What Makes a Product Good vs. Great?
Easy, it’s that last 10% of effort that was put into the design. We need to think about what users’ needs or goals are and how a product can help us accomplish those goals. Think about it, there are lots of good products out there. There are lots of products that do the same thing, accomplishing the same tasks. So why, then, would you want product A over product B? There are many factors, but let’s go through some brief hypotheticals.
Features
A real-world example is your standard bathroom scale. You can buy one for about $30 at most stores and online. Some display your body weight. Others, like the one in my bathroom, connects to my phone to show me my body weight, body fat percentage, hydration level, and several other data points. Still only $30. A good scale can tell you your weight. A great scale gives you more features than you thought you needed, for the same price and at the same quality. As product designers, adding more features is typically never a bad thing. Especially if those features don’t require the price of the prduct to jump.
Ease of Use
This time, the only difference between product A and product B is that product A requires you to tap on more buttons more often to accomplish the same tasks as in product B. Or, this could also be as simple as being able to easily find what features you’re looking for versus digging through menus. A great product helps the user accomplish the task at hand easily, without forcing them to do unnecessary tasks. As designers, it’s important for us to do our research to design the most efficient way of accomplishing a task.
Quality
For simplicity, let’s think of physical items. The difference between our two products this time is that one is made out of plastic and the other is made out of a brushed nickel. Assuming these materials didn’t increase the price, the quality (whether actual or perceived) is higher and will draw more attention and users. A good product feels good and looks good. A great product feels great and looks great. As designers, we want to be proud of our work. That is to say, design something that is of high quality. Quality over quantity should be a pillar of design.
A Great Product Simply Works, Simply
Have you ever used a spoon? Thought so. And you’re probably pretty good at it, too, because it works. Always. Sure, there are some tasks that are inappropriate for a spoon (carving a turkey), but that’s not the purpose of a spoon. What a spoon is meant to do, it does really well. It simply works, simply. Likewise, other great products just work. You type, an address into Google Maps, hit Go, and you get turn by turn directions there. If instead you had to keep answering prompts or swiping through screens that complicated the directions process and it took 10 minutes just to get to the Go button, that product wouldn’t be great, and nobody would use it. Again, efficiency. Designers should aim to make their product as simple to use for the average person as possible. Most people using our products, no matter what it is, are not designers. They are not programmers. They are regular people living normal lives in a normal world, and they just want their new device/app/product to work with no fuss.
