Latest news with #productdesign
Travel Daily News
10 hours ago
- Business
- Travel Daily News
NewTerritory to lead brand experience transformation for LATAM
NewTerritory appointed by LATAM Airlines as brand experience and design partner following a global tender, marking their first collaboration. Project spans redefining LATAM's product design guideline and design philosophy to enable a number of future design programme launches. Aviation brand experience and design studio, NewTerritory, has been appointed as LATAM Airlines' strategic partner to deliver a wide-ranging and comprehensive transformation of its product design experience, following a competitive multi-agency tender process. Marking the first collaboration between the London-based studio and the largest airline in the Southern Hemisphere, NewTerritory will lead the delivery of LATAM's new product design identity and design philosophy, along with the supporting documentation that will shape all future design programme launches. As the sole partner for this strategic element, NewTerritory will define the creative direction and ensure it ties seamlessly across the entire passenger and employee experience, feeding directly into future developments and launches. The all-encompassing project begins with the creation of a comprehensive Product Design Bible – a foundational document that will define what it means to step into a LATAM space. From the check-in counter and airport lounge to the aircraft seat, this work will establish the core principles that guide every touchpoint in the passenger journey. This new design experience will then cascade into the development of a number of future design programme launches later into the year, including hard and soft products. Speaking on the announcement, Nadja Orwell, Director of Client Partnerships at NewTerritory, said: 'Flying may be more familiar than ever, and because of that, customer expectations continue to evolve with growing demand for personalisation, comfort and considered moments throughout the journey. 'For airlines, this means working harder than ever to deliver experiences that feel intentional, elevated and memorable to create moments that speak to passengers' emotional needs. 'That's what makes this partnership with LATAM so exciting. Starting with the Product Design Bible gives us a clear foundation to define what LATAM stands for as a brand – and to express that design DNA across future programmes, shaping the onboard journey for both passengers and crew. It's an approach that brings consistency, coherence and, most importantly, experiences that truly resonate.' Dominic Purvis, SVP of Product and Customer Experience at LATAM Airlines, added: 'NewTerritory demonstrated a unique ability to connect brand, design and customer experience in a way that felt both strategic and emotionally intelligent. Their creative approach and cross-sector insight made them the standout choice in a highly competitive process. 'This partnership marks a major step in our journey to deliver an elevated, distinctive and cohesive LATAM experience – one that reflects the warmth, diversity and vibrancy of Latin America while embracing innovation and human-centered design. We're not just enhancing the travel journey, we're crafting an experience that is emotionally resonant, culturally authentic and truly unlike any other, making it unmistakably LATAM.' Further details on the project will be shared later this year, with phased rollouts expected to align with LATAM's broader innovation and customer strategy.
Entrepreneur
a day ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Why Your Beautiful Product Might Be Failing
Here's why users say they want beauty but always choose the ugly product that actually works. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Here's a fun fact about Craigslist. It looks like it was designed in 1995 because, well, it basically was. Purple links, wall of text, zero visual hierarchy. Design students use it as an example of what not to do. And yet it processes millions of transactions every month while dozens of beautifully designed competitors have died trying to dethrone it. This should bother you. It bothers me. As product managers, we're supposed to know better. We talk about user experience, design thinking, and all that jazz. But then Craigslist sits there, ugly as sin, making money hand over fist. The uncomfortable truth is that entrepreneurs and product teams fall in love with the wrong things. We obsess over pixel-perfect interfaces while users just want to get stuff done. We debate typography while competitors with Comic Sans eat our lunch. This isn't just about aesthetics — it's about fundamentally misunderstanding what makes products succeed. Take Google's homepage circa 1999. Sparse. Brutal. Just a logo and a search box. Meanwhile, Yahoo was