Five major trends shaping Product Design - Yanko Design

Product Design has undergone quite some change in the years gone by. From beingness a highly physical design field to being adjusted for the digital world, there has been an development that incorporated product design into our everyday life quite seamlessly. The world, and nosotros as individuals are getting more than enlightened, moving abroad from simple materialistic pleasure and actually questioning ourselves in what brings united states joy. And as the world evolves, designing for this globe needs to evolve. It is fourth dimension for us to sit down and reimagine the future of product design and what values would play a major role in this field. The write-up below by Ryan Chen (Director of Design & Innovation Strategy at the Bressler Group) talks about the v points he considers pivotal in shaping up the futurity of product design.

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It's a world where we own fewer, smarter, more thoughtful things, and wait more from them — except for the things nosotros've abased entirely in favor of a service that replaces it. We potentially live richer, healthier lives with fewer distractions, and although nosotros're getting more than out of our technology, we actually interact with it less.

Information technology'south an heady future, and as well a enervating one since it relies on products and services that oasis't been invented yet, but which customers take already come to expect. If you're planning on beingness a office of this future, it's worth putting some serious thought into how these trends will modify the things you design, and how your customers are going to use them:

1. Pursuit of Exclusivity

Brands have e'er offered mass-market and premium offerings but never has the line dividing them been so blurred. Today'southward luxury customers are often comfortable with lower-cost products if they're perceived equally unique or timeless (witness Sharon Stone's then jaw-dropping decision to wear Gap to the 1998 Oscars), while mainstream consumers accessorize their lives with occasional high-end purchases, whether it's a smartphone, a pair of shoes, or a yoga retreat.

Only where howdy-brow/low-forehead blending was in one case a DIY effort, now companies themselves are embracing the trend. Increasingly, their product ranges offer broad, overlapping levels of luxury within a single, all-embracing brand. "Affordable luxury" is a common refrain, as is high-terminate camouflaged consumption, where organic produce and designer bags can demand significant markups despite being near indistinguishable from their mainstream peers. The data support this observation, too, with premium and entry-to-luxury at present the fastest growing segments in many categories.

What's driving this trend?

• Sustained economic growth ways more than consumers with the fiscal means to seek out premium offerings.
• At the same time, traditional displays of ostentatious wealth are condign less socially acceptable.
• More product offerings in every price range means that finding something "exclusive" is no longer merely an pick for the very rich.
• Social media provides more windows into the range of what's available, making connoisseurs of us all.

What does this imply for design?

• Differentiation & uniqueness are now a huge part of "premium." So seek opportunities to create unique experiences at scale — as Airbnb did with its "Airbnb Plus" initiative, leveraging the creativity of its hosts to offering well-vetted alternatives to luxury hotels, with far more than diverseness.
• When expanding a production line, consider adding a college-end offering or variant on a familiar product, especially if information technology can offer some sense of a luxury experience at a relatively depression toll.
• Present higher-end options in terms of personal benefit: less "impress the neighbors" and more "practice something kind for yourself."

2. Experience More

Services are now seen as indispensable, in a way few physical appurtenances are. In the last economic downturn, people often did without a new car or a bigger house just hung on to their mobile service, broadband, gym membership, and Netflix subscriptions. In office, this is because services are more than durable: they can't be lost, they automatically update, and they can be modified and expanded to fit changing life circumstances.

Merely it'due south also because services offering multi-dimensional experiences that can be ultimately more fulfilling than owning something physical. Given the selection, many consumers (especially Millennials) will opt to spend on a trip, a course, or a professional consultation over splurging on a automobile or furniture. In daily life, they'll frequently seek out a service first, simply settling on a physical product if there's no other option. And if a production comes with a service component bundled in, so much the better.

What's driving this tendency?

• The constant connectivity afforded by mobile devices, social media, and ubiquitous wireless often makes services more accessible and convenient than goods.
• The Access (or Sharing) Economic system has introduced innumerable services that replace products with an interface that makes existing resources more than accessible: Uber, Car2Go, Airbnb, Amazon, etc.
• People are more likely to share experiences (travel, dining, concrete activity, etc.) on social media than physical goods, leading to greater awareness of what'south out there, and a certain amount of FOMO.
• Consumers are recognizing that experiences often deliver more happiness and satisfaction than concrete products.

What does this imply for design?

• Await for the root causes of consumer desires. Do people really desire better lamps, or but improve low-cal?
• Seek opportunities for calculation a service component to an existing product: an app that enhances it, a subscription service that keeps it in optimal condition, etc. Design physical and service elements mitt-in-mitt, then they combine to offer a seamless, more than satisfying feel.
• Build on the make equity of physical products with a service offering.

3. Quest for Convenience

Time: it'due south the merely matter you can't earn more of. In the by decade, more than and more consumers are answering "yes" to the question of whether it's worth spending money to free up time. In role, it'south not just because we seem to be more fourth dimension-strapped than ever, only it's also because of engineering science, which has created a rich ecosystem of services and devices ready to accept on time-consuming tasks for a reasonable price.

