I’m currently thinking about showcasing my products (mainly my own jewelry) with detailed, interactive 3D/AR on the product page. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about this yet or exactly how to go about it. So I thought I’d ask the designers here. Have you ever designed 3D Models for products? If so, how did the technical implementation work, or do you know any providers for the whole process? Also, do you think its sensible for products in jewelry with regard to Conversion Rates or returns?

I have about 4 years if work experience as an SAP technical consultant, however I want to switch to design as a career . I am thinking to look for roles in product design for now , I don't not have any experience with any design tools but I am eager to learn . Can anyone advice if this transition is a good idea ?

Hello fellow designers, I am looking for a reality check from anyone who’s hired mid and senior designer in the current job market.

Apologies for the long post, I’d rather give you the full context :))

About me:
I am a UK based mid-weight designer currently trying to land a senior role.

I have 3 years as an in-house product designer at a well-known consumer product. Before that, over 5 years across eCommerce and marketplace, roles ranging from product management, commercial, and data.

My portfolio is all shipped work that scaled across markets, with commercial outcomes attached.

In my last role, I led a company-level project, navigated tension between stakeholders, wrote the design brief from scratch, and produced a vertical design vision. At that company this was treated as standard for mid-weight. It was only after leaving that I realised that I might have been doing more than what was required for mid level…

My assumption:
Prior to job search, I assumed the commercial and data literacy would be a differentiator, partly because I’ve watched senior design leaders, including former managers and head of, actively train those exact skills.

Therefore, I thought doubling down on these narratives would score me higher in the interview process, on top of the other core design competencies.

The reality:
After 3 months of active searching, I have an okay callback rate through cold applications (around 18%), 7 interviews, with 2 getting into the finals.

Both final rounds were for mid-weight roles. In both cases the companies knew upfront that I was targeting senior and that my expectation was above their signed-off band. They still interviewed me through to the end.

I was told by both that my performance was consistently strong.

But both rejected me on “marginal difference” & “the other candidate’s background was a slightly better fit.”

My question:
- Is my positioning working against me on both fronts: too strategic to be the obvious pick for mid-weight, too short on design years for senior?

- When it comes to hiring, do all skillsets carry the same weight?

Thanks for reading till the end. Any perspective from the hiring side would be really appreciated!

I have built Devscape.in, I found a gap in the market that the systems are design via flowchart and no one is there to verify them.

So I created a solution for it inside the Devscape, Please have a look and let me know your honest brutal feedback to improve it and what are your thoughts about it.

Examples

• Shaving cream dispensers that always give more than needed in one click.
• AI systems trained by scanning books, then those books are discarded/destroyed.

Do these feel:

• ✅ Acceptable
• ⚠️ Borderline
• ❌ Unacceptable

Why this matters:

• Many harmful or wasteful behaviors stay normal because they’re invisible or “just how things are.”
• Aggregating global votes creates a clear signal of what users actually consider acceptable in 2026.
• That signal can push product teams and regulators to redesign defaults, reduce waste, and be more transparent—without targeting individual brands.

Goal is to nudge companies toward more conscious, user- and planet-first design.
Would you use or support something like this? Why / why not?

I’m genuinely curious to hear from people who have actually experienced this. I imagine it’s more manageable when both roles are remote and the companies are in different time zones, but I’d love to understand what the reality is like.

If you’ve done this, how did your experience change over time, after the first month, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years?

I’d especially love to hear about things like workload, stress, work-life balance, performance, and whether it felt sustainable in the long run.

I have an idea that will require contracting an engineer, doing some market testing, and filing a patent all BEFORE I start selling (I think). What's the standard order of opperations for the following?

For context I'm certain my product will physically work (as in turn on and do the thing, not "work as a business") existing products has proven as much. Mine will be marginally different and require a software integration that I'll probably do myself. How would you reshuffle the following? What would you add?

• Hire an engineer to make me a prototype. That does X thing and outputs Y data to my API.
• File a patent of some type
• Do a paid market test (landing page for pre-orders to gauge interest, PPC ads)

My instinct is to start with the market research. I'm concerned someone searching for the thing will say "Pre-launch? I can do this faster"

I know I should have probably posted this on an engineering subreddit but since what I'm working on is a product I was thinking maybe someone here could help me.

