3 steps to creating a successful product design strategy

Creating products is not always a simple process, and there will always be moments along the way where things don’t always go to plan. However, having a product design strategy can help make the process that little bit easier.

A product design strategy will help you to more clearly define the type of product that you’d like to create and will be the how and why behind the whole process.

So, we’ve highlighted some steps you can take to create a successful product design strategy.

Creating a successful product design strategy

1. Understand the problem and see the opportunity

In order to create a good product, you must first get into the head of your target audience and understand the problems that they face. Either generally as a target audience, or with a specific product.

This will be a crucial first step and will enable you to understand why someone would want to invest in your product idea.

There are some key questions to as yourself:

• Do you offer a solution to a problem that is not currently being solved?
• Do you offer an alternative solution to one already there?
• Will your product perform better than that of the competition?
• Will your product have features not currently seen on the market?
• Does your product provide a lower cost alternative to a solution that is already there?

Knowing how your product will serve your audience and knowing the purpose of your product in the market will be fundamental to the success of your product from the beginning. Without clearly knowing this, you will be going in with a basic idea of a product but with no real consideration to where it will fit in the market and whether it will be a viable product.

Once you fully understand the total use of your product, you can begin designing a product that meets the needs and the purpose that you have defined. If you are struggling with this process initially, then you should consult with a product design agency and go through your ideas with them in detail to further develop a product idea before moving on to design.

2. Clearly define your product 

In able to successfully design a product, you need to ensure you have clearly defined your product and what its core functions will be.

There are three core characteristics which you should consider when defining a product:

• Functional – how will it work?
• Usable – will it be easy to use and easy to understand from a consumer perspective?
• Desirable – is the product going to sell? Will people be drawn to it and why? You could consider elements such as cost, performance, look and special benefits here.

Similarly to knowing what issues your product will solve, or how your product will serve your target audience, you need to know how your product will do this.

This will help to make the design and manufacturing process much more smooth, as there will be a clear idea amongst teams of what a product should do and how it should work.

3. Begin the visualisation of your product 

Before going into the full design of a product, you need to start ideating and creating concept drawings and 3D models. By beginning to bring your product from an idea on paper and putting all of the functions into a drawing, you will be able to have a better idea of what you would like the end product to look like.

When you are conceptualising, you need to start reviewing the potential strengths and weaknesses of different elements. So that you can continue with the design process with an open mind.

Now you are ready to design your product. But remember, you should always keep in mind what the end goal and the end audience of the product is. This will keep you on track and provide guidance throughout the design process – for example, you don’t want to spend thousands of pounds on a luxury material if you are trying to aim for a cheap and cheerful product.