44. Nobody wants your product

Another way to understand what users want can be divided into two categories:

• Painkillers
• Vitamins

That is:

• They want painkillers when they need to eliminate a pain. (They need to use it)
• They want vitamins when they want to improve the current situation. (It would be good to use it)

In any case, they don’t want to use your product. They want to achieve a result. For example:

• Supplying their home with food and supplies
• Saving costs
• Getting the result of a mathematical calculation
• Having fun

Under this logic, we could also say that there are 3 typologies of products if we want to categorize them based on how they solve what the user needs:

• Bridges: Products that make it easier to get from point A to point B.
• Barriers: Products that become obstacles because they don’t allow getting from point A to B.
• Carousels: Products that distract the user while remaining at point A.

Our goal in product creation should be associated with building bridges.

That is, to ensure that the user gets to where they want to go. Perhaps on their first trip across the bridge, they will notice our design, our solid construction, or the landscape it allows them to appreciate. But if they make that journey enough times, the bridge will become invisible to their eyes. It will become something everyday. Something they ignore while using it.

That is when we will have achieved our purpose.

To become like the handle of a mug, the doorknob, the refrigerator, or the wheel.

If we do things very well, our user will notice we exist when we are not present.

Ultimately, achieving transparency is one of the objectives we could consider for the design of our products.

To satisfy users by understanding that, deep down, they don’t want to use our product.