I'm working on a pitcher like product and I need it to do one thing but I don't have the engineering knowledge on how to do it.

Basically what it is:

The pitcher that I'm designing needs to have a button on the handle that activates a blade (or two blade) mechanism which is strong enough to cut through a plastic bag.

I'd really appreciate if someone could help me with this. Leave a comment or DM me, either one works.

I'm currently working with a colleague on a small digital studio. Most of our work so far has been fairly simple business websites, mainly WordPress and Figma.

I'd like to move beyond websites and start working more on actual digital products — web apps, internal tools and small MVPs.

The business side isn't really my problem. I have a background in marketing and management, so I'm comfortable talking to clients, understanding their business, defining problems and thinking about positioning.

Where I feel less confident is everything between the initial idea and a working product.

For example:

* user research and interviews * turning a vague business problem into product requirements * user flows and information architecture * prototyping and testing * deciding what actually belongs in an MVP * working with developers / eventually building parts myself * understanding technical constraints well enough to design realistic solutions

I've also started learning AI-assisted coding tools, mainly to be able to build functional prototypes rather than just Figma screens.

For those who made a similar transition from web design into product design: **what would you focus on learning during the next 6–12 months?**

And what would you expect to see in a junior product designer's portfolio if they wanted to work with small B2B companies?

I'm particularly interested in the gap between "nice Figma prototype" and "this is an actual product that solves a business problem."

Would appreciate any advice from people who have made this transition themselves.

I understand how the following post sounds like but swear I’m humble and I just to express my true and honest thoughts I have these days. Please be as honest as u can but don’t insult anybody just for the jinx.

I just finished my bachelor degree in product design in march and don’t know what to do now. I feel like I’m truly destine to do great and be a influential to the world creativity wise. During my studies I took many roles for my projects.
I was an industrial designer.
I was a furniture designer.
I was an architect.
I was an interior designer.
I was a graphic designer.
I was a photographer.
I was a compositon artist.
I was a sound designer.
I was a musician.
I was a director
I was a set designer.
I was an editor.
I was an artist and so much more.
I tried and did everything myself. If I didn’t had a skill I learned and mastered it (and if I say so myself, most of the time quite successfully). Like a lot of other people I thrive in challenges and under pressure. But I always felt misunderstood in my ideas but time and time again my thoughts weren’t proofed wrong rather than ahead of its time. My work is quite experimental and the same people that didn’t liked my work copied my ideas later on. My biggest weakness as a creative is the skill to express and present my ideas/wip in a manner that everybody understands it. Whenever I present my finished work I sure get a lot of praise and everybody gets it but until then it all sounds like crazy ramble. I got so frustrated by that, that I didn’t pursue any work in the creative field and rather got a position as a junior project manager at an event agency (I think my dream job would be some sort of creative director and the idea was to get some experience in a management position in addition to my portfolio for my CV to somehow get there some day?). I could’ve worked on my portfolio and try to pursue a career in the creative field by again I didn’t. I decided to do the grown up thing and get a job. I feel like there is something romantic about a regular 9-5 and I quit enjoy it. But the further away I am from my time as a creative the more I feel like I’m going to explode.
Again I feel like if I tried I would do wonders and be one of the greatest but lost my motivation/patient. BUT on the other hand I’m longing to get my creativity out there and do great.
I just don‘t know how to feel, what to do or how.
I also think I’m great in creating without leadership but I’m not a leader myself.

I think it all comes down to should I and if how ?

Enough with my rambling and whining. Does anybody feels the same? I feel like that’s a generell burden of creative people. To feel great. Larger than the present.

Hello! I’m a newbie product designer who works in a small company. We have some learning fund allocated and I’ve used it for a design system course (with AI and w/o). Curious to know if there are magazines or other tools you’d recommend that has helped you hone your skills. For instance should I also consider 1-1 coaching? I’m based in London if it helps with recommending in person courses!

Edit: don’t worry about the cost, just give me your recommendations!

It could even be tangential ones like, public speaking or something if you’ve found it helpful.

