As you might know, digital products need to deliver exceptional User Experiences to thrive.
However, they also need to be sustainable, cost-effective, profitable, and generate conversions.
In other words, digital solutions need to reach established business goals!
And that brings us to the main point of our article. In terms of design, should you focus on user needs or business goals?
How to know which to choose? That’s the difference between UI UX and Product Design!
UX UI Design: Designing for Users
If you’re wondering about the difference between Product Designer and UX Designer, let’s start by defining both concepts.
UX/UI Design focuses primarily on users, so that's the keyword here: users.
The goal of UX/UI Designers is to deliver products with stunning designs that are pleasant to interact with.
While this idea may sound easy, it involves a deep understanding of user behavior.
This behavior acknoelwsges pain points, weaknesses, preferences, and needs.
This scope makes it key to consider not only the visual aspects but also all interaction elements to deliver the products that users love.
As mentioned in another post about UI/UX Design basics, empathy and understanding are key.
Designers go through deep user research to build intuitive and stunning products.
Some questions to understand better users include:
- Who are the product target users?
- Which problem needs solving?
- What are user needs and wants?
- Is the product accessible to everyone?
- How can the product be made accessible?
- What can users expect when using this product?
- Is the interface appealing and easy to understand?
- Is the experience intuitive and easy to navigate?
After research, teams test their assumptions with a strong focus on customer satisfaction.
Product Design: Designing for Business Goals
After defining the core focus of UX UI Design, the next step is to explain Product Design.
Among decisions, the Product Design process considers business requirements and technical feasibility.
Sometimes mixed with Industrial Design, Product Design also includes responsibilities surrounding market viability.
That’s why they need a sharp business mind to ensure the product will drive enough revenue!
In terms of work, Product Designers work closely with cross-functional teams,.
These can include Project Managers, Product Developers, and, of course, UXUI Designers.
Likewise, there are some things Product Designers should consider.
- What business problem will the product solve?
- What features of it will best solve the problem?
- What functionalities will best solve the problem?
- What is the desired activation rate?
- What is the business strategy?
- What is the market strategy?
- What are the business value opportunities?
- What is the product's Value Proposition?
- What technical constraints must you consider?
- What is the product expected to achieve for the company?
- How will we measure the success or failure of the product?
UI UX and Product Design
It's key to recognize the main things these roles and fields have in common.
Both areas need critical thinking and attention to detail.
Likewise, empathy and communication skills are key to building end-to-end products.
Both areas must have expertise and experience in visual elements and composition, as well as specific tools.
Yet, skills in UX/UI Design and Product Design also include user research, wireframing, and prototyping.
Lastly, both areas harness Design Thinking principles and work toward Product Strategy!
Product Design vs UI UX Design
The first key difference is the focus: UX/UI Design focuses on users, and Product Design focuses on business goals.
The UX UI Design process seeks user satisfaction throughout the design process.
To do so, it focuses on visual identity and user-friendly navigation to ensure users get what they want.
Conversely, Product Design strongly focuses on the company’s business end ensuring profitability.
This can be done wether by developing a new product or improving an existing one.
Conclusion
The concepts of Product Design, User Interface, and User Experience Designers may be almost identical.
Their roles, tasks, knowledge, expertise, and skills are alike.
While UI/UX Designers focus on user flows, Product Designers prioritize business goals.
In the end, having members focused on users while others focused on business goals can be the key to building end-to-end digital products!
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