Many things have changed from tool design in the prehistoric era to today’s digital product design. However, we can see surprisingly many similarities. Especially when it comes down to one particular aspect: usability.

从史前时代的工具设计到如今的数字产品设计，许多事情已经发生了变化。 但是，我们可以惊人地看到许多相似之处。 特别是当涉及到一个特定方面时：可用性。

什么是产品设计 (What is product design)

According to the Strate School of Design, when looking at the traditional meaning:

根据斯特拉特设计学院(Strate School of Design)的说法，传统意义是：

“Product design consists in imagining and creating objects meant for mass production. The definition encompasses the physical aspects as well as the functionalities products should possess.”

“产品设计在于想象和创建用于大规模生产的对象。 该定义包括产品应具备的物理方面和功能 。”

Nowadays, digital products need to be included in the definition of product design as well:

如今，数字产品也需要包含在产品设计的定义中：

“Product design is the process of identifying a market opportunity, clearly defining the problem, developing a proper solution for that problem and validating the solution with real users.” — Nick Babich

“产品设计是确定市场机会，明确定义问题 ， 为该问题开发适当的解决方案并与实际用户验证解决方案的过程 。” — 尼克·巴比奇

We can see from both definitions, traditional as well as digital, that the main purpose of product design is to identify an issue and find an appropriate solution to tackle this issue with certain functionalities and features of a product.

从传统的定义和数字的定义中，我们都可以看到，产品设计的主要目的是识别问题并找到合适的解决方案，以解决产品某些功能和特性的问题。

Blacksmiths in the Middle Ages crafted their spears according to peoples’ needs (of a robust tool) and so do we when designing a new web application. So, what has changed throughout history?

中世纪的铁匠根据人们的需求(一种强大的工具)制作了矛，在设计新的Web应用程序时我们也是如此。 那么，整个历史发生了什么变化？

让我们回顾一下历史 (Let’s take a look back in history)

Humans have always made crafts and tools since the very beginning of humanity. The first weapons and technical devices have had one simple purpose: Usability. For thousands of years, products were made to meet the needs of the individual.

自人类诞生以来，人类就一直制造手Craft.io品。 最初的武器和技术设备有一个简单的用途：可用性。 几千年来，产品不断满足个人需求。

By the time of the Mid-eighteenth century, industrial developments throughout Europe and especially in England have transformed the purpose of production. Products had to meet the growing demand for mass production on the market. It was at this time that the first factories began to produce for the masses, and therefore the aim of most products was simple and fast production. In most cases, this was achieved by standardization and unification, and by designs that were made from as little material as necessary.

到18世纪中叶，整个欧洲，特别是英国的工业发展已经改变了生产的目的。 产品必须满足市场上不断增长的批量生产需求。 正是在这个时候，第一批工厂开始为大众生产，因此大多数产品的目标是简单，快速地生产。 在大多数情况下，这是通过标准化和统一，以及通过使用尽可能少的材料制成的设计来实现的。

Starting from 1850, we saw some great examples of products, like the Singer sewing machine or the famous Vienna Coffee House Chair by Michael Thonet. This chair from 1859 was an innovation overall, with its novel design, minimum materials used and designed with distribution in mind. The pioneering technique of crafting the back legs as one single piece by a new steam process helped reducing material and production costs.

从1850年开始，我们看到了许多出色的产品示例，例如Singer缝纫机或Michael Thonet着名的维也纳咖啡厅椅​​子 。 这把椅子始于1859年，总体上是一项创新，设计新颖，使用的材料最少，设计时考虑了分布。 通过新的蒸汽Craft.io将后腿制成一体的开创性技术有助于降低材料和生产成本。

The postmodernism period including the pre-war luxury period (1900–1945) brought many incredible inventions to the books. German architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe designed the Barcelona Chair in 1929, featuring a one-piece stainless steel frame. Similar to the Vienna Coffee House Chair, this meant that the frame could be manufactured in one piece. It is still sold today.

