What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

We’re back for 2018. Sorry for the gap between questions, we needed a break. Hope you had a good one.


20 Designers, 20 Weeks, 1 Question Per Week

Learn from twenty experienced designers as we go deep into one question every week.
This week we look at products the designers love.


Previous articles in the series (so far)

Intro Article: Get to know the designers
Question 1: How did you get into design?
Question 2: How your typical work day?
Question 3: What things you wish you knew when you started in design?
Question 4: What are the best ways for you to stay inspired?
Question 5: What do you want to see in my UX design portfolio?
Question 6: 5 important questions you need to be able to answer in the UX interview
Question 7: 5 design books every UX designer should read
Question 8: Imposter syndrome: Your experience with it as a designer and tips to manage it
Question 9: 5 non designer books every UX designer should read
Question 10: What’s the best design advice you’ve ever received?
Question 11: 5 things that make a great UX designer
Question 12: What have you struggled with in your your career and how did you overcome it?
Question 13: How do you juggle your life, work and keeping up with the design industry?
Question 14 : (you’re here) What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design and why?


Simon Pan — Senior Interaction Designer at Google, San Francisco, USA
Nationality:

Australian 🇦🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?



BeMyEyes — a very simple and powerful idea using a smartphone camera. The app connects a person with a visual impairment to people with sight. From there, the requester can point their smartphone camera at things and the volunteer can help communicate what they see. It’s a really novel rethink of how we might use technology and the idea of “micro-volunteering” in ways that are more inclusive and useful.
Where can people follow you?

simonpan.com or on twitter




Stephanie Engle — Product Designer at Cruise Automation, Menlo Park, USA
Nationality:

American 🇺🇸
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

I’ve been really impressed recently with Google’s hardware design, especially as they’ve had to play a bit of catch up here. The way they mix materials, introduce color, and soft shapes make novel devices like VR headsets and smart speakers appear friendly and inviting.
Where can people follow you?

On Twitter




Andrew Doherty — CEO, Another.ai, Berlin, Germany

Formerly Product Design Manager at Google, Mountain View
Nationality:

Australian 🇦🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?



Dark Sky. It’s a weather app. There are so many weather apps, and they all complicate the hell out of what is actually a very simple problem. Is it going to rain/snow where I am? And when?

Dark Sky reduced the whole experience down to what matters most: a simple timeline of how the weather will affect me throughout my day. It’s easy and accurate. Their app icon is terrible though :/
Where can people follow you?


Nirissa Govender — Product Designer at Majid Al Futtaim in Dubai
Nationality:

South African 🇿🇦
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

We tend to see lots of amazing things on a daily basis and I often find myself pointing things out to my husband and saying ‘hey that’s a great product’, ‘I love the design of this product’ or ‘this product has a wonderful user experience’. But for the life of me, I can’t seem to recall a product as I’m writing this response.

So I’m going to pick something that I have come across during my recent relocation to Dubai. Its not a product, its a process, and in my opinion a well designed process.

One of the many things that an expat has to deal with when relocating is furnishing a new home. I recently went to an Ikea in Dubai (my country doesn’t have an Ikea, so this was my first experience with the brand), and I really enjoyed the way that this store was set up.

There was a path running through the entire store (A literal path, it was printed on the floor) which takes the customer on sort of a journey. Each department is closed off and leads directly into the next. So for example, if I were in the couch section, I could only see couches around me and the next department would have been rugs and lamps, followed by occasional chairs, basically all the furniture and accessories to make up a room displayed in an order the way a typical customer may think. The layout forced me to concentrate on one room at a time, without much distraction.

I generally love shopping, but relocation shopping can tend to be rather stressful, and for me, this process made my life a little easier. It was a great way for the company to display their products and to get me to buy stuff that I would have probably forgotten if the store were randomly laid out.
Where can people follow you?

Adham Dannaway — Senior UI/UX designer, Contract/Freelance, Sydney, Australia
Nationality:

Australian 🇦🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

I was in Tokyo recently and went to a popular sushi chain called Genki Sushi(which has recently come to Sydney). It was an interesting experience as they had replaced wait staff with touch screen ordering and revolving conveyer belts.

