As a product designer, I always look for principles and ideas to help me improve my process.
The following principles from Steve Jobs are a great reminder of what to focus on as you build your products.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
Focus on making the product intuitive and obvious to use
- If users need a manual, the design has failed.
- Eliminate unnecessary buttons, features, and complexity.
Be ready always to question everything about the current design of the product
- Challenge every assumption about how things “should” be
- Think different – break from conventional wisdom when necessary
User Experience
When building a product, start with the user experience, then work backwards to the technology
- Design is not just how it looks but how it works
- Every interaction should feel magical and delightful
- The best interface is no interface – make technology invisible
Perfection in the details matters
- Obsess over every pixel, every corner, every transition
- The parts you can’t see should be as beautiful as the parts you can
- Quality must go all the way through
Innovation
Create products people don’t know they need yet
- Don’t rely on market research – show people the future
- If you ask customers what they want, they’ll say, “Better horses.”
- True innovation means seeing what others can’t see.
Product Development
Be prepared to say no to a thousand things
- Focus is about saying no to good ideas
- Do a few things exceptionally well rather than many things adequately
- Kill projects that don’t meet the highest standards
Prototype and iterate
- Make real working models, not just drawings.
- Keep refining until it feels right.
- Don’t be afraid to restart if it’s not perfect.