UX isn’t easy peasy, lemon squeezy
To illustrate my point about UX design really being product design I thought it would be useful to come up with an analogy.
This is product - it’s functional, it’ll get juice out of lemons; but how much thought went into it? It’s metal handle will become slippery and is rather uncomfortable.
This is a designer product - a beautiful object but not all that good at its job; in fact it’s designer Philipe Starck has said it was “not meant to squeeze lemons, but to start conversations”.
This is a designed product - while it is aesthetically pleasing, the Catcher from Joseph Joseph is made from soft plastic so it feels comfortable in your hand and the integrated stand also catches pips and prevents juice from getting on the handle. In thinking about ways to improve on existing paradigms - adding value and delighting the user, good designers are able to create truly great products. However in daily use, their owners will rarely consider the individual details, just enjoy using the product without giving any thought to why. This for me, is the challenge and reward of UX.. I mean, product design.