包括战前奢侈时期(1900-1945年)在内的后现代主义时期为书籍带来了许多不可思议的发明。 德国建筑师路德维希·密斯·范德罗(Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe)于1929年设计了巴塞罗那椅子 ，采用一体式不锈钢框架。 与维也纳咖啡厅椅​​子类似，这意味着框架可以一件制造。 今天仍然出售。

Another brilliant piece of furniture was designed in 1933 by Alvar Aalto, a Finish architect and furniture designer of the Scandinavian Modernism. The Model 60 stacking stool is a wooden stool using Aalto’s innovative “L-shape leg”, a bentwood chair leg that could be mass-manufactured and did not require joinery. The stool is still very popular today, with a famous American apparel brand using it as a pattern in 2017, and offering seating for customers in Apple Stores across the globe until today.

另一件出色的家具是1933年由北欧建筑的完成建筑师兼家具设计师Alvar Aalto设计的。 Model 60堆叠凳是使用Aalto创新的“ L形腿”的木凳，该曲木腿可以批量生产，不需要细木工。 如今，凳子仍然很受欢迎，2017年有一个著名的美国服装品牌将其用作图案，直到今天为止，它仍为全球Apple Store的顾客提供座位。

“We should work for simple, good, undecorated things” and he continues, “but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.” Alvar Aalto, speech in London 1957.

他继续说：“我们应该为简单，优质，简朴的事物而努力”，但与人类和谐相处，有机地适合街头小矮人的事物。 阿尔瓦·阿尔托(Alvar Aalto)，1957年在伦敦的演讲。

Aalto’s thinking approach marked a new era of product design which went all the way back to the roots: design with the individual in mind.

Aalto的思维方式标志着产品设计的新时代，该时代可以追溯到根本：设计时要考虑个人。

Since the 1950s, Dieter Rams, a German industrial designer has widely influenced the product design landscape. His design approach follows the principle of “Weniger, aber besser” which translates as “Less, but better” and is often referred to as “less is more”.

自1950年代以来，德国工业设计师Dieter Rams广泛地影响了产品设计领域。 他的设计方法遵循“ Weniger，aber besser”的原则，该原则翻译为“少一点，但更好”，通常被称为“少即是多”。

He strictly followed ten principles of “good design”, identifying that a product is designed well if it:

他严格遵循“良好设计”的十项原则，确定产品的设计是否符合以下条件：

1. is innovative

   是创新的

2. makes a product useful

   使产品有用

3. is aesthetic

   是审美的

4. makes a product understandable

   使产品易于理解

5. is unobtrusive

   不显眼

6. is honest

   说实话

7. is long-lasting

   持久

8. is thorough down to the last detail

   深入到最后一个细节

9. is environmentally friendly

   是环保的

10. is minimal

    最小

Rams was working as a designer for the electronic manufacturer Braun throughout decades. Some of his design concepts even made it to digital transformation. Apple’s iOS 3 used to mirror the appearance of the 1987 Braun ET 66 calculator.

几十年来，Rams一直在电子制造商Braun担任设计师。 他的一些设计理念甚至进行了数字转换 。 苹果公司的iOS 3用来反映1987年Braun ET 66计算器的外观。

Moreover, the world clock app that was found on the iOS 7 mimics Braun’s clock (and watch) design including the font and layout.

此外，iOS 7上的世界时钟应用程序模仿了布劳恩的时钟(和手表)设计，包括字体和布局。

One example where designer Phillipe Starck focused more on form than on function is the so-called ‘Alessi Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer’. First produced in 1990, this spider-shaped squeezer is a controversial kitchen tool. It looks like a piece of art and may look great on a kitchen shelf but according to several reviews lacks usability due to instability and badly chosen material.

设计师Phillipe Starck更加注重形式而非功能的一个例子是所谓的“ Alessi Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer ”。 这款蜘蛛形压榨器于1990年首次生产，是一种有争议的厨房工具。 它看起来像一件艺术品，可能在厨房的架子上看起来很棒，但根据一些评论，由于不稳定和材料选择不当，使可用性不足。

Throughout history, there’s one aspect that hasn’t changed: If a product is not user-friendly it can be used as decoration, but customers will not recommend it.

在整个历史中，有一个方面没有改变：如果产品不是用户友好型产品，则可以用作装饰，但客户不会推荐它。

The same applies to web designers. When talking about product design we no longer refer to a tangible product seen in a retail store but include digital products as well such as apps and websites. So, how does a designer find out whether the user likes the product?

这同样适用于网页设计师。 在谈论产品设计时，我们不再指在零售商店中看到的有形产品，而是包括数字产品以及应用程序和网站。 那么，设计师如何确定用户是否喜欢该产品？

设计思维 (Design thinking)

The main aspect, product and UX design have in common is their main purpose.

