A Guide To Digital Product Design ( Process, Principles & Best Tips)

Digital products are everywhere, from apps and websites to online courses and digital tools. It seems like there's a product out there for every problem. But have you ever tried to create a digital product? The process can be overwhelming. One of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to design the product. This is where digital product design comes in. In this blog, we'll walk through the product design process for digital products. 

With this insight, you'll be better equipped to tackle the design of your own digital product. NUMI's approach to product design will help you create your own digital product design. 

What Is Digital Product Design?

Digital product design revolves around crafting user-centric digital products that are functional and visually appealing. This process zeroes in on enhancing the overall user experience. Strong digital products make users feel safe and happy, and designers accomplish that by:

• Understanding user needs
• Cafting intuitive interfaces
• Ensuring seamless interactions

The scope of digital product design spans:

• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Software platforms
• Other digital interfaces

Why Digital Product Design Matters for Business

Good design is good business. Strong design enhances user satisfaction and can lead to substantial financial benefits. For instance, research shows that every dollar spent on UX design can yield a return of $100—an impressive ROI that reflects how valuable effective design can be to a business's bottom line. 

Companies that invest in robust design practices often experience twice as fast growth as their counterparts. By focusing on design, businesses meet and anticipate user needs, fostering loyalty and gaining a competitive edge. Digital product design, therefore, is more than creating an attractive product—it’s about building valuable, sustainable user relationships that drive long-term success.

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The Digital Product Design Process

The Product Vision: Where It All Begins

The product vision isn’t just that first idea, the hastily doodled concept, the brainwave that strikes in the middle of the night. It’s the clear outlines of what you’re building, so everyone working on it understands what they’re working towards. 

By outlining the product vision at the earliest possible stage of the product design process, everyone understands their role, preventing inefficient back-and-forths and the dreaded, resource-draining mission creep. Your ‘vision’ is best served by knowing, from the outset, which users you’re targeting, what they want, and why your solution answers all their problems.

Product Research: Know Your Market

You need to understand where your product fits into the market. What’s the USP that makes your design better than the rest? What needs can you serve that others don’t, can’t, or won’t? It’s impossible to know if the juice is worth the squeeze without understanding the current market and the space your competitors occupy. 

Product research is essential to prevent wasting time and resources on an unviable idea. That doesn’t just mean reviewing rival apps and sites. You’ll also want to discover what users think (and need) because that data will help you create and refine the right product for your audience. Interviews, field studies, and surveys are all excellent ways to obtain this valuable information.

Analysis: Turning Data Into Action

Armed with your product design data, the next step is to analyze it to make it actionable. One effective way to visualize that information is through user personas. Think of a user persona as a broad-stroke picture of your average users—from demographics to socio-economic status. So, for instance, your website might skew towards older users. That means your designs must account for font sizing and clear calls to action. 

Personas can help you understand what your product needs to look like and how it functions to appeal to the right users. Be honest when creating your personas. Hard, relevant data should inform what real users want – not what you want them to enjoy. Your product will be more robust this way. Empathy maps are also helpful. These help you see what users say, think, and feel about your product compared to your competitors. You can then adapt your design as necessary. 

Visualization and Ideation of Digital Products

Keep hold of all that data. You’ll need it – not just to aid the direction of your design but to keep the process on track. User journey mapping is an excellent technique for doing this. It lets you see the user flow – how they interact with your website or app. Every action a user takes tells you a little bit more about how they use your product so you can build an even more engaging experience. 

Another method is creating user stories (user story mapping). Popular among agile businesses, these add context to your product from the user’s point of view. User stories are quick, simple pieces that detail the user, the intended action, and their expectations.

Designing the Product Properly

This is where the fun begins. After all that essential research, your team can now start creating something tangible that appeals to users. It’s best to begin with design specs so designers can build low-fidelity wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes correctly targeted to the right users.

Testing and Validating Concepts

Once you have a high-fidelity concept in place—one that looks and functions just like the real thing—it’s time to see what users really think. This is the stage in the product design process where you evaluate the accuracy of your (data-driven) assumptions through usability testing, which gives highly targeted users controlled access to the product, and guerilla testing, which runs across a larger cross-section of the market.

After The Launch

The product is released – finally. But the product design process doesn’t stop there. Digital products can’t stand still. The market is too fast-paced, the user base is too demanding for that. Think how radically your favorite website has evolved over the years – altering to meet modern user needs. 

With your own product, establish tangible metrics for success, such as the number of downloads or time on the page. Then, feedback will be collected from the most relevant users. Continue refining the product through A/B testing to boost future iterations. 

Elevate Your Startup's Design with NUMI

NUMI is a framer web design agency that produces world-class framer developers and product designers. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles all of your startup's sourcing/vetting/hiring needs for design. Our fabulous design team ensures all your design work is done well.

NUMI helps with:

• Product design
• Web design
• Framer development
• Webflow development
• Mobile design
• Prototyping
• UX design
• All of your startup's design needs
  

Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today. Schedule a call with us today to learn more! 

