As a designer, the beauty of designing products isn’t just how my idea is eventually realized and made. Along the way as I go through iterations, I often make mistakes that I can’t ever foresee. That’s why I decided to illustrate some of the mistakes I make and talk about expectations for digital product design.

Let us discuss the disparity between expectation and reality in product design.

Many products, even the most iconic ones, are used in unexpected ways. Who knew when created the Great Seal of England that it would still be misused by a pauper centuries later? This post will explore how this scene teaches us how to not get discouraged by our product’s shortcomings.

How humans are not purely logical (ownership, emotions)

We create expectations and boundaries when we design products. Human- machine interaction is fraught with deficiencies when designers don’t have the knowledge and experience to work around these limitations. To bridge the gap, designers need to accept human behaviour and account for this, then design products that mirror their thinking model.

Really great product design is UX

How do you ensure that your audience experience only what they need? Niccolino outlines the necessity to focus on the core audience to save both their time and serve them the content they want most.

For those who care about innovation in technology, we have to consider the consequences

Why don’t we create better design by applying what works into new innovative solutions? The realities of product design are that people prefer products that satisfy their needs, not ones with creative features. We tend to reinvent rather than redesign what is already the best solution for our users.

How we change our expectations to realize new realities

With designs that look nice but take a while to understand, the designer broke a fundamental rule: don’t make me think. By slowing down the user’s thoughts and actions, they impede their progress, leading them to question whether they can trust everything on the page. This can lead to users leaving your site because it seems too confusing or inauthentic.

In product design, the expectations may exceed reality. For example, when using an Uber app, we didn’t need to manually log in and we saw a lock as a sign of safety. However, after you purchase stickers designed by that company in every aisle, the absence of this icon and text confuses people.

When I first started in product design, I found it strange that product managers didn’t take designer opinions into account when it came to products.

If you plan to a change your role from individual contributor to product designer, it will help if you’re mindful of what language and words you use when brainstorming and communicating with teammates. Ask the right questions that will challenge perceptions and get your desired outcomes.

The word “worth” refers to a subjective judgement about the usefulness or significance of something. Expectations vs Reality discusses how we do research wrong by taking collected data as fact.

The best brands are those that create something for consumers that they don’t even know they need yet. A coffee brand like Starbucks created something they didn’t think they needed. Same with Nike. Who knew we needed a high-end performance running shoe? And to finish this part, I would like to tell you a line from Howard Schultz, former two times CEO of Starbucks:

There are expectations and then there is reality. Products seem to be lighter and smaller because of shrinking expectations.