building this gorgeous portal with news, weather and stock quotes. Yahoo had the better design by every conventional measure. More features. Better visual hierarchy. Actual graphics. Google looked like a student project. Guess which one won. Related: Good Product Design Is More Than Aesthetics — How to Balance Pretty With Practical to Attract More Investors Design theater The psychology behind this is fascinating. A significant 34.6% of visitors worldwide indicate that they strongly favor information structures that are simple and easy to understand. Yet somehow, when we're building products, we convince ourselves that users want something more sophisticated. More elegant. More beautiful. It's what I call "design theater" — when form becomes performance art rather than purposeful function. You see it everywhere. Startups spending months perfecting their onboarding animations while their core product barely works. Enterprise software companies hiring expensive design agencies to create "delightful experiences" for users who just need to export a spreadsheet. Reddit is another perfect example. Reddit has 234 million unique users, 8.19 billion monthly pageviews and 25 million daily votes — all while looking like it hasn't been updated since 2005. The site works because it delivers exactly what users want: content, conversation and community. Not gradients. Not micro-interactions. Just the stuff that matters. Stated preference vs. actual behavior But here's where it gets interesting. Users say they want beautiful design. They really do. In surveys and focus groups, they'll tell you they prefer the prettier option every single time. Then they go home and use the ugly one that actually works. This disconnect between stated preference and actual behavior is critical for product managers to understand by leveraging data and emerging techniques like conversational interfaces to tailor interactions and anticipate user needs. The data tells a different story than the focus groups. Always trust the data. Related: Your Product's Design Could Be Costing You Customers. Here's What You're Doing Wrong (and How to Fix It). How do you know when to prioritize form versus function? Here's my framework. First, understand the job your product is doing. Clayton Christensen's "jobs to be done" theory applies perfectly here. Nobody hires Craigslist to have a beautiful browsing experience. They hire it to sell their couch or find an apartment. The ugliness actually helps — it signals that this is a no-nonsense marketplace where real people do real transactions. Second, find your threshold of acceptable ugliness. Yes, that's a real thing. Every product category has a baseline aesthetic requirement. Dating apps need to look better than tax software. But even within categories, there's surprising flexibility. Hacker News looks terrible and thrives. Designer News looks beautiful and struggles. Same audience, same purpose, different outcomes. Third, test your assumptions ruthlessly. Not with surveys. Not with interviews. With actual behavior. Launch an ugly version and a pretty version. See which one converts better. You might be surprised. I've seen this play out dozens of times — the "worse" design wins because it loads faster, works better on mobile or just gets out of the user's way. The challenge for product managers is pushing back on design-first thinking without becoming the villain. You don't want to be the person who killed joy. But you also can't let your team spend six months polishing something that should have shipped in two weeks. Here's what works Frame everything in terms of user outcomes. Instead of debating whether the button should be four pixels or six pixels from the edge, ask what user problem you're solving. Instead of arguing about color schemes, talk about cognitive load. Make the conversation about effectiveness, not aesthetics. Also, celebrate ugly wins. When Reddit's valuation hits another billion, mention it. When Craigslist outlasts another competitor, bring it up. Build a culture that values results over refinement. This doesn't mean you should make ugly products on purpose. Delightful design can certainly make good products great, but that only matters if the product is actually useful, usable and reliable in the first place. The point is to sequence your priorities correctly. Function first. Then form. Always in that order. Related: The Art of Creating Great Products The most successful products find the sweet spot — just enough design to not actively repel users, but not so much that it gets in the way of the job to be done. They understand that sometimes, ugly is exactly what users need. Your beautiful product might be failing because you're solving the wrong problem. You're making it pretty when you should be making it work. That's the trap. And now you know how to avoid it.