6 Principles of Digital Product Design

1. User-Centricity: Designing with the User in Mind

Digital product design today prioritizes user-centricity. The primary goal is to improve customers' lives, and the best way to accomplish that is to create products that solve users' problems. Understanding the potential audience and their needs is fundamental for success. User feedback helps designers identify what these users seek, so it should always be addressed. 

2. Collaboration and Communication: Working Together Smoothly

Clear communication and collaboration within the team structure are vital for successful digital product design. Most digital products involve a team of people with different opinions and priorities. Product designers usually work with teams from both the client and development sides. 

That's a lot of people, and everyone can have different views on how the product should look. Therefore, clear communication is vital at every stage of product design. Achieving a smooth flow of information can be challenging, but if you succeed, the process becomes simpler and more enjoyable. 

3. User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX Design): Prioritizing the User’s Needs

Designing a user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) that perfectly addresses users’ needs is a significant challenge. Still, it can make a huge difference in how your customers view your product. 

The Importance of Intuitive Design

UX/UI is important; it’s essential for creating a product or service that users will enjoy and want to return to. One of the primary goals of UX/UI design is to create an intuitive digital experience. Users get quickly frustrated if they need help finding what they want, so designing a smooth, easy-to-use expertise is crucial. By considering the needs of the target audience, including those with disabilities, you can create a product that is accessible to everyone. 

User-Centered Design and Prototyping

By understanding differences in people’s needs, you can create a design suitable for all users. UX prototyping is an essential step in the UX/UI design process. It allows designers to test and refine their ideas, ensuring the final product meets users' needs. A well-prepared UX prototype lets designers and researchers test the product in different areas such as:

• Ease of use
• Visual appeal
• Function

When creating a prototype, it's essential to consider users’ goals and behaviors, ensuring that the final product will meet their needs. 

Designing for Everyone

Accessibility design is another critical aspect of UX/UI design. It ensures that people with disabilities can use your product as well as those without disabilities. Many accessibility features can be included in your design, such as:

• Text-to-speech
• Closed captioning
• High contrast mode
• Text size scaling
• Alternative input methods

By including these features, you can create a product that is accessible to everyone. 

The Value of UX/UI Design Services

Investing in UX/UI design services is an excellent way to improve your product's usability and appeal. Creating an intuitive digital experience can increase user satisfaction and retention rates. By considering accessibility design and UX prototyping, you can create a product suitable for users, regardless of their abilities or preferences. ROI needs to be mentioned for UX design. 

The High ROI of UX Design

According to this research, every $1 invested in UX equals a $100 return on investment. Why is the ROI so high? Below are some reasons why UX is worth the investment. Investing in UX design can reduce customer support costs. A well-designed user interface and straightforward navigation can minimize user confusion and frustration, resulting in fewer support inquiries and lower customer service expenses. This translates into cost savings for the business. 

A positive user experience can increase conversion rates and sales. When users find a website or app visually appealing, easy to navigate, and tailored to their needs, they are more likely to complete the desired actions, such as purchasing or filling out a form. By optimizing the user experience, businesses can improve their conversion rates and generate more revenue.

4. Value Before Features: Prioritizing What Matters

A significant principle of digital product design is to consider value before features. This means that value is more important than the number of features, which can sometimes distract users from the product's core values. Customers usually do not like to and do not use all of a product’s features, so it is important to understand that a high number of features does not necessarily bring more value. 

Designers should be able to answer the question: what is the main reason for someone to use the product, and what problems does using the product solve? The answer should provoke a focus on delivering value. The final product should make users’ lives easier and maybe even fuller. 

5. Data-Driven Decisions: Relying on Hard Evidence

Digital product design centers around data-driven decision-making. Thorough research is crucial to base your ideas on. You should rely on gathered data and market analysis instead of intuition. Research shows that it is widespread for us to use mental shortcuts to make decisions. This frequently occurs when information is absent or from the plain laziness of the human brain, which happens without conscious knowledge. 

Although creativity is always valuable, it is essential to base fundamental design decisions on user research or design principles. This gives a broader view of how potential users perceive and respond to the product. How do you make real data-driven decisions? By knowing data-driven design rules. Our designers explained in the above article how to define goals and metrics properly to achieve the best results with your product.

6. Simplicity: Reducing Complexity for Users

The last but certainly not least pillar of digital product design is simplicity. One of the main goals of the design process should be to create a simple and smooth user experience. Digital experiences can unintentionally frustrate users when they stumble upon unnecessary obstacles. 

An obstacle can be, for example, providing too many choices, which increases the cognitive load that should be avoidable. That is why simplicity is key to creating an approachable user experience. There are many design principles, and let’s list some of them: A user should be given:

• Clear and intuitive navigation
• Short loading time
• Aesthetically pleasing design 

Perceived functionality, enough contrast between elements, good hierarchy and visual differentiation, the right level of complexity, and no dead ends. 

It should be enough to ensure that a user can smoothly navigate the product from A to Z. Not taking enough care of what is listed above can result in users leaving the product or, worse, choosing a competitor's alternative. That being said, simple and intuitive UX is what users need to reach their goals and have a positive experience with the digital product.

