Common Product Design Mistakes and How You Can Avoid Them
Would you like to bring a product to the market? When you have an innovative idea, it can be an exciting process to create a product that has your branding on it. However, it is important to go through the design process slowly so that you can avoid mistakes and have a finished product you are proud of.
Namely, you want to make sure that your new product meets the needs of customers and brings something unique and powerful to the market. While we are sure that more businesses start out with these aims in mind, there are some common product design mistakes that are seen time and time again. Let’s take a look at what they are and how you can avoid them.
Poor Consumer Research
Are you doing enough consumer research during the design process of your product? This is something that is very important and the data you receive from this research should be used to design a product that people want and meets their needs. Business owners can be guilty of guessing or thinking they know what a consumer wants. But, this is risky and consumer research is recommended. If you are not sure where to start with consumer research or how to use the data, you can work with a brand design agency like Recipe Design. With their team of experts and years of knowledge, they know how to tackle the different stages of the product design process. This includes the best ways to conduct and use consumer research.
Skipping Prototype Creation
When you have a product idea, you want to have it created as soon as possible. It is exciting to see your ideas come to life and you will be proud of it no matter what. Indeed, you want to get your product on the shelves as quickly as you can. However, you cannot be too hasty and impulsive. You have to take your time and make sure that your product is the best it can be.
One common mistake that is seen in product design is business owners failing to create enough prototypes of their product. This leads to a disappointing and substandard product that fails to impress customers. When you have enough prototypes during the design process, you can work out flaws and issues. When you discover them, you can also fix the problems so that they are not going to be in the finished product. While prototype creation takes longer, it is going to lead to a better result and it is essential you do not try to skip this stage.
Choosing Aesthetics Over Performance
Everybody wants to have a product that looks good. Style and design are very important to customers and this is particularly true in certain industries. But, if you are a new brand and you make the aesthetics of your product the priority, this is when you can run into trouble. In other words, having a good-looking product may help you make a lot of sales at the beginning. The design is novel and interesting to customers and it stands out in the market. However, if you do not also prioritize performance, you are going to end up with a good-looking product that fails. Eventually, the word is going to spread and your sales will suffer for it.
Therefore, prioritizing aesthetics over performance is a mistake you want to avoid. You want to make sure they are on a level footing and that you work hard on both of them. This way, customers are going to be happy with a product that performs as it should and it is novel at the same time.
Ignoring Existing Patents
Sometimes, it can be difficult to come up with a completely new and unique product. In other words, there may be elements of your design that are inspired by others. This is normal but you have to make sure that you are not deliberately or accidentally copying another product design that is already out there. This is something you will need to check in advance. Unfortunately, there are some business owners out there that forget about intellectual property and how important it is. If you are found to be copying an existing patent, you are going to get in a lot of trouble later on. It could affect your whole business.
Therefore, when you are designing your product, make sure to check out intellectual property in the area. If there are any similarities between your product and a patent, it may be best to make some changes. This can avoid an expensive and dangerous copyright dispute for your business later on.