产品和UX设计的主要方面是它们的主要目的。

“When designing products, always remember that you are designing for people” — Nick Babich

“在设计产品时，请始终记住您是在为人而设计” – Nick Babich

Design Thinking is a non-linear approach. This basically means that the design team continuously utilizes its results to revise, question and refine its initial assumptions, understandings and findings.

设计思维是一种非线性方法。 这基本上意味着设计团队将不断利用其结果来修改，质疑和完善其最初的假设，理解和发现。

It is therefore obvious to see the parallels to web design.

因此，很明显可以看到与网页设计的相似之处。

“At the heart of Design Thinking is the intention to improve products by analyzing how users interact with them and investigating the conditions in which they operate. Design Thinking offers us a means of digging that bit deeper to uncover ways of improving user experiences.” — Interaction Design Foundation

“设计思维的核心是通过分析用户与他们的互动方式并调查其工作条件来改善产品的意图。 设计思维为我们提供了一种更深入的挖掘方法，以发现改善用户体验的方法。” — 交互设计基金会

Many modern design projects fail because they lack a clear vision and purpose. This can be seen in both, tangible as well as digital products. An old Japanese proverb says,

许多现代设计项目之所以失败，是因为它们缺乏明确的愿景和宗旨。 在有形产品和数字产品中都可以看到这一点。 古老的日本谚语说：

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”

没有行动的愿景是白日梦。 没有视力的行动是一场噩梦。”

A clear product vision sets the direction for the entire development team and guides them throughout the process.

清晰的产品愿景为整个开发团队设定了方向，并在整个过程中为他们提供指导。

Once the vision is clear and the team knows “why they are doing it”, it is crucial to determine the strategy as of “how they will achieve this”. The strategy often follows the approach of reverse engineering, which is done by starting off with the ideal end product and strip it all the way down to figure out which challenges may occur when designing it.

一旦愿景明确并且团队知道“他们为什么这样做”，就必须从“他们将如何实现这一目标”来确定策略。 该策略通常采用逆向工程的方法，即从理想的最终产品入手，一直剥离下去，以找出设计时可能遇到的挑战。

Sketching and wireframing are useful procedures when it comes to first drafts. The design part, then, should consist of prototyping, reviewing and a refining step. Once all that is done, testing and validation are inevitable for a successful project. The least a designer should conduct is a qualitative usability test. The idea behind a usability test is to evaluate whether the design and functionality of a product work for the target users.

初稿时，草图绘制和线框绘制是有用的步骤。 然后，设计部分应包括原型制作，审查和完善步骤。 完成所有这些操作之后，对于成功的项目而言，测试和验证是不可避免的。 设计人员至少应该进行的是定性的可用性测试。 可用性测试背后的想法是评估产品的设计和功能是否适合目标用户。

Typically, work continues even after the official launch. Metrics and analyses are crucial for a good product, and user feedback should be generated. Online surveys or customer support enquiries offer important insights and should be at the heart of the product design process. A/B testing can reveal additional findings of which design aspects work and which ones need improvement.

通常，即使正式发布后，工作仍会继续。 指标和分析对于优质产品至关重要，应生成用户反馈。 在线调查或客户支持查询可提供重要见解，并且应该是产品设计过程的核心。 A / B测试可以揭示在哪些设计方面有效以及哪些方面需要改进的其他发现。

(Digital) product design is not a linear process. It is a never-ending procedure which should be improved throughout its course.

(数字)产品设计不是线性过程。 这是一个永无止境的程序，应在整个过程中加以改进。

The most important aspect when designing products is that design is for people. The ideal outcome will be generated when researching the target audience, understand their needs and problems, and then evaluate the strategy to build a product that solves those problems. Unlike industrial design in the 18th century, you are designing with the individual in mind.

设计产品时最重要的方面是设计是为人设计的 。 在研究目标受众，了解他们的需求和问题，然后评估构建解决这些问题的产品的策略时，将会产生理想的结果。 与18世纪的工业设计不同，您在设计时会考虑个人。

In the words of Aalto:

用阿尔托的话来说：

“We should work for simple, good, undecorated things, but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.”

“我们应该为简单，优质，朴素的事物而努力，但是那些与人类和谐相处，有机地适合街头小矮人的事物。”