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Innovation Illuminated: How SharkNinja Leads with Design
Featuring François Nguyen, Chief Design and Experience Officer, SharkNinja. SharkNinja has evolved far beyond its early days as an infomercial brand. Today, the company stands as one of the world's most advanced domestic appliance makers, thanks in large part to innovative product design. In a dynamic presentation, François Nguyen, chief design and experience officer at SharkNinja, explains how SharkNinja's products have become must-haves among consumers—and what we all can learn by leading with design.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Timberland Names Former Dr. Martens Exec Darren McKoy Global VP of Product Design and Creative Direction
Former Dr. Martens executive Darren McKoy has landed at Timberland. In a LinkedIn post on Monday, McKoy announced he was joining VF Corp as global vice president of product design and creative direction at Timberland. More from WWD EXCLUSIVE: MAC Cosmetics Names Nicola Formichetti Global Creative Director EXCLUSIVE: More Executive Changes for Flos B&B Group as Arclinea Family CEO Steps Down Kleona Mack, Glossier's Former CMO, Goes to Shark Beauty 'This marks a meaningful return to VF, and the beginning of a new chapter with an iconic brand I've long admired for its roots and cultural legacy,' McKoy wrote. 'I've been fortunate to work with heritage brands, shaping stories, building products, and collaborating with teams committed to connecting brand, consumer, and culture with purpose. I'm excited to carry my experiences and learnings into Timberland, and to contribute to what comes next.' McKoy added: 'I'm looking forward to working with the incredible people at Timberland and across VF, building toward the future together.' FN has reached out to Timberland for comment. McKoy announced his exit from Dr. Martens after 10 years with the UK-based shoe brand on social media in January. The executive said that he made the decision to exit the company early last year and to 'embrace new opportunities and creative challenges.' 'It wasn't an easy choice, as you can imagine, but I feel now is the right time to close this amazing chapter and start writing the next,' McKoy wrote at the time. 'Dr. Martens will always be a part of me, and I'll be cheering on the next chapter for this incredible brand and the next generation of wearers who will undoubtedly take it to new heights.' McKoy rose to the role of global creative director at Dr. Martens in 2022 after serving over four years as global product category director, helping to lead the company's design and product teams. The footwear exec cut his teeth in the business while studying retail marketing management in Leeds, U.K. and received an early education in streetwear and brand curation at the men's retailer Hip, also in Leeds. Roles at several large British retailers soon followed before two major product positions as global product manager for Adidas Originals and Europe, Middle East and Africa product manager for The North Face. These roles led McKoy to join Asics Europe in 2012, where he served as category manager for Asics Tiger and Onitsuka Tiger until he joined Dr. Martens in 2015. Best of WWD Mikey Madison's Elegant Red Carpet Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Julia Fox's Sleekest and Boldest Shoe Looks Over the Years [Photos] Crocs Collaborations From Celebrities & Big Brands You Should Know
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The iconic designs of Jony Ive
Jony Ive is renowned for crafting a meticulous product design aesthetic that shaped the tech cultural zeitgeist during a 27-year career at Apple. He did his most influential work after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to run the company in 1997, where the two forged a partnership that would hatch a succession of game-changing products like the iPhone in 2007. Ive ultimately left the company in 2019. Ive's name was thrust back into the spotlight on Wednesday when ChatGPT maker OpenAI recruited him and his design firm, LoveFrom, to lead a new hardware project. But OpenAI CEO Sam Altman can only hope this still-blossoming partnership works out as well as the mind-meld between former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Ive. Ive became the paintbrush that Jobs used to bring his visions to life. The London-born Ive became the voice of Apple's effort to blend technological wizardry with sleek elegance. The company's TV commercials and product announcements were renowned for Ive discussing the intricacies of his designs in British-accented voiceovers spoken in a hushed, almost reverential tone. After Jobs died in 2011, Ive continued carry the torch for his late boss while still striving to create products that were as aesthetically mesmerizing as they were ground breaking. Ive led design work on the Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. When he started LoveFrom, Ive derived the name from something Jobs once said about hailing humanity by 'making something with a great deal of care and love.' It's worked with brands like Airbnb, Ferrari and Moncler and created the coronation emblem for King Charles III. He also chose to base LoveForm in San Francisco's historic Jackson Square, located near bars and cafes that were once frequented by Beat Generation luminaries such as 'On The Road' author Jack Kerouac and 'Howl' author Allen Ginsberg.
