Created by potrace 1.10, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2011

Falling in love with product

Why I'm obssesed with the finer details of products, and why it matters.

I’m in love.

With who? Well, that isn’t the right question to be asking. The answers there are easy but that’s not what this blog post is about.

With what? There’s a better question.

I’m in love with product.

Not just software products, or hardware products - just any well-designed product. It can literally be anything.

The design is what matters to me. The level of thought and attention that the maker puts behind it. The little details. They go such a long way in the joy and satisfaction that comes with using something.

Here are some simple, unrelated examples of products and their little details:

  1. Apple: This list shouldn’t start without a mention to their products. Here’s what I love the most (you might be surprised):
    • The haptic feedback on the Digital Crown of the Apple Watch or the Vision Pro. Turning it produces the smallest little clicks on your finger, letting you know exactly when something is in the right spot.
    • The metal extension of the AirPods Pro Max. Instead of the typical plastic extensions of over-the-ear headphones, the AirPods Pro Max have a pneumatic system built in to allow for premium, metal extensions. The metal slowly slides out as you pull on it, with a beautiful gradient transition out. When it’s in the right spot, the extension slowly reaches a stop. Beautiful.
    • The “Hello” onboarding that takes place when you first turn on an Apple device. The coloured gradient & animated background, the clean copy. Built to make the first time you turn on a phone, a memorable one.

  • Linear: The speed of the app is mind-blowing. Every interaction happens under 100ms, every click, every page transition - instant. As a product catering towards developers, speed and keyboard shortcuts go a long way. Couple that with beautiful design, and it’s a home run.

  • Cal: The icon on their home page, it animates from a “close” icon to a “hamburger” icon on mobile. They had no need to do this. No business case. No user problem. Nothing. Just pure delight.

  • Dyson Vaccums: One of the most satisfying parts of vacuuming is the sound of garbage, dust, and little particles getting sucked into the cleaner. Dyson’s have such a smooth travel and silent tread, that the sound is what truly sticks out. Music to my ears.

  • Athletic Greens: This is an expensive purchase towards your own health, but boy do they let you know that it’s worth it. A big, beautiful green box comes in the mail - with clear, bolded messaging around the box. The unboxing experience is clean, and it comes with a welcome message from the founder that instantly connects your purchase & your goals to their mission.

  • Arc Browser: The Arc team has nailed user delight. There’s so many details that I’ve noticed with their product, but the one that sticks out the most is how they launch “updates” to the software. A little present pops up from underneath, letting you know that there’s been an update. Clicking it produces a bounce animation, and then it explodes into a mini confetti bubble - launching the updated version of the browser. So nice.

  • Fey App: I’m not even into trading but I got the free trail of the app to go through their onboarding. Absolutely loved how they used it to create teachable moments for their keyboard shortcuts. Also, stunning UI + speed is table stakes.

  • And the list goes on, and on…

I’m total geek when it comes to products. And I especially love “on-boardings”.

The first impression is everything to me.

  • I record unboxing videos of new Apple products.
  • I record “welcome” or “onboarding” flows of apps that I install.
  • I take pictures of welcome booklets or messages that come with e-commerce purchases

I never share any of these pictures or videos, they’re just for my own satisfaction. I rarely look back at them myself.

There’s also a real business case for focusing on “delight” or the details. Beyond better user experience and usability, the details massively impact retention.

Delightful details create die-hard fans. Ones that’ll stand in line when there’s a new launch, hype you up to their friends, and literally do your marketing for you.

Anyway, the message here isn’t that you too should be obsessed with product.

Find something that you do care this much about, and try to make that your profession.

Then you’ll do things for fun that most people consider work.

Can’t compete with that.