Today, I’m going to write about a product that’s at the forefront of good product design, and is simple and efficient at the same time.
Many people in the product space are often only fixated on analyzing software products (messaging applications, community platforms, software tools, etc…) but to do so is narrow-minded and neglects the entirety of good product design in hardware and physical products!
Take this one product that I’m so recently in love with:
I’m pretty confident that from one look at this photo, you instantly know what this is for, and how to use it.
For folks that might not know yet — let me explain all the way from the beginning.
Who is this product for?
- People of all ages watching videos on their smartphone/tablet
Why would someone design this product? (User problems)
- When we sit down, many users prop it up against a flat surface (e.g. a wall, or bottle) that may not be stable and might collapse all the time
- Even when we do find a stable surface, we find ourselves craning our neck down at an uncomfortable degree to be able to see the screen (this is also text neck syndrome — bad for our necks!)
- Some users who aren’t blessed with a surface at all might have to keep one hand busy just holding the phone up
What problems does this product solve?
- This is a stable surface on which you can place your device either in portrait on landscape mode
- You can also adjust the height (not visible in photo above) to suit your eye level — it’s better for our postures
- Your hands are free!
- You can also put a larger device like a tablet
Are there any things I think could be improved in this product?
While I admit this is already a near perfect product for video binge-watchers like me, good product sense is recognizing that products can always be iterated, improved and adapted to solve the next user problems that come up. Steam trains were revolutionary in their time but look where they are now!
- It could be larger to accommodate larger devices — though I haven’t tried the maximum weight for these types of devices, I’m sure they cannot accommodate laptops. There are already a few inclinable laptop stands in the market which should definitely be checked out.
- The adjustable height could be increased — of course, recognizing the tradeoff between height and stability in this product
Good product design is all about creating a product that gets rid of customers’ problems. Sure, we may create new ones along the process, but as we iterate and scale, we solve those as well.
Off I go to watch more product videos on my phone using my mobile phone holder!