Design Thinking In Digital Product Design

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate people's needs, technology's possibilities, and business success requirements. In digital product design, design thinking offers a structured framework for understanding and pursuing innovation in ways that contribute to organic growth and add real value to your audience. 

Empathize: Get Inside Your Users' Heads

The first step of the design thinking process is to empathize. This means deeply understanding your users' needs and challenges. User research is critical in digital product design. Before tackling a digital product, immerse yourself in your users' environment. Gain meaningful insights to guide your design process by conducting:

• Interviews
• Surveys
• Observations

Define: Clearly Articulate the Problem You're Solving

Articulate the problem you're tackling. This clarity guides the design process and sets the stage for devising practical solutions. For example, if your research indicates that users need help to locate key information in an existing digital product, your goal might be to create a more intuitive navigation structure. 

Ideate: Foster a Collaborative Brainstorming Environment

At this stage, foster an environment that encourages brainstorming and the generation of diverse ideas. In digital product design, all ideas are welcome, regardless of how unconventional or simplistic they may seem. 

Prototype: Create Testable Models of Your Ideas

Develop preliminary models or mockups to visualize your ideas and facilitate rapid testing and iteration. In digital product design, prototyping can be done quickly using wireframing tools to create skeletal versions of your product or mockups to visualize style and functionality. 

Test: Collect Feedback from Real Users

Engage users with your prototypes to collect feedback. This cyclical stage is critical for refining your designs based on real-world input. 

Iterate: Use Feedback to Improve Your Design

Use the feedback to revisit and refine your ideas. Continue this process until you achieve the most optimal solution. Adopting design thinking positions you to create digital products that genuinely address user needs and foster innovation.

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5 Digital Product Design Best Practices

1. Visual and Functional Consistency: A Key Best Practice for Digital Product Design

Visual and functional consistency is crucial for effective digital product design. 

• Users appreciate familiarity
• Consistent elements across a product’s pages
• Features deliver a cohesive experience

Consistency in design helps users feel comfortable using a product and allows them to accomplish tasks efficiently. When users interface with a digital product, they shouldn’t notice the transition between pages, features, or even a different product version on another device. 

Effective design prioritizes usability and functionality over visual aesthetics, so even if a product has a stunning visual design, any inconsistencies in the user interface (UI) can be jarring and negatively impact the user experience (UX). You can start by establishing design systems and guidelines to create a consistent digital product. These can include:

• Style guides
• UI kits
• Component libraries

2. Simplified Navigation: An Essential Component of Effective Digital Products

Simplified navigation is a critical component of digital product design. No one wants to use a digital product that is hard to navigate, and neither do your users. A study by the Nielsen Norman Group found that 86% of users want to complete their tasks quickly when using a website or application. 

Clear, well-organized menus, logical information architecture, and easily accessible controls create a positive user experience. Users should be able to navigate through the product with minimal effort. To create simplified navigation, organize your product’s features and information to understand how they relate. 

• From there, you can create a hierarchy informing your navigation system. 
• Build out your menus, including a detailed list of subcategories, to ensure they are clear and logical. 
• Test your navigation with real users to identify potential issues before launching your product.

3. Regular Usability Testing: The Key To Understanding User Needs

No matter how experienced you are as a designer, you can only partially design a digital product for yourself. Instead, you must focus on understanding your users' needs to deliver a product that meets their expectations. The best way to do this is through regular usability testing with real users throughout the design process. 

Before launching, you should conduct multiple rounds of usability testing to help you identify and fix potential issues with your digital product. During usability tests, you’ll gather feedback on the product’s functionality, navigation, and overall user experience. You can then iteratively refine your design based on the insights gained from testing to ensure your final product is user-friendly.

4. Collaboration and Communication: Building a Better Digital Product

Digital product design requires the input of a variety of stakeholders, including designers, developers, product managers, and end users. To build a better digital product, fostering a culture of collaboration and communication among all parties involved is essential. This includes:

• Setting up regular meetings to align goals
• Share insights
• Ensure a cohesive approach throughout the product development life cycle

The collaborative design also promotes the involvement of end users to gather feedback during the usability testing phase and ensure the product meets their needs. 

5. Stay Updated on Design Trends: A Best Practice for Digital Product Design

Like any other field, digital product design is constantly evolving. New technologies emerge, user preferences change, and design trends come and go. While it’s essential to prioritize timeless design principles, staying informed about current design trends can inspire fresh ideas and ensure the product remains relevant in the dynamic digital landscape.

Subscribe To A Guild of World Class Framer Developers with Our Framer Web Design Agency Today

NUMI is a framer web design agency that produces world-class framer developers and product designers. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles all of your startup's sourcing/vetting/hiring needs for design. Our fabulous design team ensures all your design work is done well.

NUMI helps with:

• Product design
• Web design
• Framer development
• Webflow development
• Mobile design
• Prototyping
• UX design
• All of your startup's design needs
  

Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today. Schedule a call with us today to learn more! 

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