Good design is no longer a 'nice-to-have; it's a must. Think about the apps, websites, and gadgets you rely on daily. What sets them apart? Great product design. That's why you scroll through without a second thought.
Product design and development services had a global market size of $17.06 billion in 2023. From 2024 to 2030, the average annual growth is expected to continue rising at 10.08 %. That means the demand for product designing is rising across various industries, from technology to healthcare.
If you are interested in a product design career, then the first thing you need to know is what skills you need to develop. Let’s check it out.
To succeed as a product designer, here are the top skills you must focus on:
A great product design career starts with understanding what users want and how they interact with digital platforms. Well, UX design is all about making sure that the user gets a smooth experience from the platform. UI design also focuses on that but through visual elements like layout, colors, typography, etc. Consider mastering its principles through real projects. Keep an eye on platforms like Dribble and Behance to stay ahead of the design trends.
As the name suggests, User-centered design (UCD) means prioritizing the user’s needs. A deep-rooted understanding of user behavior is needed for this. For that, designers must conduct in-depth user research with buyer personas. They must focus on how different types of users will engage with the product and make decisions on the platform.
Visual design is required to make a product attractive enough to catch the eyes of buyers. Similarly, a proper interaction design is required to keep the users hooked. In fact, both of them are required for conversion. Therefore, designers must focus on grasping visual and interaction design principles like color theory, contrast, balance, etc., to improve user engagement.
To demonstrate that it's possible to create a product before launching, there's a need for both wireframing and prototyping skills. Wireframes lay out the basic structure, whereas prototypes offer a more interactive experience to test usability.
As per stats, prototyping can save design development time by at least 25%. It allows the designers to experiment with their ideas before moving on to the final design. As a result, companies can save their valuable time and money from weak projects.
In product design, you’ll rarely work in isolation. You’ll need to communicate with developers, product managers, marketers, and other team members to bring a product to life. Solid soft skills to communicate ideas clearly are crucial throughout the process. Reports state that a well-collaborative team is 50% more efficient in handling tasks.
Systems thinking is the technical understanding of how different parts of a product work together. It helps designers get a bigger picture of how each design decision impacts the product. To develop systems thinking skills, you can start by analyzing the daily products you use.
Clear-cut knowledge of tools like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, etc., is non-negotiable in product design. All these tools are required at different stages of the process, right from conception to testing. You can take online courses to develop a technical understanding of these professional design platforms.
At the end of the day, all that matters is not what skills you have but how practical they are. That’s where you require a trusted educational institution.
At MIT School of Design (MITSD), we focus on developing hands-on learnings to help you gain real-world experience in product design. So, why wait? Get started now.