The Two Paths to Designing Products People Love

Design at its core is about solving problems. It’s about creating products that actually help people navigate those little and not-so-little snags of daily life. No matter the field, keeping this mindset is the key to making something that resonates. But how do you actually get there? How do you move from that first moment of thinking there must be a better way, to designing something real that people can’t help but love, and ideally, buy? Personally, I find my process falls into two main paths. One is rooted in personal reflection, and the other relies on looking outside myself and listening to others.

Let me walk you through both approaches how I use them, and why they work.

Path One: The Individual, Reflective Mindset

This first method is really about looking inward. It’s learning to see your own experiences as valuable insight, not just day-to-day noise.

As designers, we need to break out of passive consumption and become active observers of the world around us. It might sound intimidating, but it’s really just a shift in awareness. The next time you’re scrubbing dishes, don’t just zone out. Ask yourself why is this handle shaped like this? Why does my wrist hurt? How could this be improved? Suddenly, every little frustration or inconvenience becomes a clue.

Consistency is the secret ingredient. Train yourself to notice pain points, however small, and jot them down. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Use your phone or a notebook. The key isn’t to have instant solutions. Just record the problem so you can return to it with a fresh mind later. Solutions, in my experience, usually surface when you least expect it. Maybe in the shower, on a long walk, or while drifting to sleep.

My Etsy best-seller actually came from this process. I struggled with pattern paper for garment making and the corners always curled up. It bugged me for weeks. When the answer finally showed up, it felt obvious. I needed a pattern weight designed to hold down both the main area and the corners. Noticing those constant frustrations and writing them down is half the battle.

You also don’t have to wait for that lightbulb moment. Sometimes, I scan through my list of annoyances and brainstorm ways to fix them on purpose. That mix of organic and deliberate thinking is where my best ideas are often born.

The most important thing to remember is nobody understands your day-to-day interactions with products better than you do, especially when a real problem disrupts your own workflow or happiness. If it bothers you, it probably bothers someone else too. You might just be the first to address it.

Path Two: Blending Feedback and Intuition

Even though self-reflection is powerful, there’s a limit to what you’ll notice on your own. The second path is about balancing your own intuition with input from other people.

When I got into designing commuter cycling gear that focused on both function and looks, I realized my experience had its limits. I was just a novice. So I reached out to five people who actually commuted by bike to understand their challenges.

This became a goldmine. People mentioned little things I never would have noticed — like how annoying it is to reach into pockets while riding or how the chain leaves residue on the pants. Every one of these insights went into my notes. Now, when I brainstorm ideas, I’m pulling not just from my own experience but also from theirs. I am allowed to explore the ideas, and interact with them on my own to dig deeper.

Letting this outside input mix with my own reflections makes my view so much wider. Sometimes a passing comment from someone else sparks an entirely new idea. Other times, it backs up a suspicion I already had.

For me, it all comes together when I start designing. I focus on the most important functional features based on actual needs, and then I work those elements into shapes and forms that are useful and appealing.

Bringing It All Together

The idea with these two paths isn’t to just pick one and ignore the other. Let them interact. Start with your own observations and keep honing your habit of noticing. And whenever you can, cover your blind spots by talking to people whose needs might be totally different from yours.

Design isn’t magic. It’s empathy, observation, and a willingness to keep learning what people really need. Whether you lean toward introspection or collaboration, the products that stand out — the ones people genuinely love — come from thoughtful attention to both.

If you want to create products of your own, try both of these mindsets. Let curiosity and even a little bit of frustration guide you. Have conversations. Write things down. You just might land on your own best-seller by realizing your problem is something other people deal with too.