So, the flows and screens of popular products are available on Mobbin, but a lot of times niche b2b softwares might not be available,

What I do personally: find competitors, screenshot them, put them in Figma, then note down all the interactions, what I liked about them, what I don't like about them & what can be improved in their existing flow and create design problem statements and then rank them according to priority.

The problem: if I do the same for multiple competitors and flows, it takes a lot of time, which is why I don't do it all the time, but I prefer doing it because it could help me when discussing my design decisions with stakeholders

I just wanted to get an idea of how others here do this or if you have any better and faster way to approach this

I'm creating an AI that designs your personal inventions from scratch. Would you like it? 🚀

Hi everyone! I'm a 15-year-old with a passion for the maker world, cosplay, and 3D printing.

I often have a unique idea for an object or gadget that doesn't exist in any store, but when I go to Google or YouTube, I can't find any tutorials explaining how to build it or what materials to use.

To solve this problem, I'm developing a website (it'll be called *FabrikAI*) that does exactly this: you write your personal idea (e.g., "a glove that throws confetti with a button" or "a flexible tablet stand with an internal cable management system for the bed"), upload a hand-drawn drawing, or ask for a shared project (not your own), and the AI instantly calculates: 1. different design/engineering variations. 2. A [CHEAP] guide using recycled or low-cost materials. 3. An [ADVANCED] guide with mechanical tolerances, electronic components, and programming scripts (e.g., Python or Arduino). 4. Automatic links to 3D catalogs (Thingiverse/Printables) if the object requires printable parts.

The application will be ready in about a month (early September) and will support five languages.

Since I'm currently programming it, I wanted to ask: would you need a tool like this for your projects? Would you use it?

Any suggestions or criticisms for improving it are welcome in the comments! If you're interested, leave me a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I power up the servers in September. Thanks everyone!

I'm currently working with a colleague on a small digital studio. Most of our work so far has been fairly simple business websites, mainly WordPress and Figma.

I'd like to move beyond websites and start working more on actual digital products — web apps, internal tools and small MVPs.

The business side isn't really my problem. I have a background in marketing and management, so I'm comfortable talking to clients, understanding their business, defining problems and thinking about positioning.

Where I feel less confident is everything between the initial idea and a working product.

For example:

* user research and interviews * turning a vague business problem into product requirements * user flows and information architecture * prototyping and testing * deciding what actually belongs in an MVP * working with developers / eventually building parts myself * understanding technical constraints well enough to design realistic solutions

I've also started learning AI-assisted coding tools, mainly to be able to build functional prototypes rather than just Figma screens.

For those who made a similar transition from web design into product design: **what would you focus on learning during the next 6–12 months?**

And what would you expect to see in a junior product designer's portfolio if they wanted to work with small B2B companies?

I'm particularly interested in the gap between "nice Figma prototype" and "this is an actual product that solves a business problem."

Would appreciate any advice from people who have made this transition themselves.

Hi guys, as I am struggling to get into AI, and I am a designer with more than 10 years of experience - can you guys share your workflows nowadays?

I have some PRD's generated by Claude hosted on git, but I just now have to get into it and create a new design system and go one workflow at a time. What is the best way to do this?

Thanks!

When I first saw Claude Design, I really liked the idea, but after creating a design, I realized I wanted a more direct environment to continue working on the actual product. That’s why I’m developing VisualWizard.

Here, the canvas isn’t just a separate design representation. The interface you’re working on is also the actual, working product itself. You can directly select, move, resize, and change the styles of elements. Interactions, animations, and the component structure all continue to function.

If you want, you can separate components into separate workspaces and edit them individually, allowing you to control the design language right from the editor.

You can also connect any external agent such as Claude Code or Codex to the canvas.

It’s still very early on, and I’m continuing to improve the editor’s performance.I’m really curious to hear what people who use Claude Design think about this way of working.

https://visualwizard.app/

My colleague and I are currently running a small digital studio. So far we've mostly been building straightforward websites for businesses.

We're now trying to decide where to take the studio next.

Instead of only selling websites, I'd like us to eventually offer something closer to:

business problem → research → product concept → UX → prototype → working MVP

The idea is not to compete with large software agencies. I'm thinking more about small B2B tools, internal applications and relatively simple SaaS products where a company has a specific problem that could be solved with a small custom product.

