Web & mobile applications
Product design
User journeys, key screens and a clickable prototype before production code.
What is product design?
Product design is the work done before production code: mapping who uses the product and what they need to do, designing the key screens, and testing it all as a clickable prototype. It’s the cheapest point to find out what doesn’t work, before changes cost weeks of development.
What problem does product design solve?
Most software problems start as unanswered questions: who exactly uses this, what are they trying to get done, and what happens when something goes wrong? When a team starts building before those are answered, the answers arrive late, as rework.
Product design answers them on screen first. You click through the real journeys, show them to customers or staff, and change the design in hours instead of rebuilding features later.
What you get
Agreed journeys and screens, tested as a clickable prototype, so the build starts from decisions rather than assumptions.
Product design
What’s included
User and task mapping
Who uses the product, what each person is trying to do, and where the current process breaks down.
Journey maps
The core flows, step by step, including what happens when information is missing or something fails.
Key screen design
The screens that carry the most work, designed first and reviewed with you.
Clickable prototype
A working mock-up you can put in front of real users before any production code is written.
Design system
Shared components and rules, so the build is faster and the product stays consistent.
Written scope
What version one includes, and what waits, agreed before the build starts.
Who product design suits
A good fit for
- New products and platforms. Test the idea with real users before committing the full budget.
- Internal tools replacing spreadsheets. Design around how your team actually works, not how the spreadsheet grew.
- Existing apps that users struggle with. Find out where people get stuck before deciding what to rebuild.
Probably not the right fit if
- Your product has only a couple of simple screens. A short scoping call may be enough.
- You already have tested, approved designs. See web applications instead.
- You want a visual refresh of a marketing website. See website design.
How it works
How it works
- 01
Map the users
Who uses the product, what they are trying to do and where it currently breaks down.
- 02
Design the core flows
The few journeys that matter most, designed first and reviewed with you.
- 03
Prototype and test
A clickable prototype you can put in front of real users before production starts.
How long does product design take?
Product design is the first stage of an app’s first version, which usually takes 8–12 weeks in total. The design work runs in the first weeks, so the build starts from agreed journeys and screens rather than assumptions.
How much does product design cost?
It’s included in every app’s first version: a scoping workshop, user journeys, a clickable prototype and the design of up to 10 key screens. You get a fixed quote after a free 30-minute call, before any work starts.
Related work
Built and in production.
Questions
About product design
Do we need design before development?
For anything with more than a handful of screens, yes. It’s the cheapest point to find out what doesn’t work, before those decisions are built into the code.
Can we test the prototype with our customers?
Yes. The prototype is built so you can share it with customers or staff and collect feedback before the build starts.
What’s the difference between a prototype and the real app?
A prototype looks and clicks like the app but doesn’t store data or run your business rules. It’s for testing the journeys; the real app is built from the agreed design afterwards.
Who owns the designs?
You do. Designs, like code, transfer to you on final payment, so you can use them with any developer.
What if testing shows the idea doesn’t work?
Then you’ve found out for a fraction of the cost of building it. We’ll change the design, narrow the first version, or tell you honestly if an existing product would do the job.
Further reading
Web & mobile applications
More in Web & mobile applications
- Web applicationsPortals, dashboards and platforms built to production standard, delivered in stages.
- iOS & AndroidMobile apps for both platforms from a shared codebase, through to app store release.
- Accounts & paymentsSign-in, roles, subscriptions and billing, with access limited to what each person needs.
- APIs & integrationsThe backend your product runs on, connected to the tools you already use.
- All of web & mobile applicationsThe full service, related work and questions.
Enquire
Talk to us about product design.
Tell us what you are working on and what you need. An outline is enough to start. We reply within one business day.
Prefer email? hello@vareonhq.com