Handbag founder Stephanie Ippesen found that products designed from customer aesthetic suggestions failed, while those from her own intuition were bestsellers. She learned to filter feedback, implementing functional requests like strap length or zipper closures, while retaining full creative control over the brand's style and design.
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When developing the novel Mirror concept, Bryn Putnam found that early customer surveys and "ugly" mockups yielded universally negative feedback. She learned to trust her gut, recognizing that consumers often can't envision a truly new experience until it's tangible and polished.
Referencing Christopher Alexander, the discussion highlights "unself-conscious" design, where creators build and adapt a product while using it. This direct feedback loop creates a more functional and soulful product than one designed by specialized "architects" who are disconnected from the end-user's experience.
Don't just collect feedback from all users equally. Identify and listen closely to the few "visionary users" who intuitively grasp what's next. Their detailed feedback can serve as a powerful validation and even a blueprint for your long-term product strategy.
Don't design solely for the user. The best product opportunities lie at the nexus of what users truly need (not what they say they want), the company's established product principles, and its core business objectives.
Chomps' founders learned not to blindly copy the strategies of successful brands. They advise founders to gather wide-ranging feedback but to ultimately analyze it through their own company's unique context, as what works for one brand is not a guarantee of success for another.
When designing for kids, the founder learned not to take feature requests literally. A child asking for a bike basket to hold rocks isn't just asking for a rock holder; they're expressing a deeper need for a versatile container for their adventures. The key in user research is to infer the underlying problem from their specific examples.
