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Product Design Trends For This Decade

DOT Content Team
April 5, 2022
4 min read

Businesses that market products are facing increased competition these days. They also have to deal with more discerning consumers. The customer of today wants environmentally friendly products and brands that are authentic.

This has made product design the topic du jour. With that in mind, we dive into product design trends that we’ll see in this decade, as predicted by a leading institute for an industrial design course in Chennai.

Deep Diving Into What Is Product Design?

Simply put, product design defines the problems people face in real life and then creates a product that solves them. As easy as it may sound, the process is more complex. It requires a unique mix of skills such as customer research to pinpoint issues and user experience design to create the solution.

That is why the role of product design includes a variety of positions based on the size and requirement of the industry and company. Some of the speciality roles within this field include:

  • Copywriters
  • UX designers
  • UX researchers
  • Interaction designers
  • user interface (UI) designers

Imaging The Future Of Product Design

  • Ethical design leads the way.

For a long time, companies mined data, used addictive design features and dark patterns to influence a digital user. These design tricks will be a thing of the past. In this decade, both businesses and designers will be deliberate with their product design. Everyone will look at it through the lens of ethics. As a result, we’ll have a more honest and transparent framework of product design.

  • More personalised digital experiences.

Tailored experiences were already on the rise. But as 2020 turned into 2021, the trend accelerated. With data-driven tools and AI, personalising digital experience has become simpler. And that’s what business will continue to do. The reason being customised workflows, software and apps eliminate friction. It makes a product more engaging and useful to the customer.

  • Innovative product design tools make way.

For a very, very long time, Photoshop was the sole software for industrial or product design. Then Sketch came into the picture, followed by Figma. Both the tools made a massive impact because they allowed for collaboration between teams. In the coming years, expect to see more innovative tools for product designers. They’ll be useful for bigger teams, allow for faster work and real-time feedback all within the same tool.

  • Big Data will transform the scene.

In the next four years, 75 billion devices will be connected to the internet. For industrial designers, that means terabytes and terabytes of data transmission. This data will be priceless to gain feedback in real-time.

Before the IoT and Big Data, finding and correcting flaws in a product was time-consuming and expensive, requiring manual effort. With

connected devices, this hurdle is removed. Engineers and designers can directly access user data. This helps in learning how end-users utilise their product, what features are not used and where problems occur. Ultimately, they can capitalise on the data to improve the design!

  • AI lends a simpler design workflow

Creating a mock-up that incorporates all user experience specifications is a lengthy process. With machine learning and AI, the process becomes concise with fewer steps involved. Moreover, it would make designing across platforms seamless because pulling a design from any system or library would be straightforward. Another advantage is correcting errors the designer might make automatically. For all these reasons, AI will be a huge trend in product design in the 2020s.

Creating Possibilities In Product Design

  • Design-first methodologies become common.

As the 2020s continue, more businesses will apply a design-first attitude. The methodologies will not be limited to just products. It will include all processes to help solve both operational and business challenges. So, product and industrial designers must update themselves accordingly.

  • Design systems will explode.

A design system is an UI kit, code documentation, and a pattern library mixed with a guide for style, brand and communication. It has been the talk of the town in recent years. Expect it to grow. Design systems will be everywhere because it is the natural next step for the niche. With a system in place, a business maintains visual consistency. It also helps reduce design debt, i.e., using a new style when an existing one would have been just as useful. The result is more code and design documentation.

To sum up:

The 2020s are going to see a seismic shift in product design. The past decade gave designers a seat on the table. This one will see them drive change. Product design will not only be more responsible. It will also be more ethical and efficient.

We already see the impact of design in everyday life. Bad design has many consequences, from the spread of misinformation to the worsening climate crisis. In this decade, we hope to undo this and drive design forward.

If you’re interested in design and visual communication, get in touch with us. We’d be happy to further discuss the future of product design and point you to the right career path!

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