Digital product design is an iterative design process used to solve a functional problem with a formal solution. A digital product designer identifies an existing problem, offers the best possible solution, and launches it to a market that demonstrates demand for the particular solution. The field is considered a subset of

product design Product design is the process of creating new Product (business), products for businesses to sell to their customers. It involves the generation and development of ideas through a systematic process that leads to the creation of innovative products ...

. Some digital products have both digital and physical components (such as Nike+ and Fitbit), but the term is mainly used for products produced through

software engineering Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...

. Since digital product design have become mainstream in the creative industry, a digital product designer oftentimes is simply referred to as a "product designer" in job posts.

Career Path

Digital product design is a

transdisciplinary Transdisciplinarity is an approach that iteratively interweaves knowledge systems, skills, methodologies, values and fields of expertise within inclusive and innovative collaborations that bridge academic disciplines and community perspectives, ...

field because a digital product designer sees the project from end-to-end; from recognizing an opportunity and understanding the customer's need through to final delivery. A digital product designer is an integral part of the creative team at every stage of the process who leads the UI and UX design throughout, and is also involved in the product strategy with an entrepreneurial mindset to help get it to the market. Although computer programming is not a required skill for a digital product designer, digital product designers need to have a high-level understanding of how all of the technical pieces work together in order to ensure that the creative vision is fully realized. Although part of a digital product designer's job is to oversee the look and feel of the product as well as the development of the software system, digital product design is a different creative process and career path from

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

and

web design Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code a ...

Academic Degree

Digital product design is a broadly

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

and

course of study combining fields of Computer Technology,

Industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneu ...

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

, and

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. Established as a modern degree addressing needs for cross-disciplinary education, one of its fundamental objectives is to develop

lateral thinking Lateral thinking is a manner of Problem solving, solving problems using an indirect and creativity, creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious. Synonymous to thinking outside the box, it involves ideas that may not be obtai ...

skills across more rigidly defined academic areas recognized as a valuable component in expanding technological horizons. Digital Product Design is part of the Advertising & Digital Design BFA program at Fashion Institute of Technology. Digital Product Design is taught at

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

. Digital Product Design is a concentration in Communication Design MPS program at Parsons. Digital Product Design is a certificate program at Pratt institute.

References

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Design Agency
Product design {{design-stub

Career Path

Academic Degree

See also

References

External links