“Products were once designed for the functions they performed. But when all companies can make products that perform their functions equally well, the distinctive advantage goes to those who provide pleasure and enjoyment while maintaining the power. If functions are equated with cognition, pleasure is equated with emotion; today we want products that appeal to both cognition and emotion.” – Don Norman
This quote is from Don’s article “The Transmedia Design Challenge: Technology that is Pleasurable and Satisfying”
“Deeply understanding their customers is what allows successful companies to think five years ahead of the market and develop products and services that revolutionize the way we live our lives… By understanding the market and the needs of their customers, these companies can develop products customers want and put themselves in the best position to achieve success.” – Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain
Read more in Demetrius and Bryan’s article “Research is Communication.”
“If you think of the product as a service, then the separate parts make no sense – the point of a product is to offer great experiences to its owner, which means that it offers a service. And that experience, that service, comprises the totality of its parts: The whole is indeed made up of all of the parts. The real value of a product consists of far more than the product’s components.” – Don Norman
Read more in Don’s article “Systems Thinking: A Product Is More Than the Product.”
“Products that are well designed have value beyond necessity: The defining feature of a great product isn’t its power, its size, its speed, or its novelty. We value things according to the quality of the experience we have when we use them… A great product doesn’t just do its job; it does something more.” – Harold Hambrose
This quote is from Harold’s book “Wrench in the System: What’s Sabotaging Your Business Software and How You Can Release the Power to Innovate.”
“We don’t spend enough time up front on projects discussing, assessing, defining and refining the value of what we make. We jump too quickly into design and build before applying rigor to what we make. It’s easy to get lost in the product detail: a screen, code and forget what the product’s value is and who you are building it for. Everything we do should be to help move the product a little closer to success.” – Daniel Szuc
This quote is from Daniel’s article “The Value of asking ‘Why?’”
“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service – from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly. That’s systems thinking.” – Don Norman
Read more from Don in his article “Systems Thinking: A Product Is More Than the Product”.
Catriona Cornett
