Design is made for people. We interact with designs every day, both in the physical and digital space, each with a purpose and intent to deliver an experience that fits within the gaps of our lives or takes it higher.
A few products have been fundamentally defining throughout my interactions with technology, and I'll share how they make it special.
The Digital Product: Revolut App
As a young student, navigating the world with increasing financial responsibility is hard, especially with rising costs of living and the encircling thought of "needing to save for rainy days."
Most banks develop apps that provide mere visibility to expenditure and funds. However, what sets Revolut apart is a seemingly user-centered approach to allow for active ways to manage finances.
One of the app's key features is its charts: translating micro expenditures into categories such as Services, Transport, Shopping, etc. This is very useful as it allows me to understand my expenditure trends and recognize where my finances are going to, rather than rows of figures without interpretation.
Additionally, the app also allows for the ability to set aside pockets of funds for various goals, funded by regular transfers or spare change automatically (rare in Singapore!). Being able to do these was tremendously beneficial, as it took away the need for disordered ways to set aside funds for special occasions, which are often unreliable.
These features may not seem much, but what it does is taking away the stress and complications of financial management and turning it into an opportunity to help the user. Its active, user-driven language and positioning make it seem deliberate and focused to encourage and help them take small steps in their financial journey instead of being left in uncertainty, which is quite apparent for young adults.
The Physical Product: iPhone 11 Pro
"An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator." – Steve Jobs, MacWorld 2007
We've come a long way since the introduction of the first iPhone in 2008, and it's almost become an essential part of our daily lives. For me, it's the one versatile tool I can't live without.
Most of what I love about the iPhone is found within. Apple does wonders to push both hardware and software together to perform exceptionally without compromising performance. The device is optimized with a high efficiency that produces results close to, if not better than, the products made for a specific purpose.
For example, one of the things I often do on my iPhone is to take photographs. In its latest iteration, the device allows for capturing scenes in multiple angles (hardware), then adds machine learning processing after (software) to create the sharpest image. These are all done silently and immediately, and the result is an image that rivals my professional Nikon camera, which sometimes makes me question the need to keep it.
Good design meets its users' needs and goals, but more than doing so, it creates opportunities for its users to do more in meaningful ways. In the past, we are accustomed to the idea that there's one product made for every purpose: A DSLR for taking photos, an Xbox console for gaming, etc. Yet, I believe that Apple makes its products to allow its vast pool of users to do many and do it best. With what the iPhone can do and where it is going, I'm pretty sure I've barely scratched the surface.
The Service: The Apple Store
Any user of the Apple ecosystem is no stranger to the Apple Stores, hundreds of which exist in our cities worldwide. Yet, the experience to visit one is simply no other, and words cannot describe how they have crafted the environment to cater to both physical and emotional experience.
In three words, I will describe them as "Wonder," "Discovery," and "Welcoming."
(Adding to my earlier view of the iPhone, all photos of this Apple Store were shot and edited on one.)
So, What Makes These Beloved?
Hence, to say how these experiences have been fantastic, a common word comes up in all three instances: the user. Every product feels succeedingly meaningful to its audience when designed with thoughtful consideration to fit what they need to do and want to do, above what they can do. They work (well) because it creates possibilities to impact the users' lives where it matters most, as consumers of the interaction. It is a process that takes time, that takes continuous understanding, iteration, and refinement. But when done well, the result is a product truly "made for the user" (not design theatre) where its intent to better the experience is clearly understood.
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