Alexa, Nest, and Apple tree (amongst many others) have made groovy strides in contempo years at edifice a coherent network of devices that share data and depict on deep wells of processing power and predictive capability. They've gotten so expert at information technology, in fact, that many consumers barely notice them, working them seamlessly into their daily routines. Just a few years ago, connecting a device to the internet or giving it rudimentary sensory and predictive capabilities was a novelty — something to delight users and stand out in a crowded field. Today this kind of intelligence is seen equally commonsensical.

At every income level, people no longer feel obligated to do dull or unpleasant tasks, and the thought of paying for help is no longer limited to those wealthy enough to hire servants. Companies like Framebridge and Warby-Parker have built huge followings by taking inconvenient, expensive tasks and making them faster, cheaper, and more enjoyable. Apps, subscription services, home delivery — even in-house robots — are allowing us to reduce the fourth dimension spent on the mundane, and focus more than on the meaningful and delightful.

What's driving this trend?

• Nosotros increasingly understand that reducing stress and freeing up time is crucial to the quality of life.
• Loftier-quality apps and services are reducing people'south tolerance for complicated processes with numerous steps.
• AI and predictive algorithms are improving, offer more than ways to "skip to the finish" of interaction and making instant personalization far more than effective.
• Technology is making it far easier to add together intelligence to almost any product or interaction: smart buttons, smart cameras, smart thermostats, etc.As connected intelligence stops being remarkable, their real touch is set to be felt.

What does this imply for design?

• Expect for opportunities to automate. What common, mundane task could exist simplified or taken over completely past a smarter production or service?
• Simplify, simplify, simplify. A pared-down artful implies lower endeavour, less fuss, less wasted time.
• If yous add intelligence to a product, do it in a way that demands less effort on the part of the user, not more.Take advantage of the improved standardization in IoT and connectivity, to create intelligent devices that plug into customers' existing ecosystems and work with their expectations.

4. Everyday Health

"Wellness" is the new watchword. Where our relationship to our bodies used to be primarily reactive and corrective, today a growing fraction of people see wellness equally something that happens every twenty-four hours, through the decisions we make and the things we consume, think, and do. Affluent consumers, in particular, are more likely than ever to put self-care at the peak of their list of priorities — a marked shift from a decade or two ago.

For companies, this opens up opportunities in two directions. Products and services that were once the sole domain of health professionals are becoming available to consumers — 23andMe offers genetic analysis, Fitbit tracks your concrete activeness, numerous apps help monitor and improve your sleep, diet, and fifty-fifty beliefs and mood. At the same fourth dimension, consumer offerings are being enhanced with wellness-enhancing features, from copper-infused sheets to fight leaner, to hotel rooms and bathrooms with fine-tuned lighting, sound, and furnishings — all oriented toward enabling and improving well-being.

What's driving this trend?

• A steady stream of research points to the important lifestyle choices have in maintaining adept wellness — from concrete activity and diet to stress management.
• Online enquiry and personal health tracking provide consumers with far more than data about their own health than always before.
• A backlash to the traditional, paternalistic view of medicine has convinced many consumers to have health into their own hands.
• The ascension of "inconspicuous consumption" makes wellness-oriented purchases and experiences a key marking of exclusivity and sophistication.

What does this imply for blueprint?

• Many companies already have an existing product or service that enhances wellness in some way: stress reduction, self-tracking, time savings, etc. Wait at the user feel through that lens and observe ways to build on information technology.
• Partnerships between consumer product manufacturers and wellness-focused companies can bring benefits for both.
• For medical device companies, in particular, there'due south an arable opportunity in simplifying existing products in order to expand their audience into either consumer or parallel professional markets.

5. Ethical Living

Information technology'south no longer enough for a company to talk about doing good; today you have to really be adept. Fifty-fifty more than than governments and nonprofits, today's consumers see companies like the ones responsible for protecting the environment and man rights, and information technology'due south never been easier to find out when their actions don't match their rhetoric.

This is all function of a larger trend, of trying to live more than in harmony with the world, and it takes many forms. Companies like Tom's, Everlane, and LuckyNelly have seen rapid growth past existence overtly ethical and transparent nigh their business practices, and major brands like Whirlpool and Salesforce are rolling out new products and buildings specifically designed to brand sustainable living easier.

On a personal level, many consumers are embracing a "less is more" philosophy, opting to live with fewer possessions, merely maybe spending more on an individual purchase if information technology holds the promise of greater longevity or utility.

What's driving this trend?

• Abiding global media coverage is making us more aware than ever of bug of inequality and environmental damage — and consumerism'due south role in them.
• A wide range of ethically driven companies and products exist in well-nigh whatsoever category imaginable, from sustainable shoes and dish soap to energy neutral hotels and culturally sensitive vacations.
• Many of these options are relatively affordable, giving everyday consumers the power to feel like philanthropists.

What does this imply for design?

• Design for longevity, repairability, and multi-functionality. Consumers are increasingly looking for the last [insert word here] they'll e'er need, and are willing to pay a premium for information technology.
• Lean toward artful cues that imply simplicity and honesty.
• Look for means to be meliorate as a company, in terms of energy utilisation, environmental impact, ethical sourcing, worker treatment, and overall transparency. Giving consumers a clear glimpse into your deportment is more convincing than a PR entrada.

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The original write-up on the Bressler Group blog past Ryan Chen can be found here.

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Source: https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/01/09/five-major-trends-shaping-product-design/

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