Product design has undergone transformational changes. From walking on the “Form follows Function” principle in the industrial age to focusing on “Crafting Experiences,” the focus has shifted from aesthetics to functionality and now to user experience.
And it does not stop here…
The advent of futuristic technologies like AI, IoT, AR, VR, and ML will further expand opportunities to create human-centered experiences. As these technologies shape a new frontier in the future of product design let’s explore in detail the change they can bring.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Product Design
AI is increasingly integrating into our lives. It’s only natural that product designers start incorporating AI into building products focusing on enhancing user experiences (UX).
Data Interpretation
AI in product design, along with machine learning, can help understand user data. Interpreting data can help understand user behavior, predict outcomes, and identify patterns. Using this information design teams can make better product design decisions prioritizing user centricity and experience.
AI-Driven Personalization
In addition to adding personalized content, AI can help take product design to the next level. Even 71% of customers are expecting brands to personalize products and services. Using AI, designers can customize the design, making changes in navigation, interactivity, and layouts according to the user’s needs. Add to this the opportunity to customize AI algorithms to provide specific data and feedback, leading to product design innovation.
UX Enhancement and Design Optimization
AI-Driven User Research
You can also use AI for sentiment analysis, where algorithms can analyze user reviews, comments, and feedback to interpret their emotions and experiences. Use this data to identify areas of improvement in the product.
Using IoT in Product Design
The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized how we interact with products in our daily lives. This interaction is a goldmine for product designers as it will help them shape products to improve product adoption while addressing the customer’s concerns.
Data-Driven Product Design Innovation
As IoT devices generate an ample amount of data, product designers must use it to understand user behavior, preferences, and pain points. Use the insights to refine product features and add to its intuitiveness. As a result, designers can build products that are intelligent, adaptive, and aligned with the user’s needs.
Design an Ecosystem
The interconnectedness of devices is an opportunity product designers can use to create products that work together seamlessly. This level of IoT and product ecosystem collaboration can support a new paradigm where products deliver ongoing value through useful updates. Take the Apple ecosystem for example, where products are designed as platforms that deliver ongoing value with its continuous service and product updates.
Leveraging IoT is one of the future trends in product design that will give you access to customers across borders. Boasting interconnectedness, these products will support global value chains ensuring a smooth flow of services and information, allowing your business to tap new markets.
AR and VR in Product Design
Augmented Reality is the virtual layer resting on the top of the world you see right now. Driven by innovation, applications of AR in product design extend from phone applications to wearables like smart glasses. At the same time, VR completely immerses your users into a virtual world creating a hybrid reality, allowing your users to be at two places at one time.
Build Better Prototypes
As you integrate VR and AR in product design process, it eliminates the need to build physical prototypes. This will reduce time and costs associated with multiple changes until you get the right product. Moreover, product designers can enhance their design thinking to test different configurations, materials, and dimensions all virtually.
Boeing is using AR and VR technologies to design airplane tools, products, assembly stations, production lines, and factories. According to their Production Engineer, Scott Seddon, “AR and VR gives us the ability to more closely view and scrutinize everything before we build it.”
Simulation-Led Product Development
Product engineers can simulate real-world instances to help build better products. As they immerse themselves in a virtual environment, their accessibility to the product structure increases. Not only does this improve their design thinking, but it can also enhance the product’s safety by identifying potential issues beforehand.
Build User-Centric Designs
Products built with AR and VR interaction into the development process are more likely to increase user satisfaction. This is because product designers now experience products from a user’s perspective. On top of this, with AR and VR, design teams can collaborate better as everyone can share a virtual space, enhancing communication and streamlining decision-making.
Shopping experiences curated with AR and 3D technologies have a 40% higher conversion rate. Since AR gives customers the confidence to buy, it can give the same or even higher confidence in designing better products and increasing product adoption.
Ethical Product Design | Importance and Challenges
Customer-centric product design is the need of the hour. But so is accounting for the ethical considerations in product design. Customers prefer using products and services that respect their need for privacy and are environmentally sustainable.
Designers have more power and influence than they realize, and let this be a call for awareness and change if you are not already conscious about the products you are building.
Technology-Related Ethical Considerations for Designing Products
| Technological Discrepancy | Description |
|---|---|
| Bias and Discrimination | Common AI and ML can be biased in terms of racial identity, sexism, ageism, and ableism. Ignoring their existence can lead to discriminatory outcomes in digital product development. |
| Privacy Concerns | Digital products built with and enabled with advanced technologies have privacy concerns. They require careful data management practices. For instance, an AR-based app which superimposes digital products in a physical environment can access the user’s surroundings. |
| Transparency and Explainability | It’s important for designers to share how they have used emerging technologies for product development. Explaining how AI algorithms help them make decisions and share recommendations is useful for challenging decisions when necessary. |
Ethical considerations in product design catering to its User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) elements serves as a guiding compass for designers. In addition to helping them build user-centric designs smoothly, it helps balance innovation with ethical responsibility.
Conclusion
With emerging technologies like AI, ML, virtual reality, and augmented reality at the helm, designers can hyper-personalize product designs. Leveraging large datasets, they can anticipate future trends and need to build products that are ahead of their time.
Going forward, product design will focus on building products that can be easily reused, recycled, and repaired, minimizing waste and contributing to a sustainable economy. Despite all the technical advancements human centered design will continue to have paramount importance in digital transformation amidst ethical considerations.