I basically tapped on photos of the sushi I wanted and it magically arrived at my table a few minutes later via a conveyer belt. While I do enjoy the human element, I think it’s pretty cool to be able to automate things to improve efficiency and I really enjoyed the experience of eating there (the sushi was pretty good too).
Where can people follow you?
adhamdannaway.com

Ben Huggins — Sr Interaction Designer, YouTube, San Francisco, USA
Nationality:

American 🇺🇸
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?



The Volkswagen Westfalia (T2/T3 era)
I’ve found that some of my favorite design work is born from extreme constraints. Tiny houses are impressive, but how about fitting all the trappings of a home inside 88 square feet — on WHEELS.

These types of constraints force designers to throw out the notion of the form factor (How do we fit a stove in here?) and refocus on the need — a way to cook, a place to sleep, etc. This is where the most creative solutions are born.

In addition to being functional, the vehicles are also iconic; timeless. They still sell for a premium 40 years later. And not as a collectible — as an actual, working product. That’s killer design.
Where can people follow you?

hugg.in or I’m @bhuggins on Twitter and Instagram




Chirryl-Lee Ryan (aka Cheech) — Transdisciplinary Designer
Nationality:

Australian 🇦🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

I’m sure you’ve heard the urban myth about the domestic violence victim who rang 911 to ‘order pizza’ because she couldn’t call the police without raising suspicion. It’s a story that was later turned into an ad for Super Bowl 49:

Although there’s been some controversy over the validity of the original story, victims of domestic violence really do find it difficult to get help or get out, so the Domestic Violence Resource Centre of Victoria came up with a cunning solution.

SmartSafe+ is a mobile phone app that helps victims of domestic violence collect evidence about the violence against them, in a way that keeps them safe. Without giving too much away, check out this link for more information: this is the kind of smart, innovative use of technology to solve critical human problems that design as a whole needs to work towards.

Massive shout out to David Di Sipio for sharing this gem with me!
Where can people follow you?


Audrey Liu — Director of Product Design at Lyft, San Francisco, USA

(*Audrey has recently moved from Director Of Product Design at Thumbtack to Director of Products Design at Lyft 🙌)
Nationality:

American 🇺🇸
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

We just bought our son his first bike. It’s a Woom bike and it’s designed really well. Unlike a lot of other kid’s bikes, it really takes into account the needs of a toddler (e.g. it’s light, it has a low body, hand-brakes instead of confusing peddle brakes).
Where can people follow you?
My Twitter

Nick Babich — Development Team Manager, Ring Central, Russia
Nationality:

Russian 🇷🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

Face ID by Apple — a facial recognition feature that allows you to use your face to unlock your phone. I’m a huge believer in effortless design (products that don’t require too much actions from users to complete tasks). That’s why I believe that Face ID is better than Touch ID (since it requires less effort to use it).
Where can people follow you?

UX Planet, Twitter , Facebook




Paola Mariselli — Product Designer, Facebook, Menlo Park, California, USA
Nationality: Peruvian 🇵🇪
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?



I love being inspired by life outside of the office. Most recently, while on holiday, I visited Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain.

This building, designed by Antoni Gaudí, brings surrealism to life, and it’s incredibly inspiring. In particular, I found the door handles — also designed by Gaudí — to be not only functional and within-the-theme, but also beautiful and intriguing.

To me, great design is not only useful, but it also makes you feel *something*. Casa Batlló and its door handles definitely fall under great design in my book. For those curious, you can see it in more detail here or below.


Where can people follow you?

Twitter or Medium

Alessandro Floridi — UX Manager at Deloitte, Sydney, Australia

(*Alex has recently moved from UX Manager at Deloittte to UX Design Lead at Macquarie Group 🙌)
Nationality:

Italian 🇮🇹
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

There are so many great products out there, where the quality is awesome. Although my attention is focused on people that use design to improve quality of life, I love when design is used to achieve greater things, it just makes me happy.



I saw this simple and beautiful product called “the shoe that grows”.

It’s simple and effective way to boost confidence and school attendance for kids that are less fortunate by providing a robust and comfortable pair of shoes that last for years. It’s a an amazing example of well designed product and HCD. Have a look at their website and do something similar or just help them out.
Where can people follow you?

My Linkedin




Buzz Usborne — Product Designer at Help Scout, Sydney, Australia
Nationality:

British 🇬🇧 and recently Australian 🇦🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

Dropbox Paper, hands down. I spend so much time in that product that you’d think by now I’d have grown to hate it — but I’ve found the opposite. It just works.

