based on how it makes them feel.

?? Non-Obvious Truth: Delight isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” It’s a growth strategy. Products that make people feel good get shared, retained, and loved.

This isn’t just about UI design—it’s about emotional design. Every interaction, from a well-crafted loading animation to a thoughtful cancellation flow, contributes to the emotional experience of your product.

The Hidden Emotional Levers of Great Products

• Loading States That Feel Fast & Reassuring → A progress bar with playful microcopy reduces frustration.
• Error Messages That Guide, Not Blame → A clear, empathetic message (“Oops! That didn’t work, but here’s how to fix it”) lowers frustration.
• Celebrating Small Wins → A subtle success animation after completing a task reinforces positive engagement.
• Cancellation Flows That Show You Care → Offering a pause option instead of an immediate cancellation can reduce churn.

? Example: Headspace transforms meditation—something that can feel intimidating or difficult—into an inviting, accessible experience. Through calming animations, playful illustrations, light music, and a friendly, conversational tone, the app reduces anxiety and helps users feel at ease.

Designing with Emotion in Mind

Next time you’re refining your product, ask yourself:

?? Where might a user feel friction, frustration, or doubt?

?? What emotions do we want users to feel at each touchpoint?

?? Are we making users feel successful and in control—or frustrated and lost?

People don’t just use great products—they feel connected to them. And that’s what keeps them coming back.

Final Thought: Great Products Are Built With Restraint

Great products aren’t built by doing more. They’re built by doing the right things, exceptionally well.

?? They prioritize clarity over aesthetics.

?? They anticipate failure instead of only designing for success.

?? They refine, prune, and simplify instead of bloating with features.

?? They focus on helping users feel successful—fast.

?? And they don’t just function—they connect emotionally.

Simplicity. Clarity. Emotion. These aren’t just buzzwords. They’re what separate forgettable products from the ones people love.

What’s the biggest non-obvious truth you’ve learned about designing great digital products?