It was a lazy Saturday morning at the SandCup studio when Sandunes (that’s us by the way) tossed a classic question to discuss, what makes a product design efficient? Simply the looks or the usability? Half of the team felt that it should primarily serve an aesthetic appeal, while the rest rooted for a more minimalist and functional design. The room buzzed with ideas, and by the end of the day, we found ourselves circling back to the age-old question: form or function?

The Building Blocks of Great Product Design

It is imperative for a designer to have a keen eye for detail and symbolic acumen to bring out the best in product design. As Norio Ohga from Sony rightly pointed out, design is the only thing that differentiates one product from the other in the marketplace. In the highly competitive and mass-producing world we live in today, design has become a product’s identity rather than an extended luxury. One might then face this question: How to design these differentiating elements that eventually become a product's recognition or identity.

Function First: The Backbone of Every Great Product

Whether you’re designing a luxury car or a hand cream, functionality is what makes the product and its market fame. A good product design solves user problems with clear navigation, fast performance, and sequenced flows. A product that works well earns trust and accumulates loyal customers. Take the Swiss Army knife as a cutting-edge example (pun intended) of keeping multiple tools into a sleek, portable form. It’s a classic case of efficient functional design.

But here's the twist: according to Hoegg & Alba, most consumers don't truly understand a product's functionality until after they use it. In e-commerce sites and shops, buyers’ judgement is perceptional. So how do we communicate function and value without words or tangible proof?

The Aesthetic Edge: Looks That Sell Products

When it comes to Product Design, first impressions also count to an extent. As design legend Don Norman suggests, aesthetic product designs seem to trigger certain positive responses that generate an immediate desire to own the product. Backing it up is Bloch, who found that attractive and well-designed packaging increases reaction time and emotional investment of users. It also impacts how users treat the product afterwards.

The right aesthetic adds emotional depth and amplifies perceived value. It's the reason people line up for a new iPhone or choose one water bottle over another, even when they have the same function.

Finding the Middle Ground

Aesthetics add value to usability and get it noticed, not overshadow it. Hence, a product is not aesthetic or functional or symbolic but is rather a multidimensional construct perceived by the consumer; it’s a balance.

To better understand this, Norman breaks down emotionally appealing design into three distinct layers:

Visceral Design: Our immediate, instinctive reaction to how a product looks, feels, or sounds.

Behavioral Design: The usability, performance, and overall experience of using the product.

Reflective Design: The personal or cultural meaning we attach to a product.

Designing with Purpose: Role of a Designer

A designer's creative insight is what bridges these two aspects. The role goes far beyond functional UI or aesthetics. It's also inclusive of aligning business goals, feasibility, and catering to human needs towards a valuable experience. The sweet spot where form and function intersect is where purpose-driven design lives.

At SandCup, we believe in using this blend to create lasting solutions that serve the product creators well, and the consumers too, generating an overall value that uplifts various domains.