Product
design is extremely emotive and as displayed by the many disillusioned wannabe
entrepreneurs who enter the Dragon’s Den, their misplaced belief in often
laughable products can stamp out any common sense. Every now and then a product
arrives and I’m mystified as to who the hell would buy it. Bobbing dashboard animals! Who’d have thought
the Nodding Dog would be so popular?
A problem
can be that a product designer develops a product that they would like to use
and not what their customers would like.
Success is dependent on putting your product under the scrutiny of the
user. Did the chap who invented the coffee table with a built-in computer
identify his audience? Did he determine the user’s needs and did the coffee
table address their needs? Ultimately, was there a demand for his product?
I shouldn’t
need to state the obvious but always develop your product with the audience in
mind. Test with your users during every
design phase. Involving the user is crucial for gathering information and
revealing design flaws or features that the user doesn’t need. Get your users
to try it out…
With this
in mind I’ve got to ask ‘Who would buy the iBuzz’. The
ipod generation are gadget greaks but does this market demand a music-activated sex
toy? a sex toy that plugs in to your mp3
player?
I’ve just
seen this toy demonstrated on 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' and felt driven
to ask Why? Who? How?
Lovelabs
describe their product as ‘A super-fun sex toy that plugs into your iPod! The
music-activated vibrating bullet stimulates you in time with your favourite
music.’
Did
Lovelabs analyse their audience, competitors and market? Hopefully their business decisions were based
on solid market research. If they have applied
the basic principles of user-centric design then their product should connect with
their target audience and Xmas 2006 will see the iBuzz become a must have
stocking filler.