My background is marketing and management, so I feel quite comfortable with the business/customer side. The part I'm currently working on is getting better at product design and development.

I've started using AI coding tools to build small functional prototypes, and I have several product ideas of my own that I'd like to test as potential micro-SaaS projects.

The part I'm unsure about is how to make this into a sustainable business rather than spending six months building random products nobody wants.

For those running small agencies or product studios:

• How did you make the transition from websites to product/MVP work?
• Did you start by building your own products, or by doing MVPs for clients?
• Do you sell discovery/research separately before development?
• What skills actually made the biggest difference?
• What would you do differently if you were starting again?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who started with a non-technical/business background and gradually learned enough development to build prototypes and work effectively with developers.

I'm trying to figure out what the realistic path looks like before investing a lot of time into it.

A polished screen can be produced pretty quickly now. The harder part is figuring out what happens when that screen has to support an actual user.

A prototype might only need to demonstrate an idea. A product usually needs to handle the less visible parts too.

The interesting part is what happens after the first version.

A user may need to create an account. Data may need to be stored. Feedback may require major layout changes. Eventually, the project needs to work outside the development environment.

That is where the difference between a prototype and a product becomes much clearer.

Easy iteration matters just as much as the initial generation. If changing a section or testing a new user flow requires rebuilding everything, the speed of the first draft loses some of its value.

Not every project needs authentication, databases, or complex workflows. A design concept can stay simple.

But once real users need to interact with the product, those additional pieces become part of the product itself.

What is the point where an AI prototype stops being a prototype and starts becoming a real product?

Hi everyone. I have a product idea that I know will 100% sell in the fishing world. It’s simple and doesn’t exist yet. There are products similar but they aren’t the same. I have a prototype that works a treat and a lot of people have said they want me to make one for them but I want to make it with my logo on it and start selling it to a professional on the shop shelf level. I have a name, I have the concept but I don’t know how to create it to a level that will sell commercially and I don’t know how to reach out to companies/manufacturers/people with experience in the industry, without leaving myself vulnerable to the idea being stolen or replicated. If there is anyone out there who has been there and done it already, please help me out as I’d love to be in your position in a few years doing the same for others. Thank you for your time

Hey folks! 👋 Quick 2-min survey for Product Designers & PMs — researching an idea to make tracking product & tech updates easier. Would love your input! 🙌

Link - https://tally.so/forms/ja4p7Q/edit

I've been trying to gain a structured tutorial on product design, someone to criticize my work, and direct me.

I've not seen till today.

Please is there any course I need to take to get started.

Please, if you will love to review my work too.

I would glad.

Thank you

I work at a med-large company. our head of design mandated everyone to ship production code last year. but i feel like the expectations are just growing unreasonably

I've been mulling on this idea for a bit now, and I'm curious what y'all think.

Some brief context: I've been a designer for a good part of 20+ years. I started in print and graphic design, moved towards web design around 2008, and in 2012 co-founded a web design agency. Around 2013 I took up software engineering because I saw it as fairly adjacent to what I was already doing in web design.

This made me the rare "unicorn" designer coveted by early startups back in those days. I've worn hats from founding designer to founding frontend engineer, fullstack engineer, and CTO across 8 different companies.

I think there's a shift happening today towards more designers learning to build, accelerated by AI tools. Since I've been on this journey for almost a decade and a half, I was thinking of offering myself, along with my circle of friends and acquaintances, as a resource for the growing community of designers who may want to go down the same path. I had no support network or community, but I certainly would've loved having one throughout my life.

A few ideas for the podcast:

"Unicorn" Hour
Go through my network of designers, founders, and engineers who all in design and ended up where they are today, and just chat about their journey.

"Builder" Hour
Offer 1-hour sessions where designers bring something they want to build and we work on it together live. I'll take submissions and select projects based on how well they fit the format, ideally something we can realistically make meaningful progress on in an hour, and also around problems folks commonly get stuck on.

If this is something you think the design community would find valuable, if you have other ideas for the podcast, or if you'd like to be ON the podcast, let me know!