Every few years, some trailblazing UX designer or an agency develops a new design method. Names are made. Fame is achieved. Books are sold. Lines are drawn.
Other times, deadlines change. Strategies fail. Feedback isn’t as expected, and we lose our bearings. But through a logical way to investigate setbacks and test solutions, we can ensure focus no matter what obstacles we face on our path.
A great product can be defined as:
- It gets better at performing the job that it initially promised its users.
- The vision of the business idea aligns with how they intend to do it.
- It offers a competitive value proposition without compromising straightforwardness.
That is the crux of the topic that I intend to elaborate further.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably procrastinating on developing an ace product that would become the next big hit on Crunchbase. Let’s see how far along are you. From ace tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Samsung to an almost failed venture like Airbnb, have made critical use of Design Thinking to induce innovation through technology and design. Their revenue turnover and competitive value proposition have challenged traditional assumptions to redefine business strategies across the globe.
But first, here’s an interesting fact!
Did you know? Airbnb almost sank into deep waters before it hit billion dollars?!!
In 2009, a year after its launch in 2008, Airbnb’s revenue flatlined at $200 per week without its presence being noticed by the people. After spending time on the product, Jeo Gebbia, one of the co-founders, realized that the photos in the listed properties sucked. They speculated that the people were not booking because they couldn’t see what they were paying for. The next thing that the three co-founders did was to update the amateur customer photography with beautiful high-resolution pictures. By improving one non-scalable solution, they almost doubled their revenue within a week. Airbnb’s agile culture of constant experimentation is what we call the Design Thinking process, and it is precisely this problem-solving approach that helped them climb out of the ‘trough-of-sorrow.’