It makes my work look good, it helps me collaborate, and there are some little touches in there that are truly awesome. Just one of those products that you can tell has been obsessed over, the team there have done an incredible job!
Where can people follow you?

My work at buzzusborne.com, my Twitter, my writing on Medium and my resume on Linkedin


Kylie Timpani — Senior Designer at Humaan, Perth, Australia
Nationality:

Australian 🇦🇺
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

The one that stands out immediately is the Commonwealth Bank online banking browser interface and mobile app. Banking platforms are usually a nightmare but it’s clear that Commbank have really spent some time thinking about how their users might want to manage their finances.

Accordingly, they’ve implemented a suite of subtle tools, features and services throughout the platform that allow you to efficiently manage your finances in your own way.

The best bit about it is that its all very flexible. You can use the tools that you need while ignoring the rest, and the ones you ignore don’t hinder your overall experience. Some tools you don’t even know exist until you find them, and you have that lightbulb moment of “why didn’t I think of this, it’s so handy!”. That element of delight is pretty cool.

In terms of their design, both are designed very well with thoughtfulness, optimised usability and accessibility clearly front of mind. I love that I can make a transfer on the desktop browser interface just by using my keyboard! Everything about it is truly such a joy.
Where can people follow you?

My Twitter and also on my Dribbble for haphazardly timed insights into my work.

Graeme Fulton — Writer, coder, designer at Marvel Gibraltar, UK
Nationality:

British 🇬🇧
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

I keep losing my bank cards and forgetting my pin codes. I block my card, request a new pin, and then forget the new pin. Sounds familiar?


Then I discovered Revolut, and it’s solved this killer problem because it works how I work. It seems expect you to lose your card/pin, whereas I feel like banks expect you to keep them.

I can now generate a new card (with a mastercard logo on it!) in one click:


I think it’s good design simply because it solves a very real problem

I don’t even care about the UI of the app. Anything is easier than phoning a bank and telling them a memorable word which has long been forgotten.
I can press ‘Show PIN’ when I don’t remember
Request virtual cards
Set pin codes from the app without waiting for banks.

This whole thing sounds like a sales pitch for Revolut…you can even buy cryptocurrencies. Download it today
Where can people follow you?

My Twitter




Kaiting Huang — Interaction Designer at Google, in Seattle, USA
Nationality:

Taiwanese 🇹🇼
What product have you recently seen that made you think ‘this is great design’ and why?

In Google’s headquarter in Mountain View, there is a popular cafe called Coffee Lab. When people are waiting for their cups of coffee to be made, they can see a wall full of sticky notes with a sign saying “Take one or leave one. Find strength. Spread love”. People leave all kinds of messages there, including inspirational quotes, their current emotions, their fears and hopes, etc.



This design is so simple and beautiful! It briefly takes people’s attention away from the busy work and digital screens, creating a physical channel of interaction between strangers.

The fact that it utilize people’s waiting downtime as the touch point makes it unobtrusive. It fulfills human’s need to express themselves without the anxiety to gain “likes” or being judged. Each encounter hence becomes a profound serendipity that delights people’s everyday routine.
Where can people follow you?

My Medium


If you enjoyed this…

Read the other articles in this series

Intro Article: Get to know the designers
Question 1: How did you get into design?
Question 2: How your typical work day?
Question 3:What things you wish you knew when you started in design?
Question 4: What are the best ways for you to stay inspired?
Question 5: What do you want to see in my UX design portfolio?
Question 6: 5 important questions you need to be able to answer in the UX interview?
Question 7: 5 design books every UX designer should read
Question 8: Imposter syndrome: Your experience with it as a designer and tips to manage it
Question 9: 5 non designer books every UX designer should read
Question 10: What’s the best design advice you’ve ever received?
Question 11: 5 things that make a great UX designer
Question 12: What have you struggled with in your your career and how did you overcome it?
Question 13: How do you juggle your life, work and keeping up with the design industry?
Question 14 : (you’re here)What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design and why?


Thanks for the read, before you go

Clap 👏 👏 👏 if you enjoyed this article, so others can find it
Comment 💬 if you have a question you’d like to ask the designers
Follow me Guy Ligertwood to read all